Digital Assets in the US: Legal, Theoretical, and Regulatory Dimensions

Catalog description

Digital assets are increasingly important financial tools with unique affordances and unexpected legal implications--and, more now than ever, a rapidly-changing regulatory environment. This class will explore the current US digital asset landscape in great detail, with a focus on emerging legal considerations. We will trace a lineage from the historical advent of money through modern central bank digital currencies, with stops along the way to examine stablecoins, blockchains & cryptocurrencies, other early internet currencies such as eCash & Beenz, and even the intersection between AI and digital assets. Additionally, we will explore abstract but critical topics that fall out of tokenization (e.g., the notion of justice in an increasingly digital world), as well as the legal and philosophical perspectives behind the very notion of "money." Each week, we will have legal, technical, and/or philosophical readings, touching on law, economics, jurisprudence, computer science, and history. Coming out of this class, students will have a deep understanding of cutting-edge financial technologies, the risks & opportunities inherent in digital money, and the regulatory pressures that are currently affecting the development and distribution of digital assets in the US. The course is designed to be non-technical (in fact, no particular background is required), although students will become fluent in the technology over the quarter. This class will be appealing to anyone interested in emerging technology, financial regulation/policy, privacy, or economics--or anyone who is concerned that the world is turning dystopian and wants to learn how technology can help. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R-paper requirement, with consent of the instructor. Elements used in grading: Class participation;…