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LIBOR is foundational to global markets, but its design makes it unsuitable for the many uses to which it is put, creating enormous regulatory pressure to retire LIBOR in favor of more suitable benchmarks. Replacing LIBOR, however, is throwing up a new set of risks for market participants, some of which have been foreseen, and some of which are emerging as the transition gets under way. This article anatomizes those risks and roots them in the history of modern finance. TOPICS:Fixed income and structured finance, information providers/credit ratings, risk management, LIBOR, benchmarks, benchmark reform

Bitcoin and its enabling technology, the blockchain, are front and center in discussions of the future of finance and “fintech.” This essay argues that Bitcoin is a special case and a weak analogy for future applications of blockchain technology. Adoption will grow, and applications will spread, but the nature of the technology and of the financial markets suggest that instead of being disruptive to major incumbent institutions, blockchain-based innovation will tend to strengthen existing market participants, serving more to lower costs than to encourage new entrants or new business methods.