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Articles Posted in Blockchain

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The Merge: Ethereum’s Long-Awaited Overhaul May Be Imminent

Ethereum, the second largest blockchain-based platform by market cap, is tentatively scheduled to convert its consensus mechanism from proof-of-work (PoW), which incentivizes miners to solve mathematical puzzles to update the blockchain, to proof-of-stake (PoS), which makes decisions about updates through a vote among holders that have “staked” cryptocurrency that is…

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Soulbound Tokens: Moving Away from the Hyper-Financialization of Digital Assets

Earlier this year, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, in cooperation with economist Glen Meyl and researcher Puja Ohlhaver, published a research paper on soulbound tokens (SBTs). SBTs are publicly visible, non-transferrable (but possibly revocable by the issuer) digital assets representing “commitments, credentials, and affiliations.” Buterin et al. have said that such…

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NFT Contracting in a Volatile New Market

The non-fungible token (NFT) market has grown dramatically over the past 24 months. NFTs first garnered widespread attention when the artist Beeple sold digital artwork at Christie’s in March 2021 for $69 million. According to the DappRadar Industry Report, spending on NFTs exceeded $25 billion in 2021, but the market…

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New York Legislature Passes Moratorium on Crypto Mining Operations

On June 2, 2022, the New York Legislature passed a bill, S6486D, that would place a two-year moratorium on certain new cryptocurrency mining operations at fossil fuel energy plants in New York. The bill would also limit circumstances in which mining operations currently operating at plants in New York would…

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California Governor Issues Executive Order Aimed at the Regulation of Blockchain and Crypto Assets

On May 4, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-9-22 to create a coordinated state regulatory approach for cryptocurrency and blockchain, with the further aim of harmonizing the state’s laws with those (potentially) enacted at a federal level. Another goal of the Order is to determine the usage…

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Best Practices and Brand Exclusives: NFTs and Community Building in the Metaverse

We’ve written extensively on the still somewhat recent arrival of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as both a potential revenue stream, caveat-filled investment destination and pop culture marker of the moment. Back in 2018, we wrote about the Los Angeles Dodgers giving away digital bobbleheads to fans, who could redeem a private…

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Land of the NFT: Use Cases in Real Estate

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are changing how we think about asset ownership in the real world and in the digital world. NFTs—unique digital tokens stored on a blockchain ledger that represent ownership of an asset, either real or virtual—have gained significant popularity in realms such as art, gaming and entertainment, as…

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NFTs, Web 3.0 and the Technologies Enabling the Metaverse

Riaz Karamali recently joined host Joel Simon on the Industry Insights podcast to discuss the issues and innovations driving the video game industry, including the emergence of the Metaverse and how non-fungible tokens, blockchain and Web 3.0 may underpin it. Hello, and welcome to Pillsbury’s Industry Insights podcast, where we discuss current legal and…

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A NFT Primer on Potential IP Ownership Legal Issues

Carolyn Toto recently joined host Joel Simon on his Industry Insights podcast continue the discussion of non-fungible tokens, related IP ownership issues and more. Joel Simon: Our discussion today is part of a series on non-fungible tokens, known as NFTs. We will take a look at some specific issues that are somewhat…