In the article “Blockchain & Law in 2017,” the authors Greg McMullen, a lawyer and the Founder & Executive Director of the Interplanetary Database Foundation and Florian Glatz, a blockchain lawyer, developer and researcher, provide their predictions for the intersection of blockchain and law in 2017. Law tends to lag behind new technologies and blockchain is not an exception. Here are some of their predictions.
- Blockchain tokens, crypto equity, and ICOs (Initial Coin Offering): Expect a helping hand from regulators, and a heavy hand for prosecutors. With early-stage startups looking at crypto capital as a funding source, regulators will need to establish regulatory frameworks and laws.
- Digital signatures and blockchain evidence: Expect streamlined rules of evidence and blockchain-friendly rules for binding e-signatures. Vermont and Delaware are leading the way with blockchain technology for admissibility of blockchain records and the use of blockchains for corporate recordkeeping.
- Data protection and privacy law: Expect regulators and blockchain companies to struggle over data storage, encryption standards, and the “right to erasure.” Personal information written to a blockchain raises two issues:
- Public blockchains are public
- Data written to blockchains is immutable
Read “Blockchain Roundup – A guide to ILTA & Non-ILTA Blockchain Content” to see more blockchain related content.