Jerry Brito Leads Task Force of Lawyers Focusing on Blockchain

50 attorneys have joined forces to form another blockchain industry advocacy group. The Digital Currency and Ledger Defense Coalition (DCLDC) will focus its efforts on legal issues that surround the digital currency and blockchain environment.

Also read: A Decentralized Money Needs A Distributed Web for Maximum Freedom

50 Legal Experts Join Forces to Protect Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Participants

The group announced DCLDC on October 3, saying it aims to help protect individuals and groups involved in blockchain and cryptocurrency initiatives from legal harm. Additionally, the group has over 50 legal experts — as well as a board of directors.

The DCLDC board includes Brian Klein of Baker Marquart LLP; Marcia Hofmann of Zeitgeist Law; and Jerry Brito, executive director of Coin Center. The DCLDC will also be a non-profit service aimed at protecting constitutional rights. The group’s website states:

We want to help foster innovation in those technologies so they may be used for the betterment of society. The DCLDC will advance its important mission through pro bono attorney referrals to those who cannot afford legal services and the submission of amicus briefs on key issues.

Defense Coalitions ‘Play a Key Role’ in Innovation

Brito announced the organization via the Coin Center blog. Brito compared DCLDC to advocacy groups like the ACLU, the Institute for Justice, and the EFF. He said the coalition will use its “united effort” to protect the rights of those participating in the digital currency and blockchain space.

The team of 50 lawyers will make pro bono attorney referrals to those who can’t afford these types of services. Additionally, Brito explained the group will submit amicus briefs on key blockchain industry issues. He added that when the web first became successful, collaborative efforts also helped protect people’s rights.

Brito said: “The early Internet could not have reached the kind of global scale we see today without the work of motivated entrepreneurs and tinkerers. Historically, defense coalitions similar to the DCLDC have played a key role in keeping the way free for innovators pushing the envelope to build out promising network technologies.”

Are Lobby Groups, Public Policy Organizations, and Defense Coalitions Necessary?

Not everyone in the cryptocurrency community, however, is pumped about these coalitions. Some believe groups like Coin Center, Blockchain Alliance, and the Digital Chamber of Commerce are essentially asking for more laws and regulations. Creating these organizations, they say, goes against a decentralized economy’s very fundamentals.

In Coin Center’s view though, the Washington D.C.-based group is an advocacy center for blockchain technology. They believe these groups can provide a better litigation standpoint, help frame public policy, and protect constitutional rights. In cases that infringe on individual legal rights, the group’s legal support may bring a more positive outcome.

Realistically, though, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology will be here for quite some time and legal issues are sure to come up. In fact they already have, and regulators and courts are having a difficult time defining the new technologies.

For instance, in Florida, a district court judge said Bitcoin was not money. However, in New York a federal judge deemed cryptocurrency was a form of currency. Whether or not the DCLDC lawyer group helps cases such as these remains to be seen.

What do you think about the DCLDC? Do you think it is beneficial? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: Coin Center

Images via Shutterstock, Coin Center, and the DCLDC  website. 

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