New blockchain law journal publishes the first issue of its first volume

On November 9, the Global Blockchain Business Council released the first issue of the first volume of the International Journal of Blockchain Law.

Editor-in-chief Matthias Artzt described the publication as “written by lawyers for lawyers and professionals dealing with blockchain technology.”

Stephen Palley, a partner at Anderson Kill, said in a statement: “As regulatory response evolves globally, IJBL will be here to chronicle and analyze new developments and legal strategies to help innovative companies navigate the space.”

Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw of the Securities and Exchange Commission authored the opening article, which is a consideration of DeFi role in the crypto and regulatory ecosystem — featuring the classic lawyerly compare-and-contrast phrase “risks and opportunities.”

Crenshaw took issue with a number of the most common claims of DeFi’s supporters, particularly its ability to democratize finance despite being heavily led by venture capital rather than retail investment. She concluded: “I can’t promise an easy or quick process, unfortunately, but I can assure you of good faith consideration and a true desire to help promote responsible innovation.”

Several of the journal’s other articles focused on the developing role of the SEC in crypto markets, an issue that is central to the industry’s future. Other topics included whether decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAOs, could be legal entities, and the role of non-fungible tokens in celebrities. 

The journal joins a slowly-growing body of professional or academic publications focusing on cryptocurrency-related issues.