The reference librarians at the Ross-Blakley Law Library are happy to help you find or navigate research resources. Librarians are available 9am-4pm Monday-Thursday and 9am-2pm on Friday.
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Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (COL) Students
Bloomberg (Bloomberg password required)
In Focus: Blockchain
This Bloomberg page gathers legal resources on blockchain and includes explanatory/foundational information, legal analysis, and news.
In Focus: Digital Currency
This Bloomberg suite of information specifically tracks the ways that state and federal laws govern the use of digital currency.
The Bitcoin Big Bang: How Alternative Currencies Are About to Change the World (2015)
Analyzing the opportunities and pitfalls of virtual currency in the context of investment and regulation.
Lexis (Lexis password required)
Blockchain for Financial Services Lawyers
This practice note provides an overview of blockchain. Many lawyers in the financial services industry have recently heard of the disruptive potential of “blockchain,” or “distributed ledger technology” (DLT), the technology that underlies cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. This practice note explores blockchain and possible regulatory responses to the technology.
Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement
This practice note describes the state of regulation and other law governing blockchain-based products, including cryptocurrency.
Westlaw (Westlaw password required)
The Blockchain: A Guide for Legal and Business Professionals (2016)
Exploring the legal applications of blockchain technology, such as smart contracts that are written in code and self execute, and examining goals for future regulation.
Payment Systems and Electronic Fund Transfers Guide
Examining the revolutionary effects of blockchain and virtual currency on economic activity, and how legal regimes operate to keep the systems running smoothly and weed out problems such as unauthorized transactions.
Below is a short list of online treatises related to blockchain. You can search for other resources in the ASU catalog by using subject headings such as: Blockchain; Bitcoin; and Money--law and legislation.
Crypto Wars: The Fight for Privacy in the Digital Age: A Political History of Digital Encryption (Craig Jarvis, 2021)
ProQuest eBook (ASURITE required for off-campus access)
This book is a history of the "Crypto Wars" and provides an overview of how digital privacy activists and the US government have engaged in a tug-of-war over the surveillance of citizens.
Digital Currency: An International Legal and Regulatory Compliance Guide (Jeffery H. Matsuura, 2016) (ASURITE access)
Focusing on the interplay of traditional and digital currency regulations on the digital currency trade, and how digital currency will shape traditional currency regulation in the future.
Handbook of Digital Currency: Bitcoin, Innovation, Financial Instruments, and Big Data (David Lee, 2015) (ASURITE access)
This anthology examines the impact of blockchain and digital currency on the legal landscape, particularly financial regulations and the economy, as well as larger scale influences on legal and social issues such as voting.
The Uniform Regulation of Virtual-Currency Businesses Act provides a statutory framework for the regulation of companies engaging in virtual-currency business acts. The Act was drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform Laws. The Act, drafts, official comments, and other materials are available from the Uniform Law Commission.
The following federal government agencies have addressed blockchain and cryptocurrencies. To search all federal government sites at once, use USA.gov.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The CFTC regulates commodities futures under the Commodity Exchange Act; the Commission’s web site has a page devoted to their resources on virtual currency.
CFTC’s SmartCheck
This site links to resources for virtual market participants and customers, including consumer advisories, primers, and podcasts. It is designed to be a primer for the layperson.
Federal Trade Commission
The FTC protects consumers against deceptive and unfair business practices. On their web site, you can find FTC documents from enforcement actions and news releases related to virtual currency.
Financial Crime Enforcement Network
FinCEN is a bureau within the U.S. Department of the Treasury that is in charge of enforcing the Bank Secrecy Act. Relevant information on their web site includes agency guidance and rulings.
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
FINRA is an independent, non-governmental regulator of U.S. brokers and dealers. Its web site includes investor alerts and reports relevant to cryptocurrency.
Internal Revenue Service
The IRS web site has guidance and notices related to virtual currencies.
