Blockchain, Bitcoin and Beyond: Getting Current on Digital Currency

This panel discusses blockchain and cryptocurrency, focusing on the basic terminology and how various agencies of the U.S. government treat cryptocurrency, in particular the Internal Revenue Service, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The panel then examines how security interests in cryptocurrency are perfected under Article 9, and whether transfers of cryptocurrency can be avoided pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 548 or clawed back as preferences pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 547, as well as whether interests in cryptocurrency can be claimed exempt under 11 U.S.C. § 522, with a focus on Florida. The panel also discusses issues concerning whether initial cryptocurrency coin offerings are dischargeable under 11 U.S.C. § 522, how digital currency is changing the way business is conducted, which industries have been early adopters of digital currency, and whether digital currency is here to stay. Finally, the panel discusses the Cayman perspective on digital currency, as well as current developments and trends.