This is an op-ed by Artem Afian, attorney and “legal futurist” at Hiveon, a crypto mining ecosystem that offers services for bitcoin mining hardware.
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that bitcoin transactions ultimately occur between wallets. There are humans behind wallets, but that connection isn’t really important. Bitcoin owes its nickname to the fact that there is no direct connection between the wallet and the person who owns it. It is what sets the Bitcoin wallet apart from any other financial instrument. No matter how hard regulators try to change this, the core of the technology remains the same.
What does this mean? This means that wallets will soon be recognized as entities deserving of legal rights.
First, humanity Animal rights began to be recognized. Now, there is talk of Robot legal rights. Soon, your Bitcoin wallet rights will expire.
When one talks about robot rights, they usually refer to some imitation of human will that deserves legal recognition. We understand that a robot does not have a soul in the same way as a human, but at the same time it performs rather complex actions, which lead to legal consequences. For many of us, a bot or a Bitcoin wallet is something inanimate and devoid of a soul, and therefore not deserving of legal protection. But we recognize the rights of corporations and institutions, and of course it’s hard to imagine forms more soulless than that. It turns out that subjects of law can be inanimate.
So, what is the difference between a Bitcoin wallet and a legal entity? A legal entity is simply a collection of files in a particular record. Even lawyers have a theory.Fiction of a legal entity. We will calmly confirm that the legal entity is an American company. We can quickly verify this. But how do you check that a legal entity is created, for example, under the laws of the country of Swaziland? Even if you are shown documents proving this, they are unlikely to tell you anything. So If I tell you that you are dealing with a foreign company, most likely you should just believe it.
However, this legal entity, shown only on paper, has some rights. So, the existing Bitcoin wallet is more tangible than many legally protected entities. Therefore, there is another conclusion: since legal entities have rights, so the wallet may have rights. Just like legal entities, wallets make transactions, just like legal entities, wallets can change owners. This fact never changes: if bots or legal entities deserve legal rights, then so are Bitcoin wallets.
I think Bitcoin is an exciting new space and we still have a lot to explore. Now, my idea that Bitcoin wallets will inevitably receive legal rights to them may sound crazy, but many other discoveries lie ahead.
This is a guest post from Artem Avian. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.