Blocking the future? The regulation of distributed ledgers

Abstract

Distributed ledgers, and in particular blockchain technologies, promise to be revolutionary to financial markets, and the uptake of Bitcoin shows that it can also influence wider society. This paper examines the suggested uses of the technology, as well as the possible regulatory concerns that the technology raises. It looks at various regulatory measures that have been developed by jurisdictions to combat it, as well as possible applications of current regulatory frameworks. The paper then frames the issues in a regulatory lens, and looks at what lessons can be learned for regulation going forward.