This thought-provoking book challenges the way we think about regulating cryptoassets. Bringing a timely new perspective, Syren Johnstone critiques the application of a financial regulation narrative to cryptoassets, questioning the assumptions on which it is based and whether regulations developed in the 20th century remain fit to apply to a technology emerging in the 21st.

This insightful book presents a radical rethinking of the relationship between law, regulation, and technology. While in traditional legal thinking technology is neither of particular interest nor concern, this book treats modern technologies as doubly significant, both as major targets for regulation and as potential tools to be used for legal and regulatory purposes. It explores whether our institutions for engaging with new technologies are fit for purpose.

This stimulating book considers the ways in which historical jurisprudence deserves to be rethought, arguing that there is much more to the history of legal thought than the ideas, and ideology, of the nineteenth and early twentieth century jurists, such as Karl von Savigny and Sir Henry Maine.

This report offers an analytical framework that allows for more systemic assessments of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and its applications. It examines the evolution and typology of the emergent technology, its existing and projected applications, and regulatory and policy issues that they entail. This report highlights the trends, concerns, and potential opportunities of DLTs, especially for Asian markets. It also identifies the benefits and risks to using DLT and offers a functional and proportional approach to these issues.

This thought-provoking book challenges the way we think about the regulation of cryptoassets based on cryptographic consensus technology. Bringing a timely new perspective, Syren Johnstone critiques the application of a financial regulation narrative to cryptoassets, questions the assumptions on which it is based, and considers its impact on industry development. Providing new insights into the dynamics of oversight regulation, Johnstone argues that the financial narrative stifles the 'New Prospect' for the formation of novel commercial relationships and institutional arrangements. The book asks whether regulations developed in the 20th century remain appropriate to apply to a technology emerging in the 21st, suggesting it is time to think about how to regulate for ecosystem development. Johnstone concludes with proposals for reform, positing a new framework that facilitates industry aspirations while remaining sustainable and compatible with regulatory objectives. Rethinking the Regulation of Cryptoassets will be an invaluable read for policy makers, regulators and technologists looking for a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding cryptoasset regulation and possible alternative approaches. It will also be of interest to scholars and students researching the intersection of law, technology, regulation and finance.

Cryptoassets represent one of the most high profile financial products in the world, and fastest growing financial products in history. From Bitcoin, Etherium and Ripple's XRP-so called "utility tokens" used to access financial services-to initial coin offerings that in 2017 rivalled venture capital in money raised for startups, with an estimated $5.6 billion (USD) raised worldwide across 435 ICOs. All the while, technologists have hailed the underlying blockchain technology for these assets as potentially game changing applications for financial payments and record-keeping. At the same time, cryptoassets have produced considerable controversy. Many have turned out to be lacklustre investments for investors. Others, especially ICOs, have also attracted noticeable fraud, failing firms, and alarming lapses in information-sharing with investors. Consequently, many commentators around the world have pressed that ICO tokens be considered securities, and that concomitant registration and disclosure requirements attach to their sales to the public. This volume assembles an impressive group of scholars, businesspersons and regulators to collectively write on cryptoassets. This volume represents perspectives from across the regulatory ecosystem, and includes technologists, venture capitalists, scholars, and practitioners in securities law and central banking.

This book focuses on the building of a crypto economy as an alternative economic space and discusses how the crypto economy should be governed. The crypto economy is examined in its productive and financialised aspects, in order to distil the need for governance in this economic space. The author argues that it is imperative for regulatory policy to develop the economic governance of the blockchain-based business model, in order to facilitate economic mobilisation and wealth creation. The regulatory framework should cater for a new and unique enterprise organisational law and the fund-raising and financing of blockchain-based development projects. Such a regulatory framework is crucially enabling in nature and consistent with the tenets of regulatory capitalism. Further, the book acknowledges the rising importance of private monetary orders in the crypto economy and native payment systems that do not rely on conventional institutions for value transfer. A regulatory blueprint is proposed for governing such monetary orders as 'commons' governance. The rise of Decentralised Finance and other financial innovations in the crypto economy are also discussed, and the book suggests a framework for regulatory consideration in this dynamic landscape in order to meet a balance of public interest objectives and private interests. By setting out a reform agenda in relation to economic and financial governance in the crypto economy, this forward-looking work argues for the extension of 'regulatory capitalism' to this perceived 'wild west' of an alternative economic space. It advances the message that an innovative regulatory agenda is needed to account for the economically disruptive and technologically transformative developments brought about by the crypto economy.

