1. BLOCKCHAIN BASICS & LEGAL ISSUES
March 17, 2018
2018 Computational Law & Blockchain Festival
Houston, Texas
Presented by Sharon Yin

2. WHAT IS A BLOCKCHAIN? 2. Ledger or Database that records information
Information is packaged into “blocks”
Blocks are linked to form a chain

3. CHARACTERISTICS OF A BLOCKCHAIN 3.
Recorded
Transparent
Distributed
Information stored is time stamped
Anyone can see the ledger (public v. private)
Ledger exists on multiple computers commonly referred to as nodes

4. BENEFITS OF A BLOCKCHAIN4.
Decentralized
Peer to Peer (P2P) Network (Ex. Bittorrent)
Nodes
Any active electronic device (Ex. Computer, Mobile Phone) with internet access
Validates new transactions based on the consensus protocol
Immutable
Once data has been written to a blockchain, it is very difficult to change

5. WHAT ARE CRYPTOCURRENCIES?5.
Cryptocurrencies are built on blockchain technology
Digital assets
Currencies such as Bitcoin and Litecoin
Tokens that perform a particular function on a blockchain or provide access to a product (Ex. Ethereum, ERC-20s)

6. BLOCKCHAIN USE CASES 6. Bitcoin Smart Contracts
Codes embedded onto a particular blockchain
The smart contract contains all the rules, conditions and relevant information
Ex. If X, then Y

7. BLOCKCHAIN USE CASES (CONT.)7.
Real Estate
Healthcare
Blockchain medical records enabling access for individuals, insurers, hospitals and healthcare providers
Property Records

8. TOKENIZATION OF ASSETS8.
Authenticate any unique physical item and pairing it with a digital token
Property Ownership
Commodities

9. LEGAL ISSUES 9. In 2017, $4 billion invested in ICOs
Offerings of new tokens or coins
Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)
SEC Enforcement Actions
Civil Class Action Lawsuits

10. LEGAL ISSUES (CONT.) 10. Cryptocurrencies
Taxes (Trading, Mining, Forks, etc.)
Fraud:
Pump and Dumps
Anti-Money Laundering Rules
Hacks & Phishing Scams
Ponzi & Pyramid Schemes with a crypto twist
Securities Law

11. QUESTIONS
11.
Questions?