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Tag Archives: blockchain

Episode 261: Blockchain Takes Over the Podcast

By Alan Cohn on Posted in Blockchain

  On Episode 261, blockchain takes over the podcast again. We dive right into the recent activity from the SEC, namely, the Framework for “Investment Contract” Analysis of Digital Assets and the No-Action Letter issued to TurnKey Jet, Inc. (TurnKey) for a digital token. Gary Goldsholle noted this guidance has been eagerly anticipated since July… Continue Reading

Coming Up: Blockchain Takes Over the Podcast

By Alan Cohn on Posted in Blockchain

Next week, blockchain is taking over The Cyberlaw Podcast once again. On April 29, Steptoe partners Alan Cohn, Gary Goldsholle, and Will Turner will reconvene to discuss the latest in blockchain and cryptocurrency regulation. At the top of the list is the suite of updates coming out of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Framework… Continue Reading

An Overview of Blockchain Cybersecurity Risks and Issues

By Stewart Baker on Posted in Block Chain, Blockchain, Data Breach

Our blockchain colleagues recently published an article on the rapidly evolving landscape where blockchain intersects with data security and privacy. If you’ve ever wondered how blockchains can be considered secure even though hacks of cryptocurrency exchanges routinely make headlines, or whether distributing a permanent ledger to every participant in a network might run afoul of privacy laws… Continue Reading

Blockchain Takes Over The Cyberlaw Podcast

By Alan Cohn on Posted in Blockchain, Virtual Currency

Episode 217: Blockchain Takes Over The Cyberlaw Podcast In our 217th episode of The Cyberlaw Podcast, the blockchain and cryptocurrency team takes over the podcast again. Alan Cohn hosts another of the podcast’s periodic deep dives into all things blockchain and cryptocurrency to discuss recent regulatory developments and the current state of play of the… Continue Reading

The Cyberlaw Podcast – Interview with Michael Mainelli

By Stewart Baker on Posted in Blockchain, European Union, International, Virtual Currency

Episode 177: We’re back! In Episode 177, fresh from hiatus, we try to summarize the most interesting cyber stories to break in August. Paul Rosenzweig kicks things off with the Shunning of Kaspersky.  I argue that the most significant – though unsupported – claim about Kaspersky is Sen. Shaheen’s assertion that all of the company’s… Continue Reading

Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast – Interview with Meltem Demirors

By Alan Cohn on Posted in Blockchain, International, Virtual Currency

Episode 167: Blockchain Takes Over the Podcast Episode 167 sees blockchain take over the podcast again.  With Stewart traveling, Alan Cohn hosts another of the podcast’s periodic deep dives into all things blockchain and digital currency.  Our guest is Meltem Demirors, Director of Development at Digital Currency Group.  Podcast regular Maury Shenk joins members of… Continue Reading

Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast – Interview with Jamie Smith

By Alan Cohn on Posted in Blockchain, International, Virtual Currency

With Stewart on vacation, the blockchain takes over the podcast! In episode 121, Jason Weinstein and Alan Cohn talk all things bitcoin, blockchain, and distributed ledger technology, and interview Jamie Smith, Global Chief Communications Officer for the BitFury Group, one of the largest full-service blockchain technology companies. In the news roundup, Alan led off with… Continue Reading

Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast – Interview with Angelos Keromytis

By Stewart Baker on Posted in Cybersecurity and Cyberwar, Data Breach, International, Privacy Regulation, Security Programs & Policies, Virtual Currency

Episode 118 digs deep into DARPA’s cybersecurity research program with our guest, Angelos Keromytis, associate professor at Columbia and Program Manager for the Information Innovation Office at DARPA.  Angelos paints a rich picture of a future in which we automate attribution across networks and international boundaries and then fuse bits of attribution data as though… Continue Reading

Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast – Interview with Dmitri Alperovitch

By Stewart Baker on Posted in Blockchain, Cybersecurity and Cyberwar, Data Breach, International, Privacy Regulation, Security Programs & Policies, Virtual Currency

Ransomware is the new black.  In fact, it’s the new China.  So says our guest for episode 116, Dmitri Alperovitch, the CTO and co-founder of CrowdStrike.  Dmitri explains why ransomware is so attractive financially – and therefore likely to get much worse very fast.  He and I also explore the implications and attribution of the… Continue Reading

Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast – Interview with Robin Weisman and Peter Van Valkenburgh

By Stewart Baker on Posted in Blockchain, China, Cybersecurity and Cyberwar, International, Privacy Regulation, Security Programs & Policies, Virtual Currency

Doing our best to avoid turning this into the Applelaw podcast, episode 105 begins with Maury Shenk unpacking the new US-EU Privacy Shield details.  His take: more hassles for companies accused of noncompliance, more detailed privacy disclosures and compliance obligations for most members, and a modicum of pain for the intelligence community, but it’s still… Continue Reading

FinTech Bits: Are Bitcoin and Other Digital Currencies Securities?

By on Posted in Blockchain, Security Programs & Policies, Virtual Currency

Anyone who has tried to explain bitcoin around their kitchen table knows that it is not easy to put your finger on what exactly the technology is.  Because of their innovative nature, digital currencies don’t have obvious analogs or fit easily into existing categories.  Bitcoin is part currency, part digital payment system, and part immutable… Continue Reading

FinTech Bits: Bitcoin and Terrorist Financing

By on Posted in Blockchain, Security Programs & Policies, Virtual Currency

Following the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, polls show that Americans identify terrorism—more than any other issue—as the most important problem facing the US.  In this environment, some media outlets have predicted a pending “crackdown” on digital currencies, particularly by European governments, because of the risk that the technology could be used to fund… Continue Reading

FinTech Bits: Outlook for 2016

By Jason M. Weinstein on Posted in Blockchain, Virtual Currency

CoinDesk, a leading source for bitcoin and FinTech news, published an op-ed by Jason Weinstein and Alan Cohn on “4 Trends That Will Shape Bitcoin Regulation in 2016.”  The piece identifies emerging developments in the fast-changing world of digital currency regulation. Now that multiple federal agencies have outlined their regulatory mandates, expect increased ‘regulation by… Continue Reading

Are New York’s BitLicense Rules Good or Bad for Bitcoin?

By Jason M. Weinstein on Posted in Blockchain, Security Programs & Policies, Virtual Currency

It’s only been about a week since New York’s outgoing Superintendent of Financial Services Ben Lawsky released the long-awaited “BitLicense” rules for digital currency businesses operating in New York, but it’s not too early to try to assess the potential impact of those rules on the development of Bitcoin-related businesses and emerging financial technologies. The… Continue Reading

Why Bitcoin is Good for Law Enforcement – and Why Law Enforcement is Good for Bitcoin

By Jason M. Weinstein on Posted in Blockchain, Cybersecurity and Cyberwar, Security Programs & Policies, Uncategorized

Most people who’ve heard of “Bitcoin” know it only as a virtual currency sometimes used by criminals.  But there are entrepreneurs, engineers, venture capitalists, and bankers who are betting big on the untapped economic potential of the “blockchain” – the underlying technology that makes Bitcoin run.  In a sense, Bitcoin is just the first “app”… Continue Reading