Policy Considerations for the Blockchain Technology Public and Private Applications
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Policy Considerations for the Blockchain
Technology Public and Private Applications
Garry Gabison*
I. INTRODUCTION
In 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto-an individual or group of individuals]-
released a paper that described Bitcoin, a first of its kind, peer-to-peer elec-
tronic cash system.2 Bitcoin relies mostly on existing technology but requires
a new invention, a blockchain, to solve an old problem: how do two parties
conduct an online transaction without knowing or trusting each other and
without the need for a trusted third-party intermediary?3 Encryption and
large-scale redundancy was combined with Nakamoto's blockchain to solve
this problem for the first time-the Bitcoin blockchain is the key.4
* J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and Ph.D. in Economics
from Yale University. Visiting Assistant Professor Georgia Institute of Tech-
nology School of Public Policy. The first draft of this paper was written while I
was a Research Fellow at the European Commission Joint Research Centre
Institute for Prospective Technological Studies. The content of this article does
not reflect the official opinion of the European Commission. Responsibility for
the information and views expressed in the article lies entirely with the author.
I would like to thank my colleagues in the Information Society Unit for their
feedback and suggestions during our lively seminars.
1. See, e.g., Elle Hunt et al., Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto Probably Austra-
lian Entrepreneur, Reports Claim, THE GUARDIAN (Dec. 8, 2015), http://www.
theguardian.com/technology/2015/dec/09/bitcoin-creator-satoshi-nakamoto-al-
leged-to-be-australian-academic; Emin Gin Sirer, How to Spot Bitcoin Inven-
tor Satoshi Nakamoto, MIT TECH. REV. (Dec. 10, 2015), https://www.technolo
gyreview.com/s/544431/how-to-spot-bitcoin-inventor-satoshi-nakamoto/ (dis-
cussing the true identity of Nakamoto). Recently, Craig Wright has claimed to
be Satoshi Nakamoto, but skepticism over his remarks remain. See, e.g., Craig
Steven Wright Claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto. Is He?, THE ECONOMIST (May
2, 2016), http://www.economist.com/news/briefings/21698061-craig-steven-
wright-claims-be-satoshi-nakamoto-bitcoin; Craig Wright's Claims to be
Satoshi Nakamoto Come Under Fire, THE ECONOMIST (May 2, 2016), http://
www.economist.com/news/briefings/21698066-onus-on-craig-wright-provide-
better-evidence-satoshi-nakamoto.
2. SATOSHI NAKAMOTO, BITCOIN: A PEER-TO-PEER ELECTRONIC CASH SYSTEM
(2008), https:/Ibitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf.
3. Id.
4. Id. (The article summarizes the process through 6 steps: (1) broadcasting the
information to the network; (2) each node in the network compiles the informa-
tion; (3) each node checks the information by solving a complicated process;
(4) each node broadcast the proof that it solved the checking process; (5) the
nodes accept the broadcast only if the information included is proven to be
correct; and (6) the nodes add to the chain the new information, where it is,
timestamp, and its location in the chain is contingent on the previous elements
of the chain.).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/comlrtj19&div=19&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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