Exam Instructions

• Do not spend too much time on research; focus on building your own analysis.

• Be mindful of AI use: everyone has access to the same tools, so originality and critical thinking matter.

• Pay attention to your writing: make it clear, structured, and well-illustrated where needed.

• Once you have completed your exam, please send your paper in PDF format by email to jacques-andre.fs@pm.me, and come to my office to confirm that I have received it. Do not leave without completing this step. Thank you.

 

Choose either (A) the Essay or (B) the Use Case

 

(A) Essay

Are Stablecoins Fragmenting or Rebuilding the Global Monetary System?

Over the past five years, stablecoins have grown from niche tools for crypto traders into major instruments in global digital finance. From U.S. corporate stablecoins like USDC and USDT, to decentralized models like DAI or Usual.money, and ongoing CBDC projects (digital euro, e-CNY…), we are seeing a proliferation of digital currencies anchored to traditional assets.

This proliferation raises a geopolitical and financial dilemma: Are stablecoins weakening monetary cohesion and fragmenting the global financial system, or can they lay the groundwork for a more open and resilient global monetary order?

Write a structured and well-argued essay (approx. 1,200–1,400 words) in response to the question.

 OR

 

(B) Use Case

Blockchain for Green Energy Certification in the EU
Setting: A closed meeting at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy.
You are a junior advisor, recently assigned to the Blockchain Innovation Task Force.

Regulator (Dr. Helena Mayer, DG ENER):

• Thank you for joining us today. As you know, the European Green Deal includes a strong push for renewable energy — but we’re still lacking a reliable, transparent, and interoperable system to certify where green energy comes from. This creates real problems with traceability, accountability, and fraud. We’re exploring how blockchain could help. I want to hear your proposal. But let’s walk through it step by step — think of this as a technical policy pitch.

You

→ Thank you, Dr. Mayer. I believe blockchain can bring traceability, transparency, and automation to green energy certification. I’d suggest we…

 

Helena:

• Hold on. First question: would you go for a public, permissionless blockchain — or something more private and controlled?

You

→

 

Helena:

• Now, walk me through how smart contracts would fit into this system. Can they replace human validators? Or are we just adding a fancy database?

You

→

 

Helena:

• Let’s talk tokens. Would we be tokenizing the electricity itself? The certificate? A stablecoin for electricity trading?

You

→

 

Helena:

• What about identity? The last thing we need is greenwashing by anonymous wallets. How do we know a wind farm is real, or that a corporate buyer is entitled to claim a carbon reduction?

You

→

 

Helena:

• And where does the data come from? You say a solar panel produced 5kWh — but how do we know that? Can we trust the devices feeding data to the blockchain?

You

→

 

Helena:

• One more thing: governance. Who runs this system? Who decides on updates, validator access, or disputes?

You

→

 

Helena:

• Last but not least, your legal check. MiCA is coming. GDPR is here. We’re not cowboys. How do you make sure this is compliant with EU law?

You

→