Property Law and the Blockchain
Patrick Murck "Property Law and the Blockchain"
In this talk Patrick Murck Co-founder of the Bitcoin Foundation talks about Blockchain and some of the complicated property law issues that it poses at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.
Confusion abounds about Bitcoin, and the market technology that helps keep the alternative currency market transparent and stable: Blockchain. Compounding this confusion is the reliance on insufficient analogies used to describe aspects of these systems like wallets, coins, and miners. These abstractions gloss over important nuances in how the bitcoin system actually works, and creates a hazard for regulators, policymakers and academics who use these analogies to shape law and policy decisions.
About Patrick
Patrick is a lawyer and expert on bitcoin and blockchain-based technologies. He will conduct research into the law and policy implications of bitcoin, distributed ledgers and smart contracts.
Previously Patrick was a co-founder of the Bitcoin Foundation where he served at times as General Counsel and Executive Director. Patrick has engaged regulators and policymakers in the US and Europe on bitcoin and the emerging digital economy. He was named among America’s 50 Outstanding General Counsel for 2014 by the National Law Journal.
Patrick also serves as President Board member for the BitGive Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on charitable giving and social impact using bitcoin.