The importance of blockchain and cryptocurrencies continually evolving. The first book on this increasingly important topic, it is a pioneering and seminal read which aims to identify regulatory gaps and establish the first applicable legal framework.
Written by well-known experts in cyber law, this reference work covers:
· Blockchain – IP/ownership/legal consequences of use/areas of regulation
· Crypto Assets – Security of wallets/IP/Data Sovereignty
· The internet of things – Current regulation/ability of smart cities based on IOT to comply with pending legislation/regulation
· The impact of GDPR/DPB
· How Blockchain will impact on ownership of raw materials, eg energy, power and water and the legal implications
· Comparative international compliance regimes/cross border jurisdiction issues
· International cyber enforcement and certification
· Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs) – Regulation and liability
Coverage of the FCA/Bank of England/UK Treasury discussion paper for cryptocurrencies is also included and the impact these guidelines will have on possible future regulations. Case studies, flowcharts and handy checklists are also included for ease of use.
Essential reading for commercial practitioners, IT and IP practicioners, financial regulatory practitioners, corporate/white collar crime practitioners, property practitioners, in-house counsel, practitioners in private practice, particularly those who advise entrepreneurs, and corporate and individual investors.
Author(s): Dean Armstrong KC, Dan Hyde, Sam Thomas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Professional
Year: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 456
City: London
Dedications
About the authors
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
1 Introduction
The Internet of Things
Blockchain
Cryptocurrency
Smart contracts
Decentralised autonomous organisations
Global regulation
Initial coin offerings
Natural resources industry
General Data Protection Regulation
The Metaverse
2 What are blockchain and cryptocurrency?
Blockchain
Introduction
Characteristics of DLT
Cryptocurrency
Introduction
3 Regulatory and legal challenges
Regulatory challenges
Cryptoassets
Regulation of crypto-assets
Regulation of DLT
Legal challenges
Criminal
Money laundering
Data privacy/protection
Does a user’s public key constitute ‘personal data’?
Ownership of IP of information contained in the blockchain
What is the legal status of decentralised autonomous organisations?
Is the data on the blockchain ‘property’ for the purposes of the Law of Property Act 1925?
Jurisdictional issues
What is the effect of this?
Contracts
Smart contracts – what are they?
Who are the parties to a ‘smart contract’?
What are the benefits of a ‘smart contract’?
What are the ingredients for a ‘smart contract’?
Is a ‘smart contract’ sufficient to govern a contractual relationship on its own?
Where does the liability fall under a ‘smart contract’?
4 Global regulation: UK and EU Member States
Softly, softly, catchee monkey
Choice of jurisdiction
Declaration for European Blockchain Partnership
The EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum
Regulation and treatment in the UK
What are the requirements of being an authorised person?
How is currency regulated across the EU?
MiFID II controversies
Regulation in other European jurisdictions (case studies)
Estonia
France
Malta
Jersey
Tax considerations
5 Global regulation: North America
Canada
Mexico
United States
Licensing
Money transmission laws
Regulatory guidance
6 Global regulation: the rest of the world
Introduction
Divergent philosophies on cryptocurrency and blockchain regulation
China
Gibraltar
Hong Kong
India
Israel
Japan
Kazakhstan, Belarus and Estonia
Kyrgyz Republic
South Korea
Russia
Switzerland
7 Initial coin offerings
Introduction
What is an ICO?
What is the regulatory picture in the United States?
When is an ICO an investment contract? The ‘Howey Test’
ICOs and the Howey Test
Investment companies
What is the regulatory position in the UK?
How will ICOs be regulated in the UK?
Restrictions of marketing an ICO which is a CIS or an AIF
E-Money Tokens
Unregulated Tokens
Facilitating Regulated Payment Systems
The limited approach of the European Union
Current EU provisions
The Chinese case study of prohibition
8 The Internet of Things
Introduction
What is the IoT?
Security problems with the IoT
How does a director mitigate this security concern?
Who owns the data collected through the IoT?
UK regulation of the IoT
EU regulation of the IoT
How does GDPR apply to the IoT?
Will the ePrivacy Regulation apply to the IoT?
What is the Cybersecurity Certification Framework?
Why does the Network Infrastructure Security Directive (‘NISD’) not apply to the IoT?
US regulation of the IoT
Voluntary guidance in the US
So who owns the data?
9. Right to be forgotten and right to erasure
Introduction
Right to erasure
Right to be forgotten
Fundamental issues with right to erasure/right to be forgotten and their enforcement
Methods of data protection and data privacy
What are the effects on compliance if data is pseudonymised?
The right to amendment
Other DLTs and GDPR compliance
10. Environmental (Natural resources), Social, and Governance Metrics
Introduction
Regulatory reform
What is the key regulatory question?
What other regulatory issues need to be addressed?
Decentralisation
Areas of application
Non-renewables and intermediaries
Renewables and electricity
The reality
Digitisation
Information storage, transparency and real-time tracking
Distributed technology and the energy market
Obstacles for blockchain in the natural resources industry and energy sector
Blockchain as a disruptive technology
Legal issues
Current regulation
Strong and weak smart contracts
Data privacy
Public or private
Security implications for nodal location and access
Moving forward
11. Decentralised autonomous organisations: regulation and liability
Understanding decentralised autonomous organisations
The legal status and other issues around DAOs
Risks
12. The Metaverse
The Metaverse’s Regulatory Framework
Contract
Intellectual Property
Trademarks
Copyrights
Patents
Regulation of behaviour
The jurisdictional issue
Appendix 1 General Data Protection Regulation
Appendix 2 Cryptoassets Taskforce: final report (October 2018)
Appendix 3 Cryptocurrencies and blockchain – Legal context and implications for financial crime, money laundering and tax evasion (European Parliament, July 2018)
Index