Securities and Exchange Commission’s Finhub
The mission of the SEC is to “protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation.” Its web site has reports, releases, and official statements regarding cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
The Block
Provides the latest updates in Blockchain technology from around the world, broken out by categories. Includes current CryptoCompare prices.
Blockchain News
A popular source for the latest news and opinion on Blockchain and Distributed Ledger technology and intelligence.
Bloomberg Law Banking Daily (Bloomberg login required)
This Bloomberg resource provides news and analysis of banking legislation, regulatory policy, litigation, and investment at state and federal levels.
Bloomberg Law Electronic Commerce & Law Report (Bloomberg login required)
This Bloomberg resource provides coverage of national and international legal developments and trends relating to the digital economy.
CoinDesk
The leading digital media, events and information services company for the crypto asset and blockchain technology community.
Cointelegraph
An independent publication covering cryptocurrency, decentralized applications, the internet of finance and the next gen web. Includes the latest news, prices, breakthroughs and analysis with expert opinion and commentary from the digital currency community.
Morrison Cohen’s Cryptocurrency Litigation Tracker
The MoCo Cryptocurrency Litigation Tracker is a resource from the Morrison Cohen law firm that provides information and updates on litigation across U.S. Federal Courts and agencies related to cryptocurrency.
Perkins Coie’s Virtual Currency Report
Virtual Currency Report is a blog from the Perkins Coie law firm that provides news and analysis on legal developments relating to Bitcoin and other decentralized virtual currencies, math-based currencies, and decentralized ledgers.
Proskauer’s Blockchain and the Law Blog
This blog, from law firm Proskauer Rose, reports on legal developments related to blockchain.
BitcoinAudible
Guy Swann, the host, has a knack for presenting even the most technical stuff in an easy-to-grasp way. The average length of an episode is 60 minutes, and it covers pretty much everything you may have missed reading about Bitcoin in the last couple of days. Available in iTunes, Spotify, and most podcast apps.
Unchained and Unconfirmed
These two podcasts are produced by Laura Shin, who is an expert blockchain and crypto journalist. The podcasts are both generally an hour in length and new episodes come out each week. Available in iTunes, Spotify, and most podcast apps.
Banking on Bitcoin (2019, YouTube 84min)
Directed by Christopher Cannucciari, this 1.5-hour production tracks significant developments since the inception of Bitcoin in 2008.
Plot 11: Bitcoin Documentary (YouTube 48min)
The series travels through a landscape where the virtual and the physical intertwine, where seemingly abstract concepts like bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and blockchain have inspired libertarians, financiers and entrepreneurs to throw themselves into the technology and explore its potential for the future.
Digital Currencies: International Actions and Regulations
This chart has summaries of countries’ laws for digital currencies. It is from Perkins Coie LLP’s Blockchain Technology & Digital Currency industry group.
European Banking Authority
The European Banking Authority is the EU agency that deals with virtual currency.
Regulation of Cryptocurrency in Selected Jurisdictions
This chart by the Law Library of Congress was prepared in 2018 and describes the cryptocurrency laws of a number of countries.
ABI/INFORM
ABI/INFORM is a searchable database of business-related articles from thousands of English-language journals worldwide. A good starting point for this resource is the ProQuest LibGuide that explains how to use it.
Academic Search Premier
Academic Search Premier is a multidisciplinary database of scholarly journals and popular magazines.
Google Scholar
Google Scholar allows searching of multidisciplinary scholarly literature including articles, papers, these, books, abstracts, and technical reports from a wide variety of resources such as journals, repositories, and the web.
Legal Journals Index (Westlaw password required)
This Westlaw resources is an index of articles published in European law journals and articles covering topics pertaining to the laws of the European Union and its Member States from 1986 to the present.
Science Direct
ScienceDirect is an index to journal articles and book chapters from over 2,500 peer-reviewed journals and more than 11,000 books on scientific, medical, and technical topics.
Scopus
Scopus is an abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature and web sources with tools to track, analyze, and visualize research. Scopus provides access to a broad portfolio of peer-reviewed content from around the world.