New Territories

Topic: Thoughts on the Crypto Ratings Council

Marc Boiron's Perspective: Exchanges are in difficult position to decide what crypto assets to list.  So this is a good starting point for analysis, but "1-5" numerical format may not be useful.

*Testing new format! The guest's perspective on an issue is edited as its own segment to help you save time and find it more easily.  Feedback welcomed at Twitter DM @TheJoyceLai*

Not legal or professional advice.

With Libra filling up the headlines, the term "stablecoin" has become common parlance. What types of setup does the term "stablecoin" refer to? What are the connections between a project like Libra and existing sovereign currencies? Are there ways that the public and private sectors can collaborate? What are some of the legal issues that surround launching a stablecoin?

A particular type of hacking incident, commonly referred to as “SIM Swapping,” is increasingly common. In this episode, we learn from Rebecca Rettig, a litigator who has worked on crypto cases since the early days, about the typical fact pattern in these incidents and how we can better protect ourselves. We also learn what one can do if you are an unfortunate victim of such a crime. She also explains what is typically in a customer services agreement between a customer and a wireless service provider.

While we do not often hear about it in the news, the U.S. syndicated loans market is approximately $3 trillion in size. Although large sums of money change hands in this market, the efficiency in the operations of this market remains dependent on circulating lots of paper amongst many different parties. The loan syndication space is prime for increased efficiency with blockchain tech. In this episode, I speak with Bridget Marsh, Executive Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of the Loan Syndication Trade Association, and Aaron Wright, Founder of OpenLaw, on how the syndicated loan market works and why using a blockchain based contract platform such as OpenLaw will make the syndicated loan market better for all parties.

On July 25, 2019, SEC's Division of Corporate Finance issued its second ever blockchain token related no-action letter to Pocketful of Quarters, Inc. (Quarters). I spoke with Lewis Cohen, the attorney who represented Quarters in obtaining this no-action relief for the Quarters' platform which uses an ERC 20 token. We discussed the 13 year old founder's vision for this company, the process they went through to obtain the no-action letter and why he believes that this no-action relief is meaningful despite some critics' sentiment that the facts were clearly beyond the scope of SEC's jurisdiction.

With the "ICO days" of the blockchain industry more or less behind us, how has the thinking behind early stage blockchain start-up fundraising evolved? What responsible fundraising tools are available for blockchain entrepreneurs? Most VCs and entrepreneurs are familiar with the traditional convertible note. Learn how the traditional convertible note could be adapted (and automated!) for early stage blockchain start-ups.

Blockchain tech forces us to evaluate and reimagine the ways in which we trust people with whom we do business. Legal contracts, and the way legal services are delivered, are integral components of the trust paradigm. Technology is being implemented into the provision of legal services like never before. For law firms, what does it say about their current business models? For attorneys, what does it say about the relevance of their skill sets? For the legal industry as a whole, how do we create standards in which can all work together?

As the industry keeps its eyes on the development of the Kik litigation, I speak with Barry Rashkover for his perspective. Barry currently co-leads Sidley’s global enforcement and regulatory practice. Prior to Sidley, Barry served as Co-Head of Enforcement and Associate Regional Director for the SEC’s Northeast Regional Office. Having worked on both sides of SEC enforcement actions, Barry walks us through the key issues in the Kik litigation and what we should all pay attention to going forward.

As the industry keeps its eyes on the development of the Kik litigation, I speak with Barry Rashkover for his perspective. Barry currently co-leads Sidley’s global enforcement and regulatory practice. Prior to Sidley, Barry served as Co-Head of Enforcement and Associate Regional Director for the SEC’s Northeast Regional Office. Having worked on both sides of SEC enforcement actions, Barry walks us through the key issues in the Kik litigation and what we should all pay attention to going forward.

Brian Tang, Founder of ACMI and LITE Lab@HK, shares with Joyce Lai how Hong Kong, as one of the top three IPO destinations of the world, is continuing to innovate to be internationally competitive as a global capital-raising centre while protecting investors. Brian also sheds light on the relevance of the recent Alibaba listing in Hong Kong and also Hong Kong's "one country, two systems" framework.