Law of the Future - The Podcast on Law & Technology with Dennis Hillemann

- In 2020, the Libra Association lead by Facebook wants to go live with a new cryptocurrency: Libra. In theory, if you open up your Facebook account in the middle of 2020, you might find a new crypto wallet inside - and you might own Libra, a stablecoin, with that you can pay everyone and everywhere. Libra could be one of the top three cryptocurrencies. Estimations are that, after its launch, it would grow within three months to a market capitalization of around 250 billion dollars, nearly then matching Bitcoin and perhaps surpassing Ethereum. But do we want this? Before we answer this question, it‘s important to know: What is Libra? What is a stablecoin? Who partners with Facebook? What is the current state of regulation on Libra? Dennis eventually shares his personal thoughts on Libra, which are slightly different from the mainstream coverage on the project.

The blockchain also allows the use of so-called smart contracts; "Smart contracts”, which are closed independently of elaborate third parties such as notaries and still ensure legal certainty. But what are smart contracts and how do they work? Why can Dennis explain it via a cat, a bell and cat candy? What will smart contracts do for our future - and what role will they play in the future machine to machine economy?

Ethereum was developed by a Russian-Canadian programmer Vitaliy Buterin and is a public, open-source platform based on blockchain offering smart contracts. Launched in 2015, Ethereum is the world´s leading programmable blockchain. But what is Ethereum? What are the differences to Bitcoin? What are smart contracts, what are DApps? What is the outlook for Etheruem & ETH?

Bitcoin wrote a giant success story in a short time: from origin and market launch 2009 to the largest market capitalization of cryptocurrencies worldwide, Bitcoin has achieved so much in the past 10 years. But what is Bitcoin? What is the original idea of the virtual money? How does the technology behind it work? What will happen to Bitcoin in the future? Will one Bitcoin really be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars?

Eight pages that changed the world:: Satoshi Nakamoto published a white paper in a cryptography mailing list on November 1, 2008, titled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System." It is the origin of Bitcoin and the blockchain technology of today. But what is it about? Why is it still so brillant?

It’s time to reduce our CO2 emissions. But is blockchain technology one of the keys? What is the negative impact of Bitcoin mining on our climate? Which blockchain projects want to prevent climate change - and what is the Swytch project about? Learn about this and more on this new episode of The Blockchain Lawyer.

The Federal German Government has just released - in German - their strategy paper for blockchain and digital tokens. It‘s a fantastic step forward to embracing blockchain and its benefits on so many levels. Germany wants to become a big player in the blockchain development. This episode goes through the paper in English, making it available to a broad audience, by summarizing the key elements. What is Germany planing?

It is foreseeable that the public administration will also use the blockchain because it provides a framework for the simplification of work processes, which are still characterized by high administrative overhead. Especially the science and education community looks deep into the blockchain technology. Why is that, and what benefits does blockchain offer the community?

In the second episode of The Blockchain Lawyer, Dennis highlights how blockchain technology can empower people in using their constitutional liberties. In an Internet that at times feels broken, ruled by big companies, blockchain can offer direct communication and business. Dennis explains this thought also by the examples of Blockstack and Elastos. His call to policy makers: Don‘t just see the risks of blockchain and cryptocurrencies - understand the potential for our freedom and liberties.

The brand new podcast about blockchain and cryptocurrencies, technology and law – all from the point of view of an European lawyer. Dennis Hillemann has 13 years of experience counseling the Public Sector in Europe. Now, he wants to talk about how we must all change our minds and our approaches to technology to make this a better world for all of us.

In this first episode, Dennis will explain

…why he produces this podcast and what differs it from others,

…why he got into blockchain technology,

…what blockchain is all about,

…and what blockchain is not – in simple words, from his point of view.