Preston J. Byrne

Preston Byrne, a CoinDesk columnist, is a partner in Anderson Kill's Technology, Media and Distributed Systems Group. He advises software, internet and fintech companies. His biweekly column, “Not Legal Advice,” is a roundup of pertinent legal topics in the crypto space. It is most definitely not legal advice.

Recent

Markets

Securities

BlockFi Is in Regulators' Crosshairs. DeFi Is Next

The DeFi industry should watch closely the regulatory actions taken against BlockFi and the securities questions being raised, CoinDesk columnist Preston Byrne writes.

By Preston J. Byrne

Jul 22, 2021 at 8:07 p.m. UTC

Jul 22, 2021

SecuritiesOpinionBlockFiDeFi

inside-a-c-mer-eye-care-holdings-ltd-eye-center

Markets

Dogecoin

Bitcoin Doesn't Care if You Think It's Right Wing

Dogecoin co-founder Jackson Palmer says bitcoin is "inherently right-wing, hyper-capitalistic" but, really, it's whatever you want it to be, says our columnist.

By Preston J. Byrne

Jul 15, 2021 at 4:29 p.m. UTC

Jul 15, 2021

DogecoinJackson PalmerOpinionPreston Byrne

Policy

Opinion

5 Legal Considerations When Dealing in NFTs

Just because securities laws might not apply doesn’t mean other laws won’t, says our columnist.

By Preston J. Byrne

Mar 15, 2021 at 8:27 p.m. UTC

Mar 15, 2021

OpinionNFTs

stock-of-video-game-retailer-gamestop-skyrocketing-due-to-reddit-message-board-traders

Policy

'The Squeezening': How the GameStop Backlash Will Curtail Freedom

GameStop's "squeezening" is likely to increase calls for curbs on "memetic disturbances." That could be dangerous for free speech.

By Preston J. Byrne

Jan 28, 2021 at 12:17 p.m. UTC

Jan 28, 2021

RedditOpinionGameStop

tingey-injury-law-firm-venb0ddegze-unsplash

Policy

Ethereum

Would the STABLE Act Make Running an Ethereum Node Illegal?

The STABLE Act regulating the burgeoning stablecoin industry is misplaced and overly broad, says our columnist.

By Preston J. Byrne

Dec 9, 2020 at 8:20 p.m. UTC

Dec 9, 2020

EthereumOpinionStablecoinsOp-edPreston ByrneSTABLE Act

Policy

Opinion

Stop F**king Around With Public Token Airdrops in the United States

The SEC’s slowness in ruling on DeFI's legality "is not a waiver of its enforcement power," says our columnist.

By Preston J. Byrne

Sep 18, 2020 at 12:30 p.m. UTC

Sep 18, 2020

OpinionDeFi

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Tech

Web 3.0

Twitter Doesn't Need Web 3.0 to Solve Its Identity Problem

The great Twitter hack does not herald the end of the centralized web. But we need stronger cryptography for social media.

By Preston J. Byrne

Jul 17, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. UTC

Jul 17, 2020

Web 3.0OpinionTwitter Hack 2020

Markets

Opinion

Bitcoin Doesn’t Take Sides: Why Apolitical Solutions Are the Internet's Future

Companies that take political stances are in a never-ending war with public opinion. Bitcoin doesn’t take sides and that's why it wins, says our columnist.

By Preston J. Byrne

Jun 10, 2020 at 1:08 p.m. UTC

Jun 10, 2020

Opinion

techcrunch_disrupt_europe_berlin_2013_10536888854

Policy

Telegram's TON Was Built on Sand. Its Failure Isn't All Bad For Crypto

Telegram's Pavel Durov rails against the SEC's "ossification." But his TON project was always on shaky ground legally-speaking, says Preston Byrne.

By Preston J. Byrne

May 14, 2020 at 2:53 p.m. UTC

May 14, 2020

TelegramOpinionTON

Markets

Tokens

With Kik and Telegram Cases, the SEC Tries to Kill the SAFT

Invented by white shoe New York City law firms, the two-step Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT) was supposed to keep crypto companies out of trouble. Now, the SEC is co...

By Preston J. Byrne

Apr 28, 2020 at 5:43 p.m. UTC

Apr 28, 2020

TokensOpinionKikSAFT