‘Crypto-investment’ in International Economic Law: A first sketch

Abstract

In January 2009, Bitcoin was launched as the first ‘cryptocurrency’, a term used to refer to a ‘digital representation of value’ operating with Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). Commonly known as ‘Blockchain’, DLT has been an object of study in different legal disciplines, which seek to understand its financial and legal impacts. However, international law literature is still silent regarding the impacts that DLT technology could have on the different legal regimes. This article contextualizes DLT as digital governance ‘infrastructure’ that could affect the way that public authority is exercised; in this sense, cryptocurrencies are the product of such infrastructure. Taking this notion into account, it is further argued here that the concept of ‘crypto-investment’ could be useful in international investment law when certain conditions come into play.