A group of 10 lawyers and academics from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany has published a book on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency law in all four of these jurisdictions. Titled “The Law of Bitcoin,” the book aims to be the definitive guide to navigating international Bitcoin-related law.
The book is edited by Stuart Hoegner, a lawyer and accountant in the cryptocurrency and internet gaming spaces, and member of the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada. Hoegner – who coauthored the Canadian chapter of the book – hopes to get well-researched information into the hands of policy makers, practitioners and entrepreneurs. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Hoegner said:
“The book is intended for two broad groups of people: those with little understanding of the law of cryptocurrencies who want to learn more, and those who want in-depth information about more advanced or nuanced concepts in the field. We hope that the content is appropriate for beginners and experts in the sector.”
The Law of Bitcoin addresses a wide variety of legal topics in regard to Bitcoin, including criminal law, taxation, anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing regulations, financial regulation and more. And while it is not the first book that delves into the legal aspects of Bitcoin, Hoegner believes that the Law of Bitcoin offers a unique perspective in the field. He said:
“The book differs from anything that has come before in that we offer up detailed legal analysis about public and private law issues in four different international jurisdictions. There are great law review articles on individual jurisdictions and cryptocurrency areas, and there are books that deal with the law of cryptocurrency as one of several broad topics, but we believe this is the first truly international text that goes into substantial detail about cryptocurrency law.”
Apart from Hoegner, the other contributors to the Law of Bitcoin book include the executive director of Coin Center, Jerry Brito; financial services lawyer Paul Anning, tax consultant Mark Brailsford, intellectual property expert Lorna Brazell, Bitcoin regulation specialist Matthew Cleary, financial services lawyer Jillian Friedman, legal expert Michael Taylor, attorney Ryan Straus, and lawyer and DogeRain CEO Christoph-Nikolaus von Unruh.
The Law on Bitcoin is published by iUniverse through a new imprint, Crypto Press, which specializes in cryptocurrency-related books.