An Investigation into the Utility and Potential Regulation of Initial Coin Offerings and Smart Contracts in Selected Industries and Jurisdictions

44 Pages Posted: 27 Nov 2018 Last revised: 4 Jan 2019

See all articles by Theodoros Stylianou

Theodoros Stylianou

King’s College London, Dickson Poon School of Law, Students

Date Written: November 1, 2018

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the new innovations of blockchain technology through a legal perspective. Being an emerging technology, the paper delves into a comprehension of both the technology and the issues that arise from its utility. Primarily the paper focuses on the regulatory and legal issues that exist from the creation of Initial Coin Offerings, the sale and trade of Tokens and Smart-Contracts.

The paper seeks to give an answer whether regulatory bodies are required to make more steps into creating a regulatory framework for the utilities of blockchain technology.

The discussion of whether regulation is required, is carried out through understanding the dimensions of technology regulation research and exploring different considerations and challenges that exist when regulating emerging technologies, additionally, different issues that exist in the current blockchain industry are identified.

Central to the discussion is reflecting and understanding how current regulatory bodies have been responding to this emerging technology. The paper takes into consideration a multitude of different regulators from the UK, Switzerland, France, Gibraltar and the USA.

The paper attempts to conclude and explain whether regulation is required in the utilities identified.

Keywords: FinTech, RegTech, Initial Coin Offerings, ICO, ETHER, BITCOIN, Blockchain, Securities Regulation, Information Technology Law, Regulation of Technologies, Regulator Policy, Investment Law, Financial Law, Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial Conduct Authority, License Mechanisms

JEL Classification: G23, G24, G28

Suggested Citation

Stylianou, Theodoros, An Investigation into the Utility and Potential Regulation of Initial Coin Offerings and Smart Contracts in Selected Industries and Jurisdictions (November 1, 2018). King's College London Law School Research Paper No. 19-8, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3276822 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3276822

Theodoros Stylianou (Contact Author)

King’s College London, Dickson Poon School of Law, Students ( email )

Strand
United Kingdom

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