Episode #14 - Aaron Wright on Blockchains and the Law

In this episode I interview programmer and lawyer Aaron Wright. Aaron is an expert in corporate and intellectual property law, with extensive experience in Internet and new technology issues. He is a professor at Cardozo Law School and the Director of the School's Tech Startup Clinic. I speak to Aaron about the issues arising from his forthcoming book about blockchain technology and the law (co-authored with Primavera De Filippi) that will be published by Harvard University Press.

You can download the episode here. You can listen below. You can also subscribe on Stitcher and iTunes via RSS.


Show Notes0:00 – 1:58 - Introduction1:58 – 8:08 – what is a block chain?8:08 – 11:10 – explanation of bitcoin11:10 – 15:00 – the role of cryptography in the block chain15:00 – 19:55 – consensus based networks19:55 – 27:15 – what are the other uses of the block chain?27:15 – 32.40 – using micropayments for content access32:40 – 48:20 – organising human behaviour by smart contracts –48:20 – 54:42 - the internet of things54:42 – 56:24 - how safe and secure are block chains?56:24 – 1:02:40 – Ethereum hack1:02:40 – 1:10:50 - the asymmetry problem1:10:50 – 1:16:14 – regulating the block chain & the lex cryptographia1:16:14 – 1:20:40 – lex mercatoria & lex informatica1:20:40 – End – forthcoming book and other publications 
Relevant Links
Decentralized Blockchain Technology and the Rise of Lex Cryptographia – Aaron Wright & Primavera De Filippi Blockchains and the Emergence of a Lex Cryptographia – from John’s blog Future Crimes : Inside the Digital Underground and the Battle for Our Connected World - Marc Goodman Bitcoin is teaching realism to Libertarians : An interview with an Old-School Cypherpunk Lex Informatica : Foundations of Law on the Internet - Aron Mefford Lex Mercatoria : The Emergence of a Self-Regulated Bitcoin