Jonathan Bench

Jonathan is chair of Harris Sliwoski’s corporate practice group, where he helps public and private companies with international and domestic business transactions. His clientele includes companies from Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Jonathan has worked and consulted in the U.S., Asia, and South America and is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese.

He is an emerging blockchain legal expert and enjoys developing international legal strategies with promising web3 projects.

cyrpto airdrops

The Current Legal Status of Staking in the Crypto World

The Legal Status of Staking in the Crypto World With BTC, ETH, and other cryptocurrencies trending upward in Q4 2023 and into 2024, it is a good time to revisit an issue I have been thinking about lately. What is the legal status of staking? The Basics About Staking According to Coinbase, staking is multifaceted

How to Use AI in Mergers and Acquisitions

Register Here for our January 31st webinar. In the span of approximately 12 months, artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly become one of the most consequential technologies in this generation, with ChatGPT leading the way. Join me for an insightful webinar on January 31st, where I will further explore this fascinating topic with  IP and data

The Ripple Case and tokens as a security

When is a Token a Security? Lessons from the SEC v Ripple Case

With the SEC v. Ripple decision emerging recently, many commentators (see here and here) have focused on the holding of the case, which is the correct place to start. This post focuses on the holding, plus additional matters discussed in the decision and additional insights gleaned from the rest of the decision. Foundational Facts of

Two Business people Analyzing Document

Which Industries Can Benefit From Smart Contracts?

With Web3 on the horizon and digital transformation in the air, blockchain technologies like smart contracts are becoming more common in business processes. Every company should be asking how can you incorporate these technologies into your business model. For context, a smart contract is a self-enforcing piece of code that exists on a blockchain and

Web3 Lawyers

Is Web3 Dead? Not From Where We are Sitting

Even with some high-profile enforcement actions and general mayhem in the blockchain industry (see here and here), many founders continue to build their projects, gain traction in the market, and receive funding. We know this because we speak with many such entrepreneurs every week. Below is an excerpt from an email I recently sent to

What Are Smart Contracts on Blockchain? 

Are Smart Contracts Legal Contracts?

If you have been following the news around Web3 lately, you may have heard of smart contracts. They are used in a wide variety of decentralized digital transactions, including NFT sales, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and decentralized applications (dApps). Because smart contracts can relieve some of the hassle involved with traditional contracts, many businesses are

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What Are Smart Contracts on Blockchain?

If you’ve paid any attention at all to news about Web3, the metaverse, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), or cryptocurrency, you’ve probably heard of smart contracts. You’re also probably intrigued by how they work from a legal perspective and what they could mean for the future of your business. Smart contracts are a foundational element of Web3,

to Europe

WTCU Hosted Event: Why Spain is Your Bridge to Europe

Discover the secrets to expanding your business into Europe via Spain! Join us on April 25, 2023, at 10:30 AM at World Trade Center Utah headquarters for an exclusive discussion with industry experts from international law firms Monereo Meyer Abogados (Spain) and Harris Sliwoski (US), and Red Points, the fastest-growing revenue recovery company in the

Key Terminology for Web3

Today’s internet looks radically different from the static HTML pages of the 1990s, and it’s still evolving. New words like “Metaverse” and “Bitcoin” are now mainstream, and many speculate a new digital revolution is underway. Enter Web 3.0. What Is Web3? Web3 is a decentralized future version of the internet characterized by technology trends like

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A Legal Guide to NFTs

Businesses looking to get into the non-fungible token (NFT) space have a chance to reap some serious profit if they do it right. Rare NFTs can sell for tens of millions of dollars. In 2021, The Merge sold for $91.8 million on Nifty Gateway, making it the most expensive NFT to date. However, due to