Blockchain technologies—decentralized databases utilizing public-private key cryptography and consensus mechanisms that would not normally be of interest beyond protocol engineering circles—have captured the imagination and attention of entrepreneurs, investors, multinational enterprises, and governments because of their transformative potential. Visions of “banking the unbanked,” enhancing democracy, and enabling new forms of global collective action. Fears of fueling illicit activity such as terrorist financing and money laundering. In these early days of this embryonic technology, much of this potential remains theoretical, most of the use cases experimental, and the application of existing legal and regulatory frameworks largely unsettled.

This course explores the theoretical potential and practical limitations of blockchain technologies and the evolving legal and regulatory responses to early applications to distill the most legally-salient attributes of blockchain technologies for evaluating their opportunities and risks in various practice settings.

The course covers the following:

• Blockchain and smart contracts basics
• Securities
• IP
• Money regulations
• Governance

Join and learn more about Blockchain Law.