Law of Code

This episode outlines Pre-DAO and Post-DAO Legal Risk Assessment, an article written by Kevin Chen (@anothrkevinchen) in collaboration with the DAO Research Collective (@DAOResearchCo). Kevin is an attorney at Homiak Law LLC based in Denver, Colorado. He advises cryptoasset and blockchain technology companies on a wide variety of matters such as formation of new startup companies, venture financings, and securities law compliance. You can find the full article on the Law of Code substack, here. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review. You can subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on the latest episodes. 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.

The 'Can’t Be Evil' licenses are a set of six NFT licenses developed by lawyers and operators in web 3 - each license grants “different sets of rights with different degrees of permissiveness”. The licenses have been deployed on Arweave (a decentralized storage, similar to IPFS) and can be directly linked on-chain by smart contracts. The licenses are available on the a16z website (document containing the six licenses) or a16z's repository on Github. Miles Jennings and Chris Dixon published an introduction with background on the licenses that is also available on the a16z website. Miles Jennings (@milesjennings) is general counsel and head of decentralization at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) crypto, where he advises the firm's portfolio companies and DAOs on decentralization and protocol design, oversees the firm's investments, and works on regulatory and policy matters. You can find Miles' conversation with Laura Shin here. Mark Radcliffe (@markfradcliffe) is senior partner at DLA Piper, where he assists companies in strategic intellectual property advice and venture financing. Mark has worked in Silicon Valley for 30+ years and has significant experience in applying the law to the issues raised by new technologies, such as open source software, blockchain, and domain names. In 1994, he assisted Network Solutions, Inc. in developing the first domain dispute resolution system - which is still the basis for the system in use today. The link to the recording of Mark's NFT webinar is here: Non-Fungible Tokens: Technology and Legal Overview | Events | DLA Piper Global Law Firm.  Ghaith Mahmood (@GhaithMahmoodLW) is a partner in the Los Angeles office of the law firm Latham & Watkins LLP, and a leader in the firm’s Digital Assets and Web3 practice group, and also of the firm’s Video Games and Esports group. Ghaith advises clients on all aspects of intellectual property and technology transactions, from developing, licensing, and commercializing IP assets, to advising on the IP aspects of strategic transactions.  In the blockchain space, he has particular expertise advising NFT projects of all shapes and sizes, from some of the biggest NFT platforms and marketplaces in the world, to individual NFT projects trying to figure out what rights and utility to grant to their NFT holders. Show highlights: [3:00] Why draft these licenses? [13:30] What projects should use these licenses [16:00] How NFT projects can incorporate the licenses [21:00] Lawful ownership [26:00] Terminating sublicenses [34:00] Notice [39:00] Hard forks [45:40] Fractionalizing & 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. 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.

Amber D. Scott (@OutlierCanada) specializes in Canadian anti-money laundering (AML), counter terrorist financing (CTF), privacy, and regulatory compliance. In addition to being a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) Amber is also a Certified Privacy Professional (CIPP). In 2013, she founded Outlier Solutions Inc. to provide anti-money laundering (AML) solutions to Canadian reporting entities. Show highlights: [1:55] Apple gift card story [6:50] Why work in AML and compliance [14:20] When projects should bring on compliance specialists [21:00] What is money laundering [22:10] Ozark [24:00] 3-5% of GDP is associated with money-laundering [35:00] Crypto & money laundering [42:40] History of money laundering [102:00] Project Participate & 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. 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.

Nabil Manji is the Senior VP, Head of Crypto & Emerging Business at Worldpay from FIS Global. Worldpay is the world’s largest payment processing company (and largest company you've never heard of). The company provides payment and technology services to merchants and financial institutions and processes approximately $2 trillion in volume annually.  In June 2019, Worldpay was acquired for $43 billion and merged into Fidelity National Information Services (FIS).  Nabil also represents Worldpay from FIS on the Governing Council of Hedera, Klaytn, and is a Partner/Advisor at Covalence Capital. Show highlights: [2:00] Genesis block [6:30] Conducting business internationally [9:40] What is Worldpay?  [10:30] Traditional payment processing [15:00] Worldpay & crypto companies [26:00] Speed of innovation in crypto [39:50] Working with legal & compliance & 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. 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.

Olta Andoni (@AndoniOlta) is the Deputy General Counsel at Ava Labs, a company that helps launch decentralized finance applications on Avalanche. She was previously the Chief Legal Officer at Nifty’s, has lectured for Chicago-Kent, College of Law, and is a writer for Coindesk.  In this conversation, Olta and I discussion the new CryptoPunks license, the Yuga Labs v. Ryder Ripps case, and the importance of NFT IP licenses. Show hightlights: [7:00] CryptoPunks license [17:00] Commercial rights & $100K limits [24:00] Choosing which IP license to grant [28:00] Ryder Ripps case [36:00] Owl explains & 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. 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.

