Three years ago, The Economist ran a cover story called “The Trust Machine” focused on the possibility of the blockchain technology behind bitcoin transforming the economy. The article provided an excellent discussion of the distinction between bitcoin and blockchain as well as the very real prospect of significant disruption through application of the technological innovation.
As the value of bitcoin and various other cryptocurrencies have risen and fallen over the past years, development efforts around blockchain have continued full speed.
Last month, the Global Legal Blockchain Consortium organized a four-part educational series during the recent annual conference of the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA). The four presentations are available on the ILTA site and consist of the following:
Blockchain 101: It’s Not Just Crypto-currency
Real World Blockchain Solutions
How To Build Your First Blockchain App
The materials offer a valuable glimpse into the current state of developments around blockchain in the delivery of legal services. Much progress has been made in just a few short years but much more remains to be done. Given the rampant acceleration of the pace of change, the prospect for better legal services (including for those in need of access to justice) is fascinating. Congratulations to both GLBC and ITLA for excellent work focused on this topic.