Law of Code

Prediction markets are a multi-billion dollar industry, led by companies like Kalshi and Polymarket. They are also controversial. Some want them banned and believe they are operating illegally, while others see them as invaluable truth-seeking markets. This podcast is a multi-hour deep dive on prediction markets, starting from conclave betting in 15th century Rome to the CFTC's proposed rulema...

How do regulators actually write the rules for crypto? SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and Taylor Lindman, Chief Counsel of the SEC's Crypto Task Force, take us inside the process, recorded at the SEC offices in Washington, D.C. We cover CLARITY Act rulemaking, lessons from Dodd-Frank, principles-based regulation and navigating the risks of decentralized projects. If you want to understand how...

Over a trillion dollars worth of perps are traded every month, yet 99% people have never heard of them. Fewer understand how they work. This podcast is a multi-hour deep dive on perps, starting from the history of grain futures in Chicago to a historic CFTC announcement on Friday, May 29, 2026. My goal: The internet's most comprehensive explainer on perps. In this episode, you'll hear from...

What is the CLARITY Act? Maybe the most important piece of financial legislation in a generation. This podcast explains the history of U.S. digital asset regulation, why regulation-by-enforcement failed and what the CLARITY Act addresses, plus remaining steps for this to become law. Guests: Lewis Cohen, Partner & Co-Chair of CahillNXT's Digital Assets & Emerging Technology practice Mil...

Can the U.S. government send a software developer to prison for writing and publishing code? That's the question at the center of the Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet prosecutions, and every crypto founder, builder and investor should understand the answer. This deep-dive episode walks through the history of U.S. money transmission law, how the DOJ is applying it to non-custodial software deve...

Does attorney-client privilege exist when you use ChatGPT or Claude? Should it? Jacob Robinson sits down with Mike Katz, Partner at Manatt Phelps & Phillips, to examine whether attorney-client privilege, work product or any analogous protection applies when people ask AI chatbots legal questions. Timestamps: ➡️ 0:00 — Background ➡️ 1:47 — What is attorney-client privilege? ➡️ 2:44 — Policy rea...

When does U.S. law require Circle to freeze USDC? It's a question many are asking after a series of wallets were frozen in connection to a sealed civil case, and again after Solana's Drift Protocol was drained of $285 million. Jacob Robinson is joined by Austin Campbell, founder of Zero Knowledge Consulting and adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, for a masterclass on the legal f...

What are the risks of allowing financial institutions to cut off access to the economy for lawful but controversial activity? Rainey Reitman is a civil liberties advocate and the author of Transaction Denied , a comprehensive investigation into debanking, financial censorship, and the growing role of financial institutions in regulating speech. She previously worked at the Electronic Frontier Foun...

What should crypto founders know about the SEC and CFTC's joint interpretive guidance on securities law? Joining to discuss is Joe Doll (@Sh0edog), Counsel at Day One Law and previously General Counsel at a crypto startup. Joe wrote a detailed breakdown of the guidance aimed at founders, which we walk through from start to finish. Timestamps: ➡️ 0:00 — Intro ➡️ 0:07 — Why the Howey Test exists ➡️...

When does transacting in a crypto asset become a securities transaction? The SEC and CFTC recently issued an interpretation clarifying how the federal securities laws apply to certain crypto assets and transactions involving crypto assets. Joining to discuss that is Lewis Cohen, co-chair of Cahill’s digital assets and emerging technologies practice and one of the leading experts on the application...

Can new “payment accounts” with the federal reserve solve the crypto industry’s banking problem? Aaron Brogan is the founder and managing partner of Brogan Law, where he advises crypto companies on regulatory strategy, transactions, and policy. He also works with industry groups like the Blockchain Association on comment letters and rulemaking related to crypto banking access and financial regulat...

What were the most important legal and regulatory developments in crypto this month? In this episode, we review developments from stablecoin rulemaking and DeFi liability cases to the ongoing fight over prediction markets. Jonathan Schmalfeld is Director of Policy at The Digital Chamber, where he focuses on crypto policy, digital asset legislation, and regulatory developments in Washington. Timest...

What happens when a crypto policy lawyer decides to run for one of the most powerful regulatory positions in the United States — New York Attorney General? Khurram Dara is a former policy team member at Coinbase and regulatory policy principal at Bain Capital Crypto. After years working in crypto regulation and policy, he left the private sector to run for the Republican nomination for Attorney Ge...

