Blockchain Engineering: Techniques and Legal Implications

Blockchain technology is an increasingly important financial tool with unique legal implications--however, a theoretical understanding is often insufficient to fully grasp its current and, more importantly, future capabilities. This course, designed as an extension of LAW1043, will explore the technical capabilities of blockchains and cryptocurrencies by offering students practical, hands-on experience. We will build a technical foundation through a crash course on programming and cryptography while discussing the current legal landscape and implications of both. Then, we will build a decentralized application on the Ethereum blockchain and learn why this opens so many tricky legal doors in the form of (things like) mixers, NFTs, and censorship-resistant code. Students will have the chance to get familiar with and use actual blockchain-based tools, ranging from decentralized finance protocols to DAOs to on-chain development toolkits. At the end of this course, students will understand not just how to safely interact with blockchains, but how they enable legal gray areas--and their potential to disrupt the legal landscape in the future. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Class Participation, Written Assignments, and Final Project.