A Crash Course in Cryptocurrencies - Sam Goodman

This podcast is about cryptocurrencies, which are no longer the preserve of starry-eyed idealists and dark web ne’er-do-wells and are now very much big business. Cryptocurrency is reported to be 2020’s highest performing asset class, with the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index recording a 120% gain from the start of the year. While the prospects for its mass-market adoption remain uncertain, it is increasingly clear that Bitcoin et al are destined to play an ever more significant role in the investment portfolios and courtroom battles of the future. 

However, many aspects of cryptocurrencies pose awkward legal questions, most of which have yet to be addressed in the courts in the decade or so that they have existed. Should you have any clients who might one day put you on the spot for their answers, this podcast, which summaries what we know and what we do not yet know about cryptocurrencies from an English law perspective, may be for you. 

The podcast is presented by Sam Goodman, a barrister at Twenty Essex. Sam was one of the authors of the Legal Statement on the Status of Cryptoassets and Smart Contracts, which is arguably the most authoritative statement on the status of cryptoassets in this jurisdiction and which was described by the chancellor of the High Court as “a watershed for English law”. He was also instructed on B2C2 Ltd v Quoine Pte Ltd, which resulted in one of the very few judgments concerning cryptocurrencies following a full trial.