Law of Code

Latest Episodes:

#100 - Why Crypto? Jun 21, 2023

Show notes

This podcast answers the "why" behind the blockchain space. It is a compilation of answers given from previous guests of Law of Code who explain why they believe in this technology, why they work in this space and what gets them excited about the future.

This podcast was largely inspired by Polygon's Value Prop, a crowd-sourced and entirely open database, created to showcase the diverse and unique use cases for blockchain technology – across all networks – which are making an impact throughout the world. The Value Prop highlights 39 separate use cases for blockchain technology, with a total of 304 applications.

100 episodes, thank you.

#99 - Overview of Crypto Regulation in USA and Canada with DLx Law and McCarthy Tetrault Jun 16, 2023

Show notes

In this episode of Law of Code, partners at McCarthy Tetrault's Fintech practice Ana Badour and Lori Stein, along with DLx Law's Lewis Cohen, Angela Angelovska-Wilson and Greg Strong discuss the differences in crypto regulation between Canada and the US, from securities rules to banking and AML policies.

Show highlights:

[3:00] Binance and Coinbase SEC charges

[11:00] Digital assets and investment contracts

[21:00] Differences in the Canadian approach to secondary sales

[32:00] Banking and AML history, rules and outlook

[48:00] Access to banking in US and Canada

[50:00] Q&A

& much more.

Disclaimer: Jacob Robinson and his guests are not your lawyer. Nothing herein or mentioned on the Law of Code podcast should be construed as legal advice. The material published is intended for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. Please seek the advice of counsel, and do not apply any of the generalized material to your individual facts or circumstances without speaking to an attorney.

#98 - Understanding the Coinbase and Binance SEC charges with Collins Belton Jun 12, 2023

Show notes

Collins Belton (@collins_belton) is the founder and Managing Partner of Brookwood P.C., a boutique transactional practice focused on serving founders, startups and emerging technology companies working on frontier technology, particularly in the digital asset space. Collins was previously Counsel at Atrium and an Associate at Wilson Sonsini.

Show highlights:

[1:40] Binance charges from SEC

[10:45] Is BUSD a security?

[23:00] Binance complaint alleging tokens are securities

[30:00] Binance asset freeze

[36:45] Coinbase charges from SEC

[44:00] Coinbase's S1 registration & staking

[48:40] Agency overreach

[56:00] Show cause orders in multiple states

[60:00] What the future holds

#97 - Grayscale's Craig Salm on a Bitcoin ETF & the SEC May 23, 2023

Show notes

Craig Salm (@CraigSalm) is the Chief Legal Officer at Grayscale Investments, the world's largest digital currency asset manager, where he oversees the daily legal and regulatory operations of the business and its products. Prior to joining Grayscale, Craig was a corporate associate at Paul Weiss.

This episode builds on a previous episode covering everything you need to know about the Grayscale lawsuit against the SEC.

Show highlights:

[2:00] Genesis block

[13:00] Learnings from Paul Weiss

[17:00] Grayscale ETF Case

[24:00] What if Grayscale wins?

[33:00] Fraud and surveillance ETF mechanisms

& much more.

#96 - Investment Contracts & Crypto: Takeaways from 300+ Cases with DLx Law's Freeman Lewin May 17, 2023

Show notes

Freeman Lewin (@Freeman_Lewin) is an Attorney at DLx Law, where he advises clients in all matters related to blockchain, smart contracts, and tokenization. In late 2022, the DLx Law team published a comprehensive analysis of every "investment contract" decision by U.S. appellate courts since 1946: The Ineluctable Modality of Securities Law: Why Fungible Crypto Assets are Not Securities. Their publication has since been cited in Coinbase's response to the an SEC Wells Notice, the Dissent of Commissioner Hester M. Peirce and other important matters.

This conversation offers a masterclass on investment contracts - what they are, why they matter and how they relate to digital assets.

Show highlights:

[2:08] Consequences of being deemed an investment contract

[8:49] The investment contract vs the object of the investment

[16:02] The Howey case

[21:59] Core traits of an investment contract

[24:46] Changes to the Howey test since 1946

[31:20] Biggest myths and misunderstandings surrounding investment contracts

[34:10] Future of crypto & investment contracts

& much more.

#95 - Caitlin Long on Custodia Bank, Crypto & the Federal Reserve May 04, 2023

Show notes

Caitlin Long (@CaitlinLong_) is a 22-year Wall Street veteran active in bitcoin since 2012, and whose passion is a fair and stable financial system. She is also the founder and CEO of Custodia Bank, a chartered US bank specializing in digital assets.

Show highlights:

[1:40] Operation Chokepoint 2.0?

