Law of Code

Rodrigo Seira (@RSSH273) is Crypto Counsel at Paradigm. Prior to joining Paradigm, he was outside counsel to crypto investors and entrepreneurs at Cooley LLP. Prior to that, Rodrigo was a founding member of DLX Law, a blockchain and crypto focused boutique. Rodrigo earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science from Middlebury College. Rodrigo authored a matrix comparing legal entities available for DAOs across a range of criteria, including formation requirements and considerations about liability of members, securities laws and tax. It’s available on a public Notion page. He also co-authored a paper on Legal Wrappers and DAOs. Show highlights: [1:30] Genesis block [4:30] Crypto use cases [6:30] Paradigm [9:00] Ooki DAO [15:00] DAO member liability [25:00] Offshore wrappers [31:00] Matrix [33:00] CC0 and NFTs & 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.

Jason Schwartz (@CryptoTaxGuyETH) is a tax partner and co-heads Fried Frank's Digital Assets and Blockchain Practice. He specializes in tax issues relating to financial products, securitizations, funds, treaties, lending, and digital assets. Jason has been recognized as an "Up and Coming" lawyer in Tax by Chambers USA and as a "Next Generation Partner" by Legal 500 US in Tax: Financial Products each year from 2017 to 2022. Jason wrote Reading the Tea Leaves - What Enforcement Actions Mean for the U.S. Taxation of Crypto, which we also discuss. Show highlights: [2:04] Genesis Block [10:00] 501 Foundry [13:00] Foundations & Taxes [16:00] Tokens & Charities [27:00] DAOs [36:00] Jarrett Case & 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.

A panel of judges heard oral arguments in the Grayscale Investments suit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 7.  This podcast dives into the history of GBTC, the SEC's reasoning for rejecting the spot-bitcoin ETF, Grayscale's argument against the SEC and an overview of what we heard during the oral arguments on March 7. We also cover what thought leaders in the industry expect the outcome to be, and why this application is so important to Grayscale. Sources: The United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit / YouTube Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Order Disapproving a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 1, to List and Trade Shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E (Commodity-Based Trust Shares) / SEC GBTC discount narrows following arguments in Grayscale-SEC lawsuit / Yahoo Grayscale Appears To Win Opening Salvo in Bitcoin ETF Case vs SEC / Blockworks Judges Express Skepticism of SEC Arguments in Grayscale Bitcoin ETF Hearing / CoinDesk @JSeyff @NYCStein @xethalis 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.

Nelson Rosario (@NelsonMRosario) is an attorney in Chicago, IL, USA, and the founder of Rosario Tech Law whose interests comprise law, innovation, cryptocurrencies and related blockchain based technologies. Nelson teaches a law school class “Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and the Law,” at Chicago-Kent College of Law, and has been a visiting professor at IE Law School based in Madrid, Spain. Show highlights: [2:00] Crypto and zk proofs [13:00] DAOs [18:00] Liability [31:00] Politics & more. Around the Blockchain's weekly newsletter is my go-to source to stay updated on crypto law - you can subscribe here. 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.

Justin Daniels is a cybersecurity SME and M&A attorney at Baker Donelson, where he advises corporate clients on the deployment and scaling of technology that ranges from SaaS, Fintech and data centers to autonomous vehicles, drones and cryptocurrency. Justin has co-authored a book (Data Reimagined: Building Trust One Byte at a Time) designed to show businesses how to leverage privacy and security practices to transform their relationships with customers and earn their trust. In this episode, we discuss cybersecurity and crypto, with a deep dive into the Axie Infinity hack. Show highlights: [5:00] Hosting servers and security [19:00] Cybersecurity and digital assets [22:00] Axie Infinity Hack [34:00] Digital trust & 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.

Three of the brightest minds in crypto law discuss LexPunK highlights from 2022, touch on disclosures regimes, sufficient decentralization, compare crypto native remedies to the current legal system, and much more.   Gabriel Shapiro (@lex_node) is General Counsel at Delphi Labs. Sarah Brennan (@SH_Brennan) is General Counsel for both Delphi Research and Delphi Ventures. Marc Goldich (@marcgoldich) is General Counsel of Proximity Labs.  Show highlights:  [2:00] LexPunK highlights from 2022  [10:00] DAO Defense Manual  [14:00] Reg ATS  [20:00] Disclosure in crypto  [31:00] Social slashing and crypto native remedies  [54:00] Decentralization, legally  [58:00] What the group is keeping an eye on in 2023  & much more.  If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review.  Around the Blockchain's weekly newsletter is my go-to source to stay updated on crypto law - you can subscribe here.  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.

Michael Selig (@MikeSeligEsq) is counsel in the Asset Management Department of the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher and part of the firm’s crypto practice. Michael’s practice centers on the application of financial regulation to crypto and web3 technology networks and products, including blockchains and crypto assets. Michael previously worked at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the office of former Chair Chris Giancarlo, also known as “CryptoDad,” who he now works with again in private practice at Willkie. In this conversation, Michael shares his experience at the CFTC and provides best practices for dealing with regulators. We also discuss his CoinDesk article What If Regulators Wrote Rules for Crypto?, LBRY, Telegram and the application of securities laws to crypto. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review. You can subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on the latest episodes. Around the Blockchain's weekly newsletter is my go-to source to stay updated on crypto law - you can subscribe here. 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.

Marco Ciarlariello is a member of the Business Law Group and serves as the Chair of the Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Group at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP. Marco is a commercial lawyer with a practice that focuses on intellectual property, information technology and data privacy in the digital asset space. Marco works extensively with a range of clients in the digital asset space, including service providers, NFT issuers, designers and developers. Marco also frequently works with clients in the creative, sports and entertainment industries. This conversation provides a list of IP considerations for NFT projects. Show highlights: [2:04] Copyright law [5:20] When NFT projects should approach a lawyer re: IP [9:30] Copyright ownership [13:20] Transferring copyright [18:40] Moral rights [29:20] Legal considerations for NFT projects [46:00] NFT licenses & much more. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review. You can subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on the latest episodes. Around the Blockchain's weekly newsletter is my go-to source to stay updated on crypto law - you can find this incredible resource here. 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.

Jason Gottlieb (@ohaiom) is a Partner at Morrison Cohen LLP, where he chairs the Digital Assets group and the White Collar and Regulatory Enforcement practice group. Jason is the principal author of the MoCo Cryptocurrency Litigation Tracker and was named to the National Law Journal‘s inaugural list of Cryptocurrency, Blockchain and Fintech Trailblazers.  Show highlights: [1:50] Refco [6:40] Why crypto [19:00] DAO member liability [26:00] Legal wrappers & much more. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review. You can subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on the latest episodes. Around the Blockchain's weekly newsletter is my go-to source to stay updated on crypto law - you can find this incredible resource here. 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.

Greg Xethalis (@xethalis) is General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Multicoin Capital. He is on the board at the Association for Digital Asset Markets & Fordham Law Alumni Association. Greg also is a senior lecturing fellow at Duke Law, where he co-taught Blockchain and FinTech Law and Policy.  This episode offers a deep dive into the GBTC, Bitcoin-backed ETPs and the Investment Act of 1940. Show highlights: [1:45] Genesis block [9:25] Bitcoin ETP [14:20] GBTC [17:00] Shadow ETP [26:00] Algorithmic stablecoins & much more. -- If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review. You can subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on the latest episodes. Around the Blockchain's weekly newsletter is my go-to source to stay updated on crypto law - you can find this incredible resource here. 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.