The blockchain technology-focused research lab Cryptic Labs has added two Nobel Laureates in Economics - Eric S. Maskin and Christopher Pissarides - to its Economics Advisory Board. Maskin of Harvard University will focus on game theory and mechanism design, with an emphasis on how blockchain companies can guide user incentives at a company level, while Pissarides of the London School of Economics (LSE) will provide expertise on macroeconomic trends.

Together, they will provide their expertise to a team which includes Cryptic Labs' Chief Scientist Whitfield Diffie, the cryptographer who won the 2015 Turing Award, often referred to as the "Nobel Prize of Computing" – forming a unique trio. Humphrey Polanen, Co-founder and Managing Director of Cryptic Labs, said: 

"I am honored to welcome two of the world's highly regarded experts in economics to our Economics Advisory Board. For the first time in the industry, Drs. Maskin and Pissarides will offer unparalleled expertise and insight to the blockchain industry, providing nuanced understandings of behavioral economics to our clients. The new members of our Economics Advisory Board provide the expertise for us to live up to our mission to fill critical and essential gaps in the industry. These experts and other economics advisors will help our client companies navigate complex problems, advising them on blockchain economics and helping them craft the incentive systems they need to ensure adoption and growth."

Pissarides said: "Blockchain is the most exciting development in financial markets in recent years, but we still don't know enough about it to recommend a wholesale transition of all our transaction records to the blockchain. Cryptic Labs impressed me with their mission to improve the service offered by blockchain technology, as well as the diversity and expertise of their team. I look forward to working with the team at Cryptic Labs to leverage my expertise in macroeconomics to help companies improve the use of blockchain, make it more secure and more widely accessible, and examine the implications that it has for trade, financial markets, and economic performance."

Maskin said: "I think that blockchain technology is potentially important for a modern economy. Most discussions of blockchain technology focus on technical issues. I am more interested in the economic value such technology can bring. I believe that my background in economics and mechanism design should be useful for that purpose. Cryptic Labs is examining blockchain in interesting ways, and so I was glad to join the team."

The two Nobel Laureates join a team of experts in advising companies on industry solutions, ranging from blockchain infrastructure to artificial intelligence and networking, to guide them in their design processes and help assess their economics.