How Smart is Your Contract? Legal Considerations Around Smart Contracts
In a 2016 report by the World Economic Forum,[1] it was suggested that smart contracts based on blockchain technology could potentially codify financial agreements in a shared platform and guarantee execution based on mutually agreed conditions. This would significantly reduce...
Ontario’s Rules for Distributing Securities Abroad: How They May Impact Security Token Offerings
As reported in our previous notice, the Ontario Securities Commission (“OSC”) recently introduced Rule 72-503 Distributions Outside Canada (“Rule 72-503”), which came into force on March 31, 2018, and set out rules applicable to the issuances of securities outside of...
BIM, Blockchain and the Smart Construction Contract
While the construction industry has traditionally been criticized for being too slow to innovate, the last several years have seen it embrace new business practices, new software and new technologies. The increased use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a...
Canadian Tax Ramifications in Connection with Exchanging Cryptocurrency for Cash
There are now over 1,300 cryptocurrencies available online, Bitcoin being the most popular, with new initial coin offerings, or “ICOs”, being announced on what seems like a daily basis. Bitcoin made headlines at the end of 2017 as the price...
Canadian Tax Ramifications in Connection with Exchanging Cryptocurrency for Cash
There are now over 1,300 cryptocurrencies available online, Bitcoin being the most popular, with new initial coin offerings, or “ICOs”, being announced on what seems like a daily basis. Bitcoin made headlines at the end of 2017 as the price...
“Smart” Entertainment on the Blockchain
Until recently, musicians and film producers would release their works hoping piracy would not do away with all of their revenue. Then they would wait as publishers, distributors, YouTube, Spotify, collectives, etc. collected royalties, took their cut and then paid...
The CSA Weighs in on Cryptocurrency Offerings
With the increasing popularity of blockchain-based digital currencies, many businesses see them as a unique way to raise funds, while investors consider them to be part of a diversified investment portfolio. Recognizing that securities law may, in some circumstances, apply...
