The Law and Technology Society of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore brings to you the 15th edition of its annual conference on technological developments around the world and their interface with the law – Consilience 2018. The theme for this year’s conference is “The Future of Blockchain Technology: Evolving a Framework for its Adoption and Regulation”. The conference is scheduled to be held on May 5th, 2018 at the NLSIU campus in Bangalore. “Blockchain” is a foundational technology that promises to disrupt the way networks and markets currently operate. Essentially, it is an open, decentralised and trust-based system for organising and maintaining information. With the recent explosion of cryptocurrencies in India, the term “Blockchain” has captured the imagination of technologists, regulators and policy-makers alike. However, the potential applications of Blockchain technology go far beyond the banking and finance sector, and include emerging domains such as e-commerce and social media, e-governance and e-voting, smart grids and public utility infrastructure, real estate, healthcare and the legal industry, to name a few. In India, both the private and public sector have warmed up to the technology and are in the process of preparing roadmaps and implementing Blockchain projects. While large enterprises and start-ups develop new and innovative services built on Blockchain technology, the Finance Minister recently stated in the Union Budget Speech that “the government will explore use of Blockchain technology proactively for ushering in [the] digital economy”. Now is the perfect opportunity to discuss the adoption and regulation of…
