Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance

Who we are

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School was established in January 2015 to conduct cutting-edge, interdisciplinary, rigorous and independent research on the development of alternative financing instruments, channels and systems, as well as related socio-economic, regulatory and policy implications.

Our team of researchers, experts, technologists and educators share the CCAF’s mission to accelerate the creation and transfer of knowledge that pushes the boundaries of research, catalyses the sustainable development of financial innovation and informs evidence-based regulation.

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What we do

We collect empirical and high-fidelity data from both alternative finance / fintech market stakeholders as well as from regulators, policymakers and supervisors of digital financial services. We have a data-driven and digital-first approach for research. We aim to:

Identify frontier global trends in fintech.
Understand evolving business models enabled by technological innovation.
Analyse the socio-economic impact of digital financial services.

In addition to academic output and research reports, we also produce open-access public digital tools to better visualise data and disseminate knowledge, as well as deliver impact-driven capacity building and educational activities at scale.

Research

The CCAF is forging a cutting-edge, multidisciplinary and collaborative research agenda in:

The development of alternative financing instruments, channels and systems that emerge outside of the traditional financial ecosystem.
The emergence of digital assets / digital money and associated business, regulatory and climate implications.
Fintech regulation and approaches to regulatory innovation.
Supervisory technology its application in financial authorities.
The development of digital market and regulatory infrastructure for instance in open banking and open finance

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Publications

Our faculty, research associates and research affiliates publish and create a wide range of high-impact work – from peer-reviewed academic papers, high-profile industry reports, cutting-edge regulatory and supervisory studies as well as open-access and scalable digital tools. This body of work extends the boundaries of knowledge while promoting the collaboration and engagement with a community of academics, practitioners, business leaders, policymakers and regulators.

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Programmes

We provide innovative and engaging capacity building and education courses for central bankers, regulators, supervisors and policymakers as well as for corporate and institutional partners. The CCAF is currently offering executive education courses on fintech and regulatory innovation, supervisory technology, digital assets and soon open finance. To date, the CCAF executive courses have trained more than 2,000 regulators and policymakers from 315 financial authorities in over 145 countries.

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Our impact

Since our founding in 2015, we have published over 50 high-impact and high-profile fintech market and regulatory reports in collaboration with more than 5,000 fintech firms in 195 jurisdictions as well as 130 central banks and other financial regulators. The Centre has created a suite of scalable digital tools, such as the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI), accessible through our digital platform CCAF.io.

The CCAF currently is offering four world-class capacity building and training courses which have trained more than 2,000 regulators and policymakers from 315 financial authorities around the world. Our research has been cited, referenced and utilised widely by academic researchers, as well as business and regulatory communities around the world.

For selected academic, regulatory and policy impact citations:

See our impact page

News and insights from CCAF

From innovation delta to regulatory singularity: how innovative regulatory systems can help regulation keep pace with financial innovation

The global financial system is undergoing a profound transformation driven by digital innovation. Yet, the pace of regulatory innovation and the scale of digital transformation within public authorities remain uneven and comparatively insufficient. This article, by Bryan Zhang, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, examines the widening innovation gap between innovators and regulators, and outlines potential strategies to foster and accelerate system-level innovation within central banks and financial regulators across both developed and developing economies.

Transition finance: bridging the climate investment gap

Philippa Martinelli, Head of Climate & Transition Finance at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, explores the vital role of finance in tackling climate change. The article highlights the scale of the challenge, the urgency of transition finance, and the investment shifts needed to build a low-carbon, resilient global economy.

Data sharing as the way forward

In this article, Bryan Zheng Zhang (Executive Director and Co-founder of the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance) and Pavle Avramovic (Head of Market & Infrastructure Observator at the Centre), highlight how open banking and open finance are reshaping global financial services through secure data sharing. With over 95 countries adopting frameworks, the shift is delivering benefits for consumers and SMEs, while becoming a key layer of digital financial infrastructure – despite ongoing challenges around privacy, regulation and implementation.