Perkins Coie: The UCC and Bitcoins - Solution to Existing Fatal Flaw
In this article, George K Fogg at law firm Perkins Coie examines why bitcoins might be subject to security interests that reduce their value for owners, and if this can be resolved. Would you purchase a house if you had no information on its mortgages? That's comparable to what buyers of bitcoin do everyday: purchase bitcoin without any information about liens on their bitcoins. A lien is an interest in a borrower's property that serves as collateral to be used to pay off a lender, should the borrower default. If there are liens on bitcoins, the blockchain wouldn't provide that....
Related News
Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology-based leading software company Ciphrex had added Bitcoin law expert Peter Townshend to its Board of Advisors, the company announced via a press release today. The addition of Peter Townshend, who is also a partner at the leading law firm Perkins Coie LLP, will immensely boost the software company's position as it sets up for the Series B round of financing. Ciphrex's co-founder and Chief Operations Officer Enrique Lombrozo said, "We are delighted to have Peter Townshend join the Ciphrex team as our legal advisor. He is an outstanding attorney who....
A former attorney for the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) involved with the development of the state’s BitLicense regulatory regime has been hired by international law firm Perkins Coie. Dana Syracuse, who joined the firm last week, is now senior counsel for Perkins Coie’s Technology Transactions and Privacy practice, based in New York. There, according to the firm, he will help spearhead its work in the blockchain and digital currency space. Syracuse will be working on both legal issues related to blockchain as well broader fintech, describing it to CoinDesk as an....
Compared to other types of startups, entrepreneurs planning to form a bitcoin company, and make a success of it, face a unique set of obstacles. While social media or data analytics startups may be able to forgo consulting legal advice at the outset, those forming virtual currency-related ventures need to think about putting a legal strategy in place very early on. One of the most prominent law firms representing businesses in the bitcoin space is Perkins Coie. Amid the many areas of law it practices in, one of its specialties is helping bitcoin companies get up and running with virtual....
Virtual currency advocates provided input to a North Carolina legislative committee Tuesday on a proposed rule to improve regulation of digital currency and blockchain related businesses. The Chamber of Digital Commerce, a trade association that promotes digital assets and blockchain technology, joined representatives of IBM and the Perkins Coie law firm in meeting with the North Carolina Senate Finance Committee. The state House of Representatives passed the North Carolina Money Transmitter Act in May by a 117-to-1 vote after being introduced in March at the Commissioner of Banks’....
Android wallet users were sent into a panic over the weekend, after Google discovered a flaw in its mobile operating system that rendered generated bitcoin addresses unsafe. According to Mike Hearn, the forum contributor who reported the bug, the way in which random numbers are generated in Android is flawed. Random numbers are used along with a private key to sign a transaction when sending from a bitcoin address. The flaw means that any random number used more than once with the same public bitcoin address enables that address to be compromised. This problem will affect any Android-based....