The first issue of Ledger is finally here!
It has been quite a journey. You may recall that our “call for papers” for this inaugural issue was announced in the fall of 2015, which closed at the end of that year. Since then there has been a flurry of activity: sending out manuscripts for peer review, working with authors to improve their papers, editing, copyediting, and layout. There were also some unexpected hurdles. Being such an interdisciplinary journal (computer science, math, law, sociology, economics, finance, etc.) comes with many challenges, as each discipline has its own culture and expectations around scholarly writing and peer review. Not only that, but we also had many talented authors submit manuscripts who did not come from academia, and their notions of scholarly writing were as varied as the ideas they submitted. It took a lot of work, mostly of the trial-and-error kind, to find a set of standards for our review process that was both uniform and not alienating to any of our contributors.
We similarly anticipate a broad spectrum of expectations from you, our readers. Not everyone is familiar with what a scholarly peer-reviewed journal really is, especially in the cryptocurrency/blockchain community that is equal parts academics and practitioners (i.e., entrepreneurs, investors, hobbyists). One common misconception about peer-reviewed journal articles, in any field, is that their claims are completely true and their statements are precisely accurate. The peer review process acts as a filter to ensure that authors are neither reinventing wheels nor repeating common or obvious mistakes, and also that credit is given where it is due (we really care about properly citing your sources). However, it is an imperfect filter, and the truth and accuracy of any article (in any journal) can only really be known in hindsight, long after its publication. We hope that you keep this in mind as you flip through the virtual pages of this issue. If you can demonstrate any inaccuracies in the articles you read, we welcome you to submit a counter article for the next issue!
Now that this issue is finally out, many thanks are in order. First and foremost, thanks are owed to the many authors who spent countless hours developing their ideas and then took considerable risk in choosing to submit their work to a new and unknown journal. Second, we are deeply indebted to the nearly hundred reviewers that lent their expertise and considerable amount of time to critically read submissions and give feedback, both to us and the authors. Third, I would like to thank our all-volunteer editorial team, who worked tirelessly over the past year not only putting this issue together, but also building the foundation (i.e., design, policies, editorial standards) for a first-of-its-kind cryptocurrency journal that will serve us in many years to come. We are also very grateful for our extremely distinguished editorial board, whose guidance has been invaluable, and whose support has given us credibility in the eyes of many. The journal, which is open access (free to read) and which does not charge author fees (free to publish), would not be possible without the support of our publisher: the University Library System of the University of Pittsburgh. Finally, we are thankful for financial support from Coin Center, which helped launch the journal when it was still just a proposal.
Going forward, prospective authors can expect their work to be published much more quickly. Having overcome the above challenges, our review process is now much more streamlined. Furthermore, this issue is the only one where multiple articles are published simultaneously. For all future submissions, once an article has passed through the peer review process, been copyedited, and digitally signed by the authors, it will be published online on our website immediately. 
Before concluding, a few people deserve singling out for special thanks. We would like to especially thank our Deputy Managing Editor, Richard Ford Burley, for pushing this first issue over the finish line. Thanks are also owed to Prof. Andrew Miller, Dr. Shin’ichiro Matsuo, Prof. Charles W. Evans, Mr. Antony Zegers, and Dr. Patrick Deegan for doing the lion’s share of the editing work over the past year. Special thanks also to Vasiliy Triandafilidi, for help on some eleventh hour technical problems.
This is just the beginning. Research surrounding cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology is still very much in its infancy. We cannot wait to see what the future holds.
Yours,
Christopher E. Wilmer, Co-Managing Editor
1GaKwY1LV8m4HtA9qQnyk9vtrqkW4KY92M
Peter R. Rizun, Co-Managing Editor
1BWZe6XkGLcf6DWC3TFXiEtZmcyAoNq5BW