Events

Future of Fintech: Intro to Blockchain, Digital Asset and Web 3

Oct 2, 2024

On our first event of the 2023-24 academic year, LJ gave a lecture on the basics of blockchain, digital assets and the Web 3 ecosystem. The lecture also discussed some legal and regulatory questions the blockchain industry is currently facing.

The slides to his presentation can be found here

THE STATE OF THE PLAY – A Panel Discussion on the Regulatory Outlook for Blockchain & Crypto

Nov 1, 2022

Join us for a panel discussion on the regulatory outlook for the blockchain and crypto industry, featuring (in alphabetical order):

Marvin Ammori (Chief Legal Officer @ Uniswap Labs)
Jared Favole (Senior Director @ Circle)
Kristin Smith (Executive Director @ Blockchain Association)
Amira Valliani (Policy Lead @ Solana Foundation)

Date: November 1st, 6-7 pm ET
Location: Harvard Law School Wasserstein Hall, Room 2004
A dinner reception will be hosted after the panel discussion. Please sign up here.

Fireside Chat with Amy Aixi Zhang (Policy Counsel @ Paradigm)

Oct 19, 2022

Join us for a Zoom fireside chat with Amy Aixi Zhang, current Policy Counsel at Paradigm and one of the original HLSBFI founders. Paradigm is a leading Blockchain & Cryptocurrency venture fund that raised a record-breaking $2.5 billion to invest in the next generation of crypto companies and protocols. We’ll discuss Amy’s journey after HLS that led her to Debevoise & Plimpton in NY/Hong Kong and ultimately to Paradigm. We’ll also discuss Amy’s most recent memo analyzing whether Ethereum’s new staking model makes ETH a security.

This event will be co-moderated by Louis Hunt, the President of HLSBFI, and Jonathan Pock, a Vice President of HLSBFI.

Past Event List:

“Arbitrating Blockchain Disputes” with Sophie Nappert” – Wednesday January 29, 2020 @12:00 – 1:00pm.
“Weekly Reading Group with Patrick Murck” – Friday 2-3pm at WCC 5052, starting October 11, 2019.
“How to Build a Bank from Scratch” with Robert Kilian – Monday September 9, 2019 @12:00 – 1:00pm. WCC 3018.
“Blockchain 101 with Joel Wright” – Tuesday September 24, 2019 @ 12:00pm – 1:00pm. WCC 1023.
“General Body Info Session” – Thursday September 26, 2019 @ 12:00pm – 1:00pm. WCC 3018.
“Achieving Fair and Global Consistency for Taxing the Digitalized Economy” with Professor Pasquale Pistone – Tuesday October 1, 2019 @ 12:00pm – 1:00pm. WCC 3018.
“Future of FinTech” with Gary Gensler (Co-Sponsored by HALB) – Wednesday October 30, 2019 @ 12:00pm – 1:00pm. WCC 1019.
“Digital Assets and Facebook’s Libra” with Tim Massad (Co-Sponsored by JOLT) – Wednesday November 6, 2019 @ 12:00pm – 1:00pm. WCC 2004.
“Blockchain 101 Series: Cryptography Q&A” with Sunoo Park – Thursday November 7, 2019 @ 12:00pm – 1:00pm. WCC B015.
“Careers in Blockchain & FinTech” – Tuesday November 12, 2019 @ 12:00pm – 1:00pm. WCC 2004.

Guest Speaker List (not exhaustive):

Pasquale Pistone, Academic Chairman and Jean Monnet Ad Personam Chair in European Tax Law, IBFD; WU Vienna
Joel Wright, former CTO and current COO of Medici Ventures
Robert Kilian, Chief Representative and General Counsel of N26
Gary Gensler, former CFTC Chair (2009-2014)
Tim Draper, Draper Associates and DFJ
Nimit Sawhney, Co-Founder and CEO of Voatz
Ann-Marie Hopkins, Bitsy CEO
Steven Hopkins, tZero CEO
Joel Telpner, Chair of Fintech and Blockchain Practice at Sullivan & Worcester LLP
Dr. Philippa Ryan, Professor at Australian National University and Chair of the Standards Australia Blockchain Technical Committee
Ian Darrow, Senior Counsel at Protocol Labs and former General Counsel LedgerX
Lewis Cohen, Co-Founder of DLx Law
Jeff Bandman, former Fintech Advisor at CFTC and founder of LabCFTC
James Mickens, Harvard Professor of Computer Science
Guenther Dobrauz, PwC Partner and leading Swiss blockchain lawyer
Kevin Werbach, Wharton School Professor and author of “The Blockchain and the New Architecture of Trust”
Benjamin Bai, Vice President at Ant Financial Services Group
Jeffrey Neuburger, Head of Blockchain at Proskauer Rose LLP
Rodrigo Seira, Lawyer at DLx Law LLP

Past Events with Picture Snapshots:

“Digital Assets and Facebook’s Libra” (Co-Sponsored by JOLT) – Timothy Massad, November 6, 2019

Former Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Timothy Massad talked on the future of cryptocurrency regulation and developments around Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency. Mr. Massad is a lawyer and government official who served as the chairman of CFTC under President Barack Obama. He previously oversaw the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) created by the U.S. government in response to the financial crisis of 2007–08. Mr. Massad was a partner in the law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, LLP. He earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from Harvard.

“Blockchain and Antitrust” – Professor Thibault Schrepel, October 30, 2019

Professor Schrepel presented on the intersection of blockchain and antitrust. Professor Schrepel is a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Center at Harvard University, an Assistant Professor in European Economic Law at Utrecht University School of Law, an Associate Researcher at University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, and an Invited Professor at Sciences Po Paris. He holds a Ph.D. in antitrust law (Europe & US) as well as a Master of Laws (LL. M.) in International Law and Legal Studies.

“Achieving Fair and Global Consistency for Taxing the Digitalized Economy” – Professor Pasquale Pistone, October 1, 2019

Pasquale Pistone, Academic Chairman and Jean Monnet Ad Personam Chair in European Tax Law, IBFD; WU Vienna, spoke about the current global tax regime. New business models pose challenges to the existing international tax allocation rules. There are winners and losers, but unanimity is required for an effective global change. Some countries try to nudge multilateral reforms, but others have reacted unilaterally, creating new forms of double taxation that hamper international trade. The European Union, the OECD Global Forum are working on inclusive solutions, but the challenge is global.

“Blockchain 101 with Joel Weight” – Joel Weight, September 24, 2019

Joel Weight, former CTO and current COO of blockchain superpower Medici Ventures, taught and explained the mystery of blockchain to those who were interested, but had little or no background in the area. Medici Ventures is a wholly owned subsidiary of online retail giant Overstock.com, the first major retailer to accept bitcoin as payment back in 2014. As Chief Operating Officer of Medici Ventures, Joel Weight has extensive experience in the space, and has delivered introductory lectures about blockchain all across the country.

“How to Build a Bank from Scratch” – Robert Kilian, September 9, 2019

Robert Kilian, Chief Representative and General Counsel of N26, spoke about the legal, regulatory and licensing issues the startup faced throughout its meteoric launch. He compared the regulatory environment in Europe and the U.S., discussed his own career path, and answered questions students had.

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