My CryptoLaw Thought

For several years, I have worked to articulate a set of interlinked tools and concepts forming a kind of "cryptolaw philosophy".


The below articles, presentations and legal forms projects embody these ideas.


Blockhain Network Tokens Are Shares of Network Equity Subject to Modified Securities Regulations
-Blockchain network tokens are not primarily products, software licenses or currencies (though they may secondarily have such functions), but shares of network equity. They are subject to securities laws regulations, unless the network has become sufficiently decentralized. Sufficient decentralization occurs when the tokens no longer represent investment contracts and no single party or group of affiliated parties objectively controls the network equity or means of block production on the network

Tokens as Securities Certificates
- Tokens on public, permissionless blockchain networks function as transferable instruments ('certificates') representing traditional and decentralized securities.

Qualified Legal Deference to Smart Contracts
-Smart contracts deployed on public blockchain networks should be combined with natural-language legal contracts under a synergistic "qualified code deference" methodology. This will enable parties to agree to abide by the results of smart contracts except in unusual circumstances

Blockchain Governance
-Blockchain governance is best understood through the lens of "Szabo's Governance Trilemma". According to Nick Szabo, blockchain governance generally takes one of the following three forms:
  • ruthlessly minimized
  • lord of the flies
  • lawyers
Each horn of the trilemma has pros and cons. Ruthlessly minimized governance, sometimes described as following "Szabo's Law", is the most robust against certain forms of social capture. However, when minimized governance is not desired or possible, my position is that legalistic governance is preferable to lord-of-the-flies governance. If a network will be subject to frequent hardforks which adversely affect minorities, due process is required and legalistic governance becomes particularly important.

Podcast & Event Appearances
-I have made appearances at various events and on podcasts.
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