Tokenised Economy and the Law

Riccardo de Caria, Professor of Economics Law, Department of Law, University of Turin, Italy

• Contents1 Introduction to The Tokenised Economy and the Law 2 Legal taxonomies of tokens: an open question needing a solution3 Tokenisation and currency law5 Tokenisation and contract law6 Tokenisation and corporate and investment law7 With or without you: the “complicated relationship”between the tokenised economy and the law

‘The new book, The Tokenised Economy and the Law, by Riccardo de Caria, is a much needed addition to the literature given the rise of digital assets. The creation of value produced initially by cryptocurrencies set up a framework for new digital markets going forward. More recently, the creation, marketing and selling of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) holds the potential for robust future markets in such tokens. The increase in different types of digital assets, which is likely to accelerate, demands the creation of a legal framework to build trust in these assets and to provide legal redress in cases of abuse and harm. This framework is important due to the transborder nature of tokens. De Caria provides just such a framework or taxonomy that will benefit those trying to understand the intersection of law and technology. The regulation of tokens is examined through the traditional lenses of currency, property, contract, corporate, and investment or securities law. Plausible arguments can be made for the application of all these areas of law in the regulation of tokens. But this presents a problem of uncertainty if different countries choose various paths to understanding and regulating tokens.