PhD position in Decentralized Finance and Blockchain-based Financial Market Infrastructure

The research group of Distributed Ledger Technology and Fintech (Prof. Fabian Schär) of the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Basel invites applications for a PhD position with a 60% appointment.

Research Group
The research group is dedicated to researching practical issues in the fields of Blockchain, Cryptoassets and Smart Contracts. We investigate the potential that these new technologies have and assess the extent to which they will affect financial markets, industry, and society.
Start date: October 2025 or by agreement

Your position

• Enrolment in the departmental PhD program (https://wwz.unibas.ch/de/gsbe/phd/)
• You will conduct research towards a doctoral degree and assist and participate in research, teaching and administrative tasks.
• The position is funded for 4 years with an initial contract for 1 year. At the end of the first year, an assessment based on performance and a detailed research proposal is made. In case of a positive assessment the contract is expanded to 4 years.

Your profile

• A Master's degree in Economics or related disciplines
• You have a background in finance, financial economics and/or macroeconomics and a strong knowledge of Data Science, Empirical Analysis and/or Quantitative Methods
• Technical understanding of Blockchain is required
• Some exposure to Computer Science is a plus
• You are fluent in English; knowledge of German is not a requirement but an asset

• Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
• Permissionless Blockchains
• Financial Market Infrastructure (Tokenization, Exchanges and Lending Protocols)
• Blockchain Governance
• MEV & Transaction Sequencing / Transaction Ordering
• Blockchain Scaling

We offer you

With the Center for Innovative Finance and the Chair for Distributed Ledger Technologies/Fintech, the University of Basel makes a decisive contribution to the research and application of future-oriented technologies. We offer the opportunity to conduct high-quality research in a dynamic, innovative scientific working environment. Conditions of employment and salary are governed by the personnel and salary regulations of the University of Basel.

• a letter of motivation including your research interests / your preferred research focus
• your CV including references
• your diplomas with transcript of grade from the master's degree
• a sample of academic writing (e.g., master thesis, term paper, research paper)