Blockchain technology is a major technological innovation that promises to continue to work significant changes in the way we do business in several different fields. Those changes, in turn, will bring new legal challenges that our laws, courts, regulatory agencies, and other institutions will need to address.

Although we expect blockchain technology to bring great change in many fields, we do not see it as a panacea. Blockchain technology offers concrete benefits over prior approaches, but it also comes with real costs that can limit or preclude its use in some applications. To better assess the legal challenges facing existing and new applications of blockchain technology, however, it is important to understand the benefits and costs of the technology; that, in turn, requires understanding what blockchain technology is at a deeper, more technical level than existing publications for lawyers on this subject usually attempt. We think achieving that level of understanding is within the capabilities of most lawyers and is worth the effort to do so.