Created by Debbie Ginsberg, Educational Technology Librarian, Chicago-Kent College of Law, in November 2018 and updated in March 2020.
Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Fundamentals
- Understand the Blockchain in Two Minutes (video), Law Librarian Blog: A quick introduction to the basics
- What is Blockchain Technology, A Step by Step Guide for Beginners, BlockGeeks: A visual guide to how blockchains work
- Blockchains & Distributed Ledger Technologies, Blockchainhub.net: Blockchains are part of a larger set of databases known as distributed ledgers. This article provides information about these.
- The Basics of the Blockchain Revolution, Thomasnet: Possible future uses of Blockchain
- Blockchain Demo, Anders.com: Video explanation; blockchain sandbox – try it for yourself
- Blockchain Explained, Reuters Graphics: Interactive graphic demo
The Law of Blockchain
- Blockchain State Regulation, National Conference of State Legislatures: Lists the status of state regulations; updates ongoing.
- Regulation of Cryptocurrency Around the World, Law Library of Congress: Detailed international information about cryptocurrency laws
- Cryptocurrency Is a Brave New World for Legal Ethics, SH Business News: Ethics issues with crypto and blockchain
Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Other Crytpo Currencies
- What Is Cryptocurrency? Guide for Beginners, Cointelegraph: Explains the history and basics
- Bitcoin, Bitcoin.com: This is not the official site for Bitcoin, but provides a good overview
- Ethereum (combines currency and a programming language), Ethereum.org: Ethereum’s programming language, Solidity, is used for creating smart contracts
- What Is Bitcoin?, Blockgeeks: Explains how Bitcoin works
- Cryptocurrency Comparisons, IG: Describes competing currencies
- Cryptocurrency 2018 (Legal Issues), Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation: Provides information about cryptocurriences and outlines current legal issues
Blockchain – Impact on Legal Services
- A Beginner’s Guide to Smart Contracts, BlockGeeks: A detailed and visual guide to smart contracts
- Blockchain 101 for Lawyers, Part 1, Part 2, Law Technology Today: An introduction to the legal aspects of blockchain and what legal services might be affected
- Smart Contracts and Distributed Ledger – A Legal Perspective, ISDA: An in-depth white paper
Advanced Tutorials
- Build Your First Smart Contract, Crypto Currently: Ready to try programming a contract yourself? This tutorial provides the resources.
- Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies, Coursera: The first sections provide a detailed technical overview of how crypto and blockchains work. This course was created a few years ago, so the use cases are outdated.