Episode #28 - Walch on the Misunderstandings of Blockchain Technology

In this episode I am joined by Angela Walch. Angela is an Associate Professor at St. Mary’s University School of Law. Her research focuses on money and the law, blockchain technologies, governance of emerging technologies and financial stability. She is a Research Fellow of the Centre for Blockchain Technologies of University College London. Angela was nominated for “Blockchain Person of the Year” for 2016 by Crypto Coins News for her work on the governance of blockchain technologies. She joins me for a conversation about the misleading terms used to describe blockchain technologies. You can download the episode here. You can listen below. You can also subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher. Show Notes0:00 - Introduction2:06 - What is a blockchain?6:15 - Is the blockchain distributed or shared?7:57 - What's the difference between a public and private blockchain?11:20 - What's the relationship between blockchains and currencies?18:43 - What is miner? What's the difference between a full node and a partial node?22:25 - Why is there so much confusion associated with blockchains?29:50 - Should we regulate blockchain technologies?36:00 - The problems of inconsistency and perverse innovation41:40 - Why blockchains are not 'immutable'58:04 - Why blockchains are not 'trustless'1:00:00 - Definitional problems in practice1:02:37 - What is to be done about the problem?  Relevant LinksAngela's HomepageAngela's Academia and SSRN pages'The Path of the Blockchain Lexicon (and the Law)' by Angela Walch'Call blockchain developers what they are: fiduciaries' by Angela WalchInterview with Aaron Wright on Blockchain Technology and the LawInterview with Rachel O'Dwyer On Bitcoin, Blockchains and the Digital Commons   #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */ Subscribe to the newsletter