Exactly thirty years ago, two researchers outlined the first idea of a system where document timestamps could not be tampered with. But it was not until a little bit more than ten years ago that the world heard about blockchain technology.

Now in the wake of the 21st century, technology does not seem to be about globalization anymore -now taken for granted-, but about decentralization. If globalization revealed that as a planet we are centripetally connected, decentralization now confirms that we are centrifugally hyper-connected.

As legal practitioners, not only are we challenged by the concept of decentralization, but we also need to reassess the legal nature of time-honored institutions like currency, securities, agreements, property, justice.

Cryptocurrency is probably the most popular utilization of decentralized technology, but it has not been equally regulated in all jurisdictions however popular it might be. And even in those jurisdictions where it has, it has been assimilated -from a regulatory perspective- to securities, currency, or generally as goods.

This guide intends to be a snapshot of the current cryptocurrency regulations in some of the countries that are represented at The Law Firm Network. It does not intend to be legal advice and readers are encouraged to contact the local law firm for further information or guidance.

EDITOR’S NOTE TO THE SECOND EDITION

It is with great enthusiasm that we release this second edition of our guide, now with sixteen countries represented, out of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

As the reader will see, complete regulation and absolute lack of it coexist globally in this matter. If we were only to skim-read this guide, I would suggest we take a few minutes to focus on the question about the definition of cryptocurrency. Probably the core of this publication, it is hard not to ask ourselves if we will reach a general agreement on the nature of cryptoassets in the near future. In any case, it is precisely the changing nature, and constant evolution, of cryptocurrency (and cryptoassets in general), that triggers the need for lawyers to be updated on the latest developments. As Abraham Lincoln once said, if we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it. We hope you enjoy this updated guide.