The Finance, Law and Economics Working Group is glad to invite you to the webinar "Nailing Jelly to the Wall: The Challenges of Blockchain Language" with Associate Professor Angela Walch who will be presenting her paper "The Path of the Blockchain Lexicon (and the Law)".
The webinar will be held on Monday, March 26th, at 17:00 (CET). You can sign up to the event by clicking on: https://ysd.ineteconomics.org/event/5aa040a661b3d739d5b4d49e
Summary:
The terminology around blockchain technology is notoriously confusing, with disputes over whether a blockchain is the same as a distributed ledger, or whether an appcoin is the same as a protocol token. In this article, Prof. Walch examines the difficulties the rapidly shifting, contested vocabulary poses for regulators and policy makers seeking to understand, govern, and potentially use blockchain technology, and offer suggestions for how to fight through the haze of unclear language.
The paper was recently featured in a piece in The Verge (https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/7/17091766/blockchain-bitcoin-ethereum-cryptocurrency-meaning), and linked to in TIME Magazine (http://time.com/5185900/cryptocurrency-definition/).
Bio:
Angela Walch is an Associate Professor at St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas, and a Research Fellow at the Centre for Blockchain Technologies at University College London. Her research focuses on money and the law, cryptocurrencies, blockchain technologies, and financial stability. Angela's work on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies is internationally recognized, particularly in the areas of operational risk and governance, and she speaks at events around the world. She has presented her research at Harvard Law School, Stanford University, University College London, and Columbia Law School, among others. Her work on blockchain technologies has appeared the NYU Journal of Legislation & Public Policy, the Review of Banking & Financial Law, American Banker, and Forbes.com. Angela has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, TIME Magazine, Bloomberg, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and the Financial Times' FT Alphaville, along with other media outlets.
Before entering academia, Angela practiced transactional law at the firm of Ropes & Gray in Boston and in the Office of the General Counsel at Harvard University. She also practiced in London, where she worked in-house for Sainsbury's and served as general counsel for Brand Events, a consumer events company that produced premier events (Taste of London,Top Gear Live) around the world.
Angela is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.
We look forward to seeing you online!
Cecilia, Christopher and Luisa