On June 5th SEBI released a cirular to introduce a framework for “Regulatory Sandbox”. Under this sandbox framework, entities regulated by SEBI that shall grant certain facilities and flexibilities to experiment with FinTech solutions in a live environment and on limited set of real customers for a limited time frame. These features shall be fortified with necessary safeguards for investor protection and risk mitigation.
Some of the basic blockchain applications such as system of records and identity management is required by most large-scale organisations. Moreover, the blockchain is now being implemented to offer Software as a Service applications to enterprises. This is being done through providing services like tracking and traceability of products. Following this, J.P Morgan has introduced an enterprise version of the ethereum labelled as “Quorum” which has resolved concerns around privacy and scalability. Quorum is offered as a blockchain as a service offering. Ethereum has also innovated to address all issues which are being faced by enterprises and has formulated an Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (“EEA”) to work on further developments and satisfy all requirements of large-scale organisations.
On a fateful September morning the world woke up to the news of WeWork pulling the plug on its IPO. WeWork, the co-working unicorn startup, whose IPO was one of the highly anticipated public offerings of 2019 saw an abrupt drop in its valuation.
Would you believe if someone were to tell you that you can shop online without “agreeing” to any terms and conditions? No, right? Or have you ever wondered why your favorite item from the retail website that you browsed ten minutes ago is popping up on your Instagram account? At some point in our lives, we all have browsed websites and downloaded mobile applications without reading the much omnipresent terms of use. So, is it necessary to read these terms?
“For in reason, all government without the consent of the governed is the very definition of slavery.” - Jonathan Swift
The two poles of centralization and decentralization have been as old as the human civilization in itself. Capitalism & Socialism, Presidential and Parliamentarian are all the forms of centralization/ decentralization debate that have existed for times immemorial.
What are ‘Smart Contracts?’
When it comes to startups, a general perception is that it needs to be in a developed country where all the resources are available. In truth, that misses the point: startups can begin anywhere, and it's often the countries with the greatest needs that present the biggest opportunities.
The United Arab Emirates has been one of the few jurisdictions, which has been supportive of the technology. Recently the UAE Government announced the UAE Blockchain Strategy 2021 which aims at capitalising on blockchain technology to transform 50 per cent of government transactions into the blockchain platform by 2021. UAE also happens to be the only jurisdiction around the world to have four regulators acting as incubators to blockchain projects and start-ups.
Much has been spoken about the disruption and the innovation brought about by the cryptocurrencies and blockchain in general. But amongst other things, a new technology almost always disrupts and affects the conventional methods of managing a workforce.
First things first, let’s admit - starting-out is bold. While all of us have heard that most of the start-ups fail with varying percentages in different jurisdictions, there is always hope that your start-up won’t follow suit. As lawyers, this is what we hope for, for you.
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