Emergence of Blockchain: New Applications, Issues and Best Practices for Corporate Counsel

Description

The word “Blockchain” is difficult to define. At its core, a blockchain is a type of encrypted database that allows assets, transactions, or information to be authenticated. A blockchain can be decentralized, like Bitcoin’s blockchain, so that the transactions are verified without the need of a third part, but it does not have to be. The technology is often associated with cryptocurrencies, but a cryptocurrency is not always necessary, or advisable, to implement a blockchain.

The innovative potential of widespread adoption of blockchain technology (as well as non-blockchain innovations that are sometimes mislabeled as “blockchain”) is profound. For example, these technologies can enable computable and self-executing “smart contracts,” which can significantly reduce transaction time and costs, enable autonomous machine-to-machine transactions, and fundamentally alter our understanding how countless industries will interact with their clients. Modern corporate counsel must understand this rapidly changing technology, as well as the unique benefits and liabilities that these and other similar innovations can pose.

The panel will guide corporate counsel on the technology and uses of blockchain and other often lumped-together technologies. The panel will discuss the legal and regulatory hurdles companies may encounter in moving transactions and information onto a blockchain, or in deciding whether to participate in a “token generation event” or “initial coin offering.”