If blockchain systems can automatically enforce transactions, does that mean code itself determines legal rights and ownership? Carla Reyes and Andrea Tosato are professors researching digital assets at the SMU Dedman School of Law and Andrew Hinkes is a partner at Winston & Strawn LLP. Together they authored the paper “Code Is Not Law,” which examines why legal rights in digital assets ultima...

What role are ethics provisions and stablecoin yield debates, playing in shaping — or potentially delaying — U.S. crypto market structure legislation? Gerald Gallagher is General Counsel at Sei Labs and co-host of the Crypto in America podcast, where he covers crypto policy, regulation, and legal developments in Washington. Timestamps: ➡️ 1:30 — Stablecoin yield debates and why banks are back at t...

Can companies raise capital and issue securities directly on-chain without intermediaries or lawyers? Gabe Shapiro is the founder of MetaLeX and a longtime crypto lawyer focused on tokenization, legal automation, and decentralized capital markets. Timestamps: ➡️ 1:20 — Stablecoins, DeFi “kill switches,” and the new crypto narrative ➡️ 5:44 — Why custodial assets create governance power over blockc...

Crypto’s current policy window in Washington is a rare opportunity to pass market structure legislation. What happens if the industry walks away from a compromise now? Bill Hughes, Senior Counsel and Director of Global Regulatory Matters at Consensys, joins the podcast to discuss crypto market structure and stablecoin policy. Timestamps ➡️ 1:10 — Why Agriculture and Banking Committees shape crypto...

How should employees, contractors, and companies think about token compensation? What are the legal, tax, and governance risks? Jessica Furr is a lawyer focused on crypto compensation, governance, and market structure, and the author of Read the Fine Print on Token Compensation . Brandon Ferrick is a crypto and securities lawyer who advises companies on token incentive plans, equity compensation,...

How do prediction markets actually work, and why are state gaming regulators and the CFTC battling over who has jurisdiction to regulate? Samir Patel is an attorney at Holland & Knight, where he focuses on gambling law, prediction markets, and the intersection of crypto, derivatives, and state gaming regulation. Timestamps: ➡️ 1:02 — What prediction markets are and how binary contracts work ➡️...

What could the future of U.S. crypto regulation look like from the CFTC—and how should regulators approach tokenization, prediction markets, and stablecoins as digital finance moves on-chain? Chris Giancarlo is Senior Counsel for Corporate and Financial Services at Willkie Farr & Gallagher and the former Chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where he oversaw the regulation of...

Why are crypto custody rules for registered investment advisors due for modernization — and what could a future-proof framework look like? Sarah Helena Brennan is the General Counsel for Delphi Ventures, and Jay Stolkin is the Deputy General Counsel at Multicoin Capital.  Timestamps: ➡️ 0:05 — Why the custody rule matters for crypto ➡️ 1:27 — The SEC’s safeguarding proposal and why this paper was...

What should the industry be watching in 2026? Drew Hinkes is a partner at Winston & Strawn and a longtime crypto lawyer whose work spans DeFi, market structure, tokenization, and digital asset regulation.  Timestamps: ➡️ 1:53 — Tokenization, RWAs, and institutional crypto’s next phase ➡️ 4:00 — Market structure gaps and DeFi’s unresolved treatment ➡️ 6:09 — AML creep and the risk to permission...

In this episode, Jacob Robinson and Jonathan Schmalfeld break down the biggest U.S. crypto law and policy developments of the month, from the SEC’s moves toward bringing public markets on-chain to major CFTC moves on derivatives, prediction markets, and collateral. The conversation also covers crypto tax proposals, DeFi governance disputes, banking access, privacy, quantum risk, and why regulators...

In this episode, Jacob Robinson speaks with Odun Olowookere about Canada’s proposed Stablecoin Act, the constitutional and regulatory challenges it raises, and why critics argue it may reduce clarity rather than enhance it.  Odun Olowookere is a legal scholar at York University and the co-author of a submission to Canada’s House of Commons critiquing the draft Stablecoin Act, alongside Darrell Duf...

DeFi has always promised trust without intermediaries, but as the ecosystem matures, that promise is being stress-tested by hacks, institutional risk limits, and regulatory pressure. To unpack whether DeFi can scale without sacrificing neutrality or permissionlessness, Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, General Counsel of StarkWare, and Jessi Brooks, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer at Ribbi...