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REVIEW OF THE BACHERLOR THESIS OPPONENT
Student’s name and surname: Gabriela Kubíková ...
Thesis title: Could Bitcoin Be A New Digital Gold? ...
Thesis supervisor: Ing. Lukáš Augustin Máslo, Ph.D. ...
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Assessment of the main aspects of the thesis:
1 Structure of the thesis (logical and systematic construction) ☒ ☐ ☐ ☐
2 Goal of the thesis (unambiguity of formulation, adequacy) ☒ ☐ ☐ ☐
3 Quality of the theoretical part ☒ ☐ ☐ ☐
4 Quality of the application/analytical/empirical part ☒ ☐ ☐ ☐
5 Adequacy of the methods to the goal of the thesis ☒ ☐ ☐ ☐
6 Sources (topicality, relevance, frequency) ☒ ☐ ☐ ☐
7 Quality of conclusions, fulfillment of the goal of the thesis ☒ ☐ ☐ ☐
8 Formal aspects (formatting, stylistics, references) ☐ ☒ ☐ ☐
Verbal assessment (describe the strongest and weakest aspects of the thesis; especially in case of a low assessment 3-4, concrete reproaches need to be expressed):
I am very grateful to the author for helping me to grasp the concept of the intrinsic value. Having the dichotomy “intrinsic value” vs. “market value” in mind, I came to the conclusion that an asset which has a market value but no intrinsic value is, as a matter of fact, a legal claim on someone.
The author says that due to a relatively high price volatility of the Bitcoin, it cannot be a medium of exchange at the moment.
However, the same can be said about gold. Yet, gold CAN become a medium of exchange. I’d say that the author mixes up a price stability with the stability of the exchange rate. The CZK prices in the Czech Rep. are relatively stable in the short run because of the phenomenon called “price stickiness”. Yet, the price of CZK in terms of EUR is extremely volatile and changes continuously. The same can be said about Bitcoin. If Bitcoin became a medium of exchange, it’s exchange rate would keep being volatile but the Bitcoin prices would be sticky in the short run.
A number of titles in the Bibliography section should be transferred into a subsection Online sources. E. g. BITCOIN 101, BLOCKCHAIN SUPPORT (4 titles), BLOCKCHAIN 101 etc. The Bibliography section should only contain monographies and papers, not entries on a webpage.
Complex assessment (it is necessary to state whether the thesis complies with the Methodological guidelines of the Faculty of Economics, University of Economics, Prague as concerns the quality of the content, the extent and formal requirements and whether the thesis is being recommended to the defense or not; the thesis can also be nominated to a special award, etc. ):
The thesis is a high-quality product of academic research. The added value can be found not only in the very practical part but also in the theoretical part. The fundamental questions which the author asks are exactly those questions which anyone who intends to examine the cryptocurrencies is supposed to ask. Despite some minor objections I have to both the content and form, the thesis is outstanding and I would recommend to nominate it into a Faculty competition of excellent theses. The thesis meets all requirements placed on theses by the Faculty of Economics and I recommend it to the oral defense before the committee.
Questions to the defense:
1. Upon reading the subsection 4.2 Intrinsic value of Bitcoin, I’m still not sure what the opinion of the author is. Does or does not the Bitcoin have an intrinsic value?
2. Could the author express herself to my objection concerning the price volatility of the Bitcoin?
3. Does the author agree with my statement about the legal claim?
4. A client’s CZK deposit in a commercial bank is a liability of the bank and a claim of the client. Whose liability is a Bitcoin in my possession? To whom do I have a legal claim? Could the author explain the nature of the Bitcoin in the language of the double-entry accounting?
Suggested grade: Excellent
Date: June 1, 2021 ...
Thesis supervisor’s signature
