By LSJ Team -
Blockchain lives in the cloud and has been touted as a “riskless” form of transaction. For the past three years, regulators, banks and tech companies have raised billions of dollars to explore its possible uses. It is often used with reference to smart contracts and cryptocurrencies.
According to the CSIRO, the blockchain could encourage new economic activity in areas such as financial services regulatory technology, supply chains and government registries, but running a blockchain network is also costly and consumes a lot of electricity.
So what is the potential of this software that stores and transfers data across the internet and how is it relevant to lawyers?
An expert panel convened by the Law Society tackled these questions and more as part of the third event in the FLIP Inquiry Series: Behind the Buzzwords on 24 October.
The panel, moderated by LSJ Senior Journalist Melissa Coade, considered regulatory and risk management issues for the blockchain, its decentralised application, as well as the impact of financial crime and financial investigation on the blockchain.
Legaler Co-Founder Stevie Ghiassi, Piper Alderman partner Michael Bacina, ASIC Innovation Hub senior advisor Jonathan Hatch, Director of Clayton Utz’s Forensic & Technology Services group Meg McKechnie, Software Developer of Blockchain Australia Lucas Cullen, and Research Fellow Dr Anton Didenko from UNSW Law were panellists.
