This course introduces students to the legal foundations of digital assets within the broader context of Web 3.0 and the evolving digital economy. It examines how blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) challenge and reshape traditional legal concepts, regulatory frameworks and institutional arrangements. The module adopts a global and comparative perspective, reflecting the transnational nature of digital assets and the diverse legal backgrounds of the student cohort.<\/p>
The module begins by situating digital assets within the evolution of the internet, from Web 1.0 to Web 3.0, critically assessing narratives of decentralisation, disintermediation, and trust. It then provides a legally relevant understanding of blockchain and DLT, focusing on smart contracts, consensus mechanisms and the allocation of responsibility in decentralised systems. Building on this technical foundation, the module explores blockchain use cases beyond cryptocurrencies, including financial market infrastructure, supply chains, and public-sector applications.<\/p>
A central focus of the module is the legal classification of digital and crypto-assets. Students examine competing taxonomies\u2014such as payment, utility, and investment tokens\u2014and assess how different jurisdictions conceptualise digital assets as property, contractual rights, or data. The module also analyses key categories of crypto-assets, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs), stablecoins, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), with attention to issues of ownership, intellectual property, consumer protection, financial stability, and monetary sovereignty.<\/p>
Throughout the course, students engage with regulatory approaches and judicial developments across major jurisdictions, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and selected Asian and emerging economies. The module also addresses the role of intermediaries, enforcement challenges, and compliance obligations, equipping students with a critical understanding of how law responds to innovation in digital asset markets.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This course introduces students to the legal foundations of digital assets within the broader context of Web 3.0 and the evolving digital economy. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":257,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-432143","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n