Reed Smith has just released its expanded and updated third-edition white paper on blockchain technology. The publication - Blockchain - Distributed ledger technology and designing the future – is available here.

The report’s 14 chapters are designed to help businesses and organizations initiate or expand their relationships with digital currencies and digital ledger technology. Having a strong understanding of the legal landscape - as well as history of how we got here - is key to building a successful company in the blockchain sector.

The Blockchain report focuses on the numerous applications of blockchain technology in a variety of industries, including the rapidly evolving digital assets/cryptocurrency arena. The white paper also addresses key developments and trends in the legal and regulatory landscape.

The 128-page paper includes an updated compendium of U.S. federal and state, as well as European, Asian and other laws and developments impacting the blockchain and virtual currency landscape. It also spells out, industry by industry, new promising uses of blockchain.

Yet for all of its cost savings and efficiencies, blockchain has major risks in the areas of privacy, intellectual property and data security. The paper explains those as well. This paper is a strong effort to bring a comprehensive legal perspective to this emerging and transformative industry.