Lawyer specializing in technology Addison Cameron-Huff has launched its new law firm based in Toronto, January 3, 2019, the tenth anniversary of Bitcoin, as a declaration of its commitment to work and promote activities based on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
Cameron-Huff worked as a lawyer for a core Bitcoin developer, several token-based companies and dozens of cryptographic startups. As president of Decentral Inc., he managed a staff of 30 people and helped bring the company to 750,000 monthly portfolio users.
Cameron-Huff, the first fully encrypted legal services company in Canada, expects the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Canada's cryptocurrency regulations to create some business for him, but he is also trying to build a global presence.
"It is likely that the first legal work I will carry out in 2019 will concern one company from Malta or one from Singapore, and I have received inquiries from customers also in Papua New Guinea," he said. Bitcoin Magazine.
"There's a shortage of global talent going on and lawyers are part of this." Although most laws are national / sub-national, there are some business-corporate considerations that are cross-border and the legal strategy is international. Many companies around the world can not find local legal talents that meet their needs, and this is an export opportunity for Canadian blockchain lawyers. "
Cameron-Huff notes that Canada has a relatively welcoming legal and regulatory environment, especially when compared to the United States.
Challenges continue to be "non-legal areas such as commercial bank accounts (ie not being able to access the banking system), access to capital (especially post-angel) and competition for talent (companies cryptographic are not the only ones trying to hire intelligent technologists), "he said.
Disappearing federal regulations
As noted here, the regulations previously drafted by the Canadian government, which had been released for comment, were quietly set aside at least until the next elections (expected in October of this year), which means that any execution date will be rejected until 2021.
Cameron-Huff, who was involved in the original and confidential regulatory consultation process in 2014, said that the industry should be grateful that such efforts have never been promulgated. He told us that he is not a fan of the specificity of cryptocurrency, even if he is listened to by a few crypts who are passionate about regulation.
"What they do not understand is that the regulations will not be written of them or even for their. They assume that any legislation will support their vision for the Canadian industry and payments space, but this is not necessarily the case, and even if it were, it could potentially freeze existing models.
"The main problem in the last two years was how to avoid illegal titles, exchanges have increased the control of new digital goods lists, and the rest of the industry has followed the example: in 2019 we will see a continued maturity of space and greater attention to regulation / compliance can no longer be ignored. "
Cameron-Huff praised the federal government for its prudence by saying:
"The current situation is one in which there is significant freedom to operate and experiment with new models, which is exactly what is needed at this time."
The future of Crypto
Cameron-Huff is optimistic about linking his future to bitcoin:
"The price goes up, the price goes down, the price goes up, that's the bitcoin story in a nutshell, the only thing that would surprise me if the price will remain unchanged for the rest of 2019. I'm dedicating myself full time to this I think this shows my long-term vision better than anything I can say, developers do not stop and neither do I. "
As for working with the many altcoins out there, Cameron-Huff is not looking for any business and says about altcoins:
"The overwhelming majority of altcoins is an irrelevant copy of the source code of big projects like Bitcoin and Ethereum – copies that do not involve technological innovation will almost certainly continue to fail."
However, Cameron-Huff expects to advise some startups about token sales and thinks that the ICOs will probably remain, saying:
"I expect the 2019 token sales will be higher quality than many of the 2017/2018." There is a growing sophistication in the market and I think the "gold rush" mentality has cooled ".
Fixed billing for Crypto lawyers
Cameron-Huff said he is happy to accept bitcoin as payment (as well as in fiat) and, in what he sees as another pioneering breakthrough, he has a paid payment system for his clients.
As described on its website, a fixed cost service is designed to ensure that an enterprise has access to legal advice, regardless of the problem and when. As a membership fee, it guarantees access when necessary.
Cameron-Huff considers this billing model more suitable for the more complex needs of startup blockchain and cryptocurrency.
Stuart Hoegner, general councilor for Bitfinex, told us that he sees a successful future for Cameron-Huff and commented on the fixed rate system:
"I suspect he will also find a very available public for the fixed rate agreements he is proposing." Smart and forward-looking lawyers have been open to these types of alternative billing agreements for years and continue to be requested.
"They do not always adapt to the circumstances of a client, but the key is modularity and choice.The way to work and bill the lawyer should adapt to the business model and objectives of the client, not vice versa."
Evan Thomas, a Toronto-based lawyer who works with cryptographic companies, is also enthusiastic about this new billing agreement that says:
"What seems unique is that Addison is taking advantage of its particular legal and business experience to offer a fixed-price work environment that goes beyond the typical legal work of any start-up need and includes business-specific work and advice in the blockchain space. / cryptographic.An innovative model like this requires a strong knowledge of legal, business and technical issues specific to customers in the sector. "
Cameron-Huff remains optimistic on the ford in unexplored waters. "There are a lot of online speeches about cryptography prices and whether or not 2018 is a bubble, but I've only seen a steady increase in the number and quality of the blockchain companies in Toronto Canadian banks continue to hire blockchain developers Startups have doubled the value of their products rather than the value of their coins or tokens, I expect 2019 to be a great year for product development, and I do not really care about the speculative side. "