Ledger, the first ever peer-reviewed academic journal devoted to cryptocurrencies such as a bitcoin, launched today.

Arising from a partnership between the University of Pittsburgh, MIT Media Lab and partly funded by Coin Center, Ledger Journal will attempt to lead the research being done in the cryptocurrency field.

Dr Peter R. Rizun, co-managing editor at Ledger, told CoinDesk he wants to create a mechanism for efficient peer review within the bitcoin community, adding:

Currently, the contribution is mostly made by core developers.

"I believe bitcoin would benefit from greater diversity at the leadership level," he added.

Richard Ford Burley, editor at Ledger, shared the journal's objectives:

He continued: "While there are spaces online to discuss new and ongoing issues in cryptocurrencies, they can sometimes lack the openness and accountability of an open system of peer review."

However, Ledger is not just about bitcoin, said Ford Burley, adding that the editorial team is actively interested in receiving submissions relating to cryptocurrencies, shared distributed ledgers, cryptographic proof-of-works systems and distributed consensus.

The group – which features academics from prestigious universities such as Oxford, Stanford, Cornell, MIT and Duke – intends to publish the first issue at the end of the first quarter of 2016 via the University of Pittsburgh's Library System.

Ledger will timestamp all published articles on bitcoin's blockchain and urges authors to consider digitally signing their manuscripts.

The call for research submissions opened today and will close on 31st December 2015.

Research image via Shutterstock.