Digital Tokens A Legal Perspective

Tokens are units digitally represented in a distributed ledger or blockchain. The various uses of this technology have the potential to transform a wide array of economic activities, from traditional commercial transactions to sophisticated financial undertakings. This paper explores the similarities and differences of tokens with traditional legal instruments in commercial law and how tokens could offer superior solutions, provided that proper legal foundations are established for their operation, including aspects of the law of securities and consumer protection law.

A Critical Appraisal of Initial Coin Offerings: Lifting the “Digital Token’s Veil” examines the merits of regulating initial coin offerings under traditional securities regulations and provides and in-depth analysis of digital tokens as a new asset class.

This volume explores from a legal perspective, how blockchain works. Perhaps more than ever before, this new technology requires us to take a multidisciplinary approach. The contributing authors, which include distinguished academics, public officials from important national authorities, and market operators, discuss and demonstrate how this technology can be a driver of innovation and yield positive effects in our societies, legal systems and economic/financial system. In particular, they present critical analyses of the potential benefits and legal risks of distributed ledger technology, while also assessing the opportunities offered by blockchain, and possible modes of regulating it. Accordingly, the discussions chiefly focus on the law and governance of blockchain, and thus on the paradigm shift that this technology can bring about.

This book discusses the dogmatic (that what is settled) and the dynamic (that what is changing) aspects of the relationship between blockchain and the law from a critical perspective. With contributions from legal and financial experts involved in both academy and business from Europe, Africa and North and South America, the book looks at the abstract complexities and practical challenges of regulating blockchain technology and its developments, such as crypto assets and smart contracts, from the perspectives of financial, tax, civil, and international law. Moreover, the book also delves into some exciting and cutting-edge related topics such as blockchain applications for litigation, CBDC and elections. The volume offers insightful considerations that will be helpful for legal practitioners involved in the crypto and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) phenomenon. Francisco Pereira Coutinho is Associate Professor at the Nova School of Law in Lisbon, Portugal. Martinho Lucas Pires is Teaching Assistant in the Department of Law of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Lisbon, Portugal. Bernardo Correia Barradas is a Lawyer and Senior Legal Advisor in payments in Washington DC, United States.

The exponential growth of disruptive technology is changing our world. The development of cloud computing, big data, the internet of things, artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and other related autonomous systems, such as self-driving vehicles, have triggered the emergence of new products and services. These significant technological breakthroughs have opened the door to new economic models such as the sharing and platform-based economy. As a result, companies are becoming increasingly data- and algorithm-driven, coming to be more like “decentralized platforms”. New transaction or payment methods such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, based on trust-building systems using Blockchain, smart contracts, and other distributed ledger technology, also constitute an essential part of this new economic model. The sharing economy and digital platforms also include the everyday exchange of goods allowing individuals to commodify their surplus resources. Information and innovation technologies are used in order to then match these resources with existing demand in the market. Online platforms such as Airbnb, Uber, and Amazon reduce information asymmetry, increase the value of unused resources, and create new opportunities for collaboration and innovation. Moreover, the sharing economy is playing a major role in the transition from exclusive ownership of personal assets toward access-based exploitation of resources. The success of online matching platforms depends not only on the reduction of search costs but also on the trustworthiness of platform operators. From a legal perspective, the uncertainties triggered by the emergence of a new digital reality are particularly urgent. How should these tendencies be reflected in legal systems in each jurisdiction? This book collects a series of contributions by leading scholars in the newly emerging fields of sharing economy and Legal Tech. The aim of the book is to enrich legal debates on the social, economic, and political meaning of these cutting-edge technologies. The chapters presented in this edition attempt to answer some of these lingering questions from the perspective of diverse legal backgrounds.