“Blockchains will matter crucially; this book, beautifully and clearly written for a wide audience, powerfully demonstrates how.” —Lawrence Lessig “Attempts to do for blockchain what the likes of Lawrence Lessig and Tim Wu did for the Internet and cyberspace—explain how a new technology will upend the current legal and social order... Blockchain and the Law is not just a theoretical guide. It’s also a moral one.” —Fortune Bitcoin has been hailed as an Internet marvel and decried as the preferred transaction vehicle for criminals. It has left nearly everyone without a computer science degree confused: how do you “mine” money from ones and zeros? The answer lies in a technology called blockchain. A general-purpose tool for creating secure, decentralized, peer-to-peer applications, blockchain technology has been compared to the Internet in both form and impact. Blockchains are being used to create “smart contracts,” to expedite payments, to make financial instruments, to organize the exchange of data and information, and to facilitate interactions between humans and machines. But by cutting out the middlemen, they run the risk of undermining governmental authorities’ ability to supervise activities in banking, commerce, and the law. As this essential book makes clear, the technology cannot be harnessed productively without new rules and new approaches to legal thinking. “If you...don’t ‘get’ crypto, this is the book-length treatment for you.” —Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution “De Filippi and Wright stress that because blockchain is essentially autonomous, it is inflexible, which leaves it vulnerable, once it has been set in motion, to the sort of unforeseen consequences that laws and regulations are best able to address.” —James Ryerson, New York Times Book Review

The Routledge Handbook of FinTech offers comprehensive coverage of the opportunities, challenges and future trends of financial technology. This handbook is a unique and in-depth reference work. It is organised in six thematic parts. The first part outlines the development, funding, and the future trends. The second focuses on blockchain technology applications and various aspects of cryptocurrencies. The next covers FinTech in banking. A significant element of FinTech, mobile payments and online lending, is included in the fourth part. The fifth continues with several chapters covering other financial services, while the last discusses ethics and regulatory issues. These six parts represent the most significant and overarching themes of FinTech innovations. This handbook will appeal to students, established researchers seeking a single repository on the subject, as well as policy makers and market professionals seeking convenient access to a one-stop guide.

About the publication I am delighted to present to you, the reader, the fifteenth edition of the Pretoria Student Law Review (PSLR) with its Special Section on ‘Social Justice and COVID-19’. This year’s Annual Edition, together with the developments made during the year, is a testament to the growth, resilience, and adaptability of this student-driven initiative especially during these turbulent times. This year has also been one of reflection and remembrance as we publish this edition in tribute to the late Professor Christof Heyns whose instrumentality in the establishment of the Pretoria University Law Press (PULP) has brought us to where we are today. Fourteen years since its inception and the PSLR still continues to grow and evolve whilst remaining true to its thriving legacy in fostering excellence and innovation through legal writing. This publication’s uniqueness is also presented through its diverse contributions all addressing contemporary societal and legal issues under a broad range of legal disciplines. In an era of many continued ‘firsts’, the PSLR has strived to build on the legacy of its predecessors by expanding on the Journal’s visibility and accessibility. The PSLR’s digital presence has now grown substantially leading to an increase in quality submissions from institutions across the country. This year, the PSLR launched its first independent website and developed an official logo for the Journal and its online platforms. Authors are now able to submit their papers through the Open Journals System platform, track their workflow, manage their submissions, and submit at any time outside of the PSLR’s official call for submissions. We can firmly submit that we have, in pursuance of being a DHET accredited journal, fulfilled the standards set out by the Department of Higher Education and Training. Many thanks are extended to Makone Maja for developing the website. Your patience, guidance, and geniality are truly appreciated. Thank you also to Jakolien Strydom and ClickCreate for your charitable assistance in developing and designing the logo. To the authors, this year has, in many respects, been challenging with many of those challenges affecting students directly. We appreciate the dedicated efforts put into your submissions and your wholehearted cooperation throughout the entire process. Much appreciation is also extended to the reviewers who have selflessly committed to assisting the PSLR during the peer-review process. To all of the reviewers, your input, guidance, and recommendations are greatly appreciated. Phenyo Nomasonto Morwesi Sekati Editor-in-Chief 2020