Blockchain and Financial Services: Hype or Herald?

March 21, 2017

O'Melveny partners Eric Sibbitt and Bimal Patel and associate Jake Leraul co-authored the article “Blockchain and Financial Services: Hype or Herald?” for the April 2017 edition of The Banking Law Journal. Blockchain, the underlying technology of Bitcoin, is the subject of widespread, if not fully understood, hype as the next disruptive technology. The authors discuss blockchain and its legal implications. 

“As the applications of blockchain continue to unfold, so will regulatory responses. However, companies investing in or developing blockchain technology can assume that the future regulatory landscape will be fragmented and complex,” the authors write.

Located in O’Melveny’s San Francisco office, Sibbitt structures and executes initial public offerings and other complex capital-raising transactions for companies and underwriters. Patel, who is also based in Washington, DC, specializes in matters related to financial services, public policy, and political strategy. Leraul a member of the Transactions Department and is located in San Francisco.