Defining CryptoLaw

September 28, 2018

What is CryptoLaw?

CryptoLaw is a big deal. Here’s one way to define CryptoLaw:

CryptoLaw (n.) (aka Crypto Law; Crypto law; crypto law; cryptolaw): a cloud of legal norms, processes, institutions, and vocabularies for governing inter-crypto (Ethereum Foundation vis-a-vis OmiseGO, etc.), intra-crypto (ETC v. ETH), and all other legal relations concerning crypto instruments, institutions, and markets (public legislative/regulatory oversight of crypto; enterprise-crypto integration; intersection of private contract law with private so-called “smart contract” #CodeIsLaw; etc.)

This is just the tip of the iceberg in our conception of CryptoLaw. But it’s a good start.

CryptoLaw structures our imaginations of what’s possible in the crypto-economy. It gives us certain operational logics and vocabularies for resolving crypto-legal disputes. It defines what’s possible and impossible and the costs of blurring the line between the two.

CryptoLaw Resources

• Crypto Law Review (a peer-reviewed journal covering crypto legal theory & practice)
• CryptoLaw (a theoretical introduction)
• Crypto Law School (introduction to CryptoLawyers)
• Against “Smart Contracts” (intro to U.S. state-level crypto legislation)
• State-by-State Legality of Crypto (intro to global/comparative empirical work)

Our goal is to develop this page into a CryptoLaw bibliography. If you’d like to include your work, please drop us a response.