[4:40] Importance of Access to the Federal Reserve System

[9:25] Origins of Operation Chokepoint

[17:20] Custodia Bank

[24:00] Checks & Balances

[29:23] What's Next for Custodia Bank

[31:00] Habits & Advice

& much more.

#94 - The Blockchain Association on Crypto De-Banking Apr 25, 2023

Show notes

This conversation with two prominent members of the Blockchain Association covers de-banking in crypto, hostility from regulators and the state of crypto in America.

Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) is the Chief Policy Officer at Blockchain Association, the largest advocacy group for the crypto industry in Washington DC. Jake is also one of Variant Fund’s strategic advisors and a board member at the DeFi Education Fund.

Marisa Tashman Coppel (@mtcoppel) is Policy Counsel at the Blockchain Association where she helps develop and advocate for policy positions on behalf of the crypto industry as well as manages long-term legal projects and strategic litigation.

Show highlights:

[2:00] De-banking and Freedom of Information Act request

[8:20] Operation Chokepoint 1.0

[13:50] Banking crypto

[21:00] What's next for the Blockchain Association

[29:00] Hostility from regulators

& much more.

#93 - Canadian Crypto Consolidation with Coinsquare's Eric Richmond Apr 17, 2023

Show notes

Eric Richmond (@ericrichy) is the Chief Operating Officer at Coinsquare and a Co-Founder and Director at Tetra Trust Company. In this episode, we discuss consolidation in the Canadian crypto space (Coinsquare, WonderFi and CoinSmart), Coinsquare's IIROC Membership, Tetra Trust custody solution & much more.

[1:33] Consolidating three crypto asset exchanges

[9:30] IIROC membership

[18:00] Tetra Trust & cold storage

[27:00] Bear markets

[30:00] Bailment

& much more.

#92 - Explaining the 2022 UCC Amendments, with Professor Carla Reyes Apr 13, 2023

Show notes

Carla L. Reyes (@Prof_CarlaReyes) is an Assistant Professor of Law at SMU Dedman School of Law. Professor Reyes is a nationally recognized leader on issues raised by the intersection of business law and technology. Professor Reyes was appointed the Chair of the Texas Work Group on Blockchain Matters in September 2021. The work group is charged with considering policy priorities related to blockchain technology in Texas.

Professor Reyes was also named an American Bar Foundation Fellow in June 2021 and named one of the Women of Legal Tech 2020, an honor bestowed by the American Bar Association Legal Technology Resource Center. Professor Reyes currently serves as the Research Director for the Uniform Law Commission’s Technology Committee, an Associate Research Director of the Permanent Editorial Board of the Uniform Commercial Code, an Expert Member of the UNIDROIT Work Group on Private Law and Digital Assets, and an Expert Member of the UNIDROIT Work Group on Best Practices for Effective Enforcement. Professor Reyes also contributed to the Uniform Law Commission and American Law Institute 2022 Amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code.

Show topics:

2022 UCC Amendments

Emerging Technology's Unfamiliarity with Commercial Law

Moving Beyond Bitcoin to an Endogenous Theory of Decentralized Technology Regulation: An Initial Proposal

Distributed Governance

If Rockefeller Were a Coder

& much more.

#91 - Liquid Staking Tokens as Non-Securities with POSA Apr 10, 2023

Show notes

The Proof of Stake Alliance (POSA) is an action-oriented, nonprofit industry alliance advocating for forward-thinking public policies that foster innovation in rapidly growing, sustainable, multi-billion dollar proof-of-stake ecosystems. POSA brings together industry leaders and legal experts to fight for fair regulation that allows the industry to flourish. Guests include:

Alison Mangiero (@AMangiero) is the Executive Director of the Proof of Stake Alliance.

Alexander Grieve (@AlexanderGrieve) is Vice President in Tiger Hill Partners’ government relations practice.

Justin Browder (@jlb410) is a partner in Willkie's Asset Management Department and Co-Chair of the Willkie Digital Works practice.

Michael Selig (@MikeSeligEsq) is counsel in the Asset Management Department and a member of the Willkie Digital Works practice.

The Proof of Stake Alliance recently published legal/regulatory white papers on liquid staking. Liquid staking is a technological solution that provides liquidity and increased capital efficiency for participants in proof of stake blockchain networks; users who stake their cryptoassets receive transferable Receipt Tokens that evidence ownership of (i) the staked cryptoassets, and (ii) Network Rewards that accrue in respect of such staked cryptoasset.

The papers represent the first public legal research and analysis of liquid staking tokens under U.S. federal securities, commodities, and tax law, with the aim to resolve key legal questions around the regulation & taxation of liquid staking in the U.S.

Papers:

U.S. Federal Securities and Commodity Law Analysis of Liquid Staking Receipt Tokens

U.S. Federal Income Tax Analysis of Liquid Staking