Blockchain has become attractive to companies and governments because it promises to solve the age-old problem of mutability in transactions - that is, it makes falsification and recalculation impossible once a transaction has been committed to the technology. However, the perceived complexity of implementing Blockchain calls for an in-depth overview of its key features and functionalities, specifically in a legal context. The systematic and comprehensive approach set forth in this indispensable book, including coverage of existing relevant law in various jurisdictions and practical guidance on how to tackle legal issues raised by the use of Blockchain, ensures a one-stop-shop reference book for anyone considering Blockchain-based solutions or rendering advice with respect to them. Within a clear structure by fields of law allowing for a systematic approach, each contributor - all of them are practitioners experienced with Blockchain projects within their respective areas of expertise - elucidates the implications of Blockchain technology and related legal issues under such headings as the following: technical explanation of Blockchain technology; contract law; regulatory issues and existing regulation in a variety of jurisdictions; data protection and privacy; capital markets; information security; patents and other intellectual property considerations; and antitrust law. Keeping the legal questions and concepts sufficiently generic so that lawyers can benefit from the handbook irrespective of their jurisdiction and legal background, the authors cover such specific characteristics of Blockchain implementation as so-called smart contracts, tokenization, distributed ledger technology, digital securities, recognition of code as law, data privacy challenges and Blockchain joint ventures. Because Blockchain is a relatively new technology still in process and raises a multitude of legal questions, this well-balanced introduction - at a depth that allows non-IT experts to understand the groundwork for legal assessments - provides a solid basis for organizations and their legal advisors in identifying and resolving Blockchain-related issues. Legal practitioners, in-house lawyers, IT professionals and advisors, consultancy firms, Blockchain associations and legal scholars will welcome this highly informative and practical book.

"Written by prominent thought leaders in the global FinTech investment space, The LegalTech Book aggregates diverse expertise into a single, informative volume. Key industry developments are explained in detail, and critical insights from cutting-edge practitioners offer first-hand information and lessons learned. Coverage includes: The current status of LegalTech, why now is the time for it to boom, the drivers behind it, and how it relates to FinTech, RegTech, InsurTech and WealthTech Applications of AI, machine learning and deep learning in the practice of law; e-discovery and due diligence; AI as a legal predictor LegalTech making the law accessible to all; online courts, online dispute resolution The Uberization of the law; hiring and firing through apps Lawbots; social media meets legal advice To what extent does LegalTech make lawyers redundant? Cryptocurrencies, distributed ledger technology and the law The Internet of Things, data privacy, automated contracts Cybersecurity and data Technology vs. the law; driverless cars and liability, legal rights of robots, ownership rights over works created by technology Legislators as innovators"--

This book was translated from German into Japanese by means of artificial intelligence (machine translation). This academic paper deals with both civil (securities) law and regulatory (securities) law aspects. Thus, a summary of the property law is provided, which deals with the classification of tokens under Liechtenstein law. Furthermore, dematerialized securities, which have been known to the Liechtenstein legal system for almost 100 years, will be discussed. The civil and corporate law focus is on Liechtenstein, while the Swiss corporate law and the general civil law of Austrian law are also taken into account. The supervisory part of the work is clearly in the focus of Union law, but also takes into account national specialties of Liechtenstein, Austria and Germany in addition to European legal acts. Thus, tokens and token-based business models are also examined in the light of European legal acts such as MiFIR, MiFID II, CRR, CRD IV, CSDR, EMIR, AIFMD, UCITSD, E-Money Directive II, PSD II, MAD/MAR, Prospectus Regulation, 5th AML Directive and other regulations, directives, as well as implementing regulations and delegated regulations. A special focus is placed on crypto exchanges and decentralized trading places (DEX). In addition, a focus will be placed on consumer law in terms of tokens and distance selling contracts, taking into account the Consumer Rights Directives. In this context, tokens as data or software and thus as digital content and consequently merchandise are also dealt with in more detail and the parallels to tokens as tokens with intrinsic value or virtual currencies in contrast to fiat money are shown. Furthermore, the author aims at explaining deposit business, e-money transactions and financial instruments as communicating vessels in contrast to virtual currencies. Although this is primarily a legal work, technical aspects of Distributed Ledger Technologies, such as the blockchain, smart contracts, agoric computing, self-sovereign identity, etc. - as far as this is necessary for the legal assessment - are also explained in more detail. The present discussion is to be understood as scientific work with practical relevance for advice in connection with blockchain based business models.