The Owl Explains Hootenanny

We talk a lot about blockchain policy in the EU and the US… But in this episode our guests take a tour around the world looking at the legal frameworks and regulatory developments in other territories including Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Gibraltar, Japan, Australia, Argentina and many more - and question whether the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) is really setting the global standard or if other territories are stealing a march.

Blockchain technology offers vast benefits across many sectors, but applications face significant hurdles when dealing with regulatory frameworks that are not comprehensive at best, or outright unclear at worst. The European Blockchain Regulatory Sandbox, initiated by the European Commission, seeks to bridge this gap. This week, we go in detail into the objectives and accomplishments of the sandbox, explore its unique approach to facilitating discussions between regulators and SMEs, and learn about its focus on building infrastructure around blockchain technology, rather than just the technology itself. Our nest welcomes Helen Köpman, Deputy Head of Unit, Platforms policy and enforcement - Technological and economic assessment at the European Commission’s department for technology, together with Marjolein Geus, partner at Bird & Bird (the law firm leading the project’s operations), and Yuji Develle from OXYGY Consulting (Bird & Bird’s consulting arm). The three wise owls walks us through the criteria used to select the first cohort of innovative projects, their diverse spread across industries and company sizes, and how the pan-European sandbox aims to address the complexities identified by national regulations before the new Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation comes into force in the EU. They also explain how the project fosters cross-sector learning by focusing on sharing best practices and lessons learned – potentially having an impact on the way future regulations beyond blockchain. 

"Stop the hype, focus on the solution". In this episode we explore the ultimate myth-busting use case developed by Deloitte to accelerate disaster relief. The project is called "Close as you go". It is built on an Avalanche subnet, yet its token, its use of smart contracts and its decentralised blockchain architecture is entirely invisible to the user. Deloitte has harnessed blockchain not for its own sake but to drive efficiency in the complex paper trail needed to prove eligibility for disaster relief.

How smart are smart contracts? We will illustrate this with a fascinating use case as we explore how Lemonade Insurance is using smart contracts to revolutionize crop insurance. We will talk to Justin Gunnell, counsel at Sher Tremonte LLP who focuses on commercial litigation, as well as Roy Confino, Head of Strategy and Operations at Lemonade Foundation. Some of the questions we go over are: What is Lemonade? What is the Lemonade Foundation? What is the Crypto Climate Coalition? What are some of the ways that the blockchain solves the traditional cost and access problems? What are oracles? How smart are smart contracts then? They're smart in the colloquial sense of smart and sharp… Maybe they need to be called live contracts.

AI is taking the world by storm, but the opaque nature of its algorithms has also raised concerns about the reliability and the fairness of the output it generates, as well as the potential for the technology itself to be used for malicious purposes. There is a trust issue for artificial intelligence which needs to be resolved – not only for ethical reasons, but also because regulators need to look into AI’s "black boxes" to understand how they work. Thanks to its transparent, open-source nature and its strong focus on auditability, blockchain has the potential to act as a decentralized, encryption-based guardrail for AI systems. Listen to Shawn Helms, co-head of McDermott Will & Emery’s technology and outsourcing practice, discuss the intersection of AI and blockchain with: Anne Gressel, Associate at Debevoise & Plimpton and member of its fintech and technology practice; Erwin Voloder, Head of Policy at the European Blockchain Association, and Kai Zenner, Head of Office and Digital Policy Adviser for Member of the European Parliament Axel Voss.

The UK government has declared it wants the UK to be a global hub for crypto - how is that journey going? We talk to Dr Lisa Cameron MP who is at the heart of policy and regulatory discussions on crypto and blockchain in the UK to find out. In her role as Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Crypto and Digital Assets, Lisa recently published a report with over 50 recommendations on what needs to happen for the UK to achieve its ambition. She concludes the UK needs to act fast to keep up with the EU that is already benefitting from first mover advantage. The discussion is hosted by Owl Explains team member Emma Pike. Listen to find out more. 

Blockchain still faces a number of different technology bottlenecks that are related to the complexity of its underlying infrastructure, its scalability, and the speed of its consensus mechanisms. Subnets are part of Ava Labs’ innovative approach to solve these issues. By taking a blockchain and splitting it into multiple parallel blockchains that operate at the same time and within the same ecosystem, subnets make it possible for anyone to create their own blockchain, tweak it to whatever project, and have it comply with possible any regulatory framework. Our wise owl Sylvia Sanchez, Product Manager at Owl Explains, talks with Connor Daly, Software Engineer at Ava Labs – also known as the man with the most cats in crypto – about the advantages of subnets, how easy and quick it can be to start one, and how they ultimately contribute to increasing further adoption and spurring further innovation. Plus, Connor gives us a glimpse into his pet feeding routines and his plans for enlarging the extended family to more foster animals.

Olta Andoni (General Counsel at Enclave Markets) spoke with Donna Redel (professor of blockchain and digital assets at Wharton) and Thibault Schrepel (professor of law at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) on the growing interest from students in US and in Europe on Web3 technologies, and on how universities have been weaving new courses into their curricula. Our wise owls also discussed how furthering education can unlock new job opportunities within the industry, and help policymakers from both sides of the Atlantic work together to develop global, comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto.

Lee Schneider (Chief owl and Ava Labs General Counsel) talks to policy experts from the key blockchain trade associations on both sides of the Atlantic to find out what's next for blockchain and crypto policy and a few simple things policymakers could get done this year Tune in for the lowdown on the discussions that are shaping the policy and regulatory framework for web3, straight from our expert guests who are in the thick of it all.

Why is the CFTC is an appropriate regulator for digital assets? Why is principles-based regulation better than prescriptive regulation for innovative markets? Why is it essential to create a framework to classify tokens sensibly? How can the SEC and CFTC potentially work together on such a framework? What does the global perspective look like? How does this all tie to The Tree of Web3 Wisdom?. The podcast was moderated by Olta Andoni, General Counsel of Enclave Markets.

Join us as Lee Schneider, chief Owl and General Counsel of Ava Labs, introduces the Tree of Wisdom - 5 branches to guide policymakers thinking about how to regulate blockchain and web3. Read more about the Tree of Wisdom here. The session will be moderated by Emma Pike of H+K Strategies.