Larry Florio (@LarryFlorio) is General Counsel at Delphia Technologies Inc., one of the most innovative data-drive investment DAO projects in the world. Larry previously held senior counsel roles with several prominent blockchain-focused software developers. In this conversation, we cover business goals vs legal goals, the 80/20 principal, and how crypto law is developing. Show highlights: [1:20] Genesis block [4:00] TradFi [8:30] Privacy [11:00] Business mindset in a legal role [20:00] Get comfortable being uncomfortable [26:00] Delphia [36:00] How Larry starts each day [41:00] Life online [48:00] @thing3_xyz [54:00] Habits & advice & 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. 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.

Miller Whitehouse-Levine (@millercwl) is the Policy Director at the DeFi Education Fund (@fund_defi). With oversight from the DeFi Education Fund’s grants committee, Miller has overall strategic and operational responsibility for the execution of the Education Fund’s mission and goals. Prior to joining the fund, Miller led the Blockchain Association’s policy operation and worked at Goldstein Policy Solutions on a range of public policy issues, including crypto.  In this conversation, we cover all aspects of the Tornado Cash saga, how the DeFi Education Fund works, and outline the interplay between the various government and international agencies governing crypto. Show highlights: [1:30] Genesis block [5:20] Lobbying and policy-making [14:30] DeFi 101 [24:00] DeFi Education Fund [28:00] Tornado Cash sanctions [43:15] Freedom of Information Act Request [52:30] Privacy & the surveillance state & 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. 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.

Patrick Hansen (@paddi_hansen) serves as crypto venture advisor at Presight Capital, a global venture fund with +$600m AUM and 50+ startups in its portfolio. Patrick previously  worked as head of strategy & business development at crypto-wallet startup Unstoppable Finance and head of blockchain at Bitkom, Europe’s largest tech association, where he led crypto-related regulatory work, research, and partnerships. This conversation covers all things crypto regulation (EU, travel rule, stablecoins etc.) and what Patrick expects the landscape to look like in the future. We’ll also touch on best practices he’s seen in his research and what makes the EU a global leader in crypto regulation. Show highlights: [2:22] Genesis block [5:10] Building a presence on Twitter [10:00] MiCA & TFR in the EU [23:30] Principles of EU regulation & blockchain [28:04] Digital Euro [37:00] EU Stablecoins [43:50] Global coordination on regulation & much more. Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review. You can subscribe to the newsletter to stay updated on the latest episodes. 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.

Marc Boiron (@boironattorney) is the Chief Legal Officer of the Polygon companies and a strategic advisor at Variant Fund, an early-stage fund investing in web3. He’s also a board member of the DeFi Education Fund. Marc recently published an excellent article, titled “Sufficient Decentralization: A playbook for Web3 builders and lawyers.”  In this episode, we dive deep into Marc's article to highlight how builders and lawyers should think about sufficient decentralization. We also touch on Marc’s journey and his thoughts on the current state of crypto regulation. Show highlights: [2:03] Marc's introduction to Bitcoin [9:27] Why decentralization is important [17:08] Best practices in decentralization [24:00] The critical point in Marc's paper [37:40] Airdrops & the Howey Test [42:00] Mutation doctrine [53:00] Tools for DAO communities & much more. Resources: Sufficient Decentralization: A Playbook for web3 Builders and Lawyers Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review. You can subscribe to the newsletter to stay updated on the latest episodes. 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.

Yitzy Hammer and Samuel Goldfaden are co-founders of DLT Law and two crypto-focused lawyers based in Israel. Yitzy has been working with tech companies for the past 6 years on M&A, IP, privacy (CIPP/E certified), and corporate and commercial law-related legal issues. Samuel specializes in AML compliance and financial regulation.  Both Yitzy and Samuel worked for many years at Herzog, Fox & Neeman, Israel's largest law firm, including through the 2017 ICO craze. Recognizing a need for tailored services in the web3 space, they launched DLT Law, a unique practice where they work exclusively with crypto and blockchain-related products and services - NFT creators, DAOs, exchanges, and funds. In addition, they provide strategic consulting to web3 projects, drawing on their experience in the industry. Show highlights: [2:00] Genesis block [8:50] Choosing to start a crypto-law firm [10:50] Learnings from NFT NYC [15:15] Should securities laws apply to NFTs [19:20] The NFTs of the future [22:40] Revisiting Yuga Labs vs Ryder Ripps & 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. 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.