Blockchain & Smart Contracts in Canada

Canada

Blockchain technology is dramatically transforming the way we do business, particularly in the areas of financial services, securities, and corporate transactions. However, both the technology and the laws governing it are highly complex, requiring sophisticated legal and technical skill - and an insider's understanding of the ever-evolving regulatory space.

Gowling WLG is home to Canada's leading blockchain legal practice, comprising lawyers who are strongly qualified to advise clients on a broad range of legal issues related to blockchain technology. From initial coin offerings to consumer protection issues, our team can help you overcome the latest challenges and take advantage of new opportunities.

Usman Sheikh, Head of Blockchain & Smart Contracts Group, Gowling WLG: I remember lecturing in this space on blockchain technology about a year or two ago and really when I asked the question, "Who had ever heard of blockchain technology?" not even one hand would go up.

W. Ian Palm, Blockchain Capital Markets Team, Gowling WLG: To explain blockchain, I think you have to think about it first off as…it's a software platform. It's built upon technology which already existed. If you think about it in the sense of, we had the internet develop over the last ten to fifteen years, we're now seeing blockchain come out as a means of sharing value between parties. So it's kind of like the internet of value.

Usman Sheikh, Head of Blockchain & Smart Contracts Group, Gowling WLG: So with respect to the issues surrounding blockchain technology or the obstacles that one may face, I would say that one of the big ones is the legal uncertainty. What is a cryptocurrency? Is it a security? Is it a property? Is it a commodity? Is it something else? A currency? Is it all of the above? These are all issues in the first instance that many of us in the legal profession and clients frankly are grappling with. At Gowling WLG we've actually developed quite a sophisticated offering here at the firm on the legal side. We have a crypto capital markets team that is a specialist team, we have a crypto patent team, we have a crypto tax team. We're really one of the first firms to have developed a dedicated offering.

Alejandro Guerrero, Special Projects Lead, Sweetbridge: We found the team at Gowling extremely competent in their ability to number one, interact with regulators and number two, to be abreast of the developments in the industry.

Manie Eager, Chairman, Blockchain Association of Canada: I'm very impressed with the way Gowling has stepped up and into the space and become, I think, leaders in Canada and elsewhere where we've been working on international projects, providing guidance and providing certainty.

Troy Wong, CEO, Neptune Asset Group: There was very little onboarding time from a client perspective in us having to onboard our legal team and actually educate them in the blockchain space. They already knew about the technology and what the key regulatory highlights were and so that was refreshing from a blockchain entrepreneur who is constantly walking into offices and generally having to be the educator versus the educated.

Usman Sheikh, Head of Blockchain & Smart Contracts Group, Gowling WLG: In the coming years I think that we'll see a lot more regulatory guidance, we'll see statutory reform, we'll see very novel applications in every single industry that one can imagine. And it's really a really exciting time here in the blockchain space and in Canada.

Here are just a few examples of what sets us apart when it comes to blockchain and smart contracts:

Blockchain pioneers

Gowling WLG leads the industry in blockchain. We are the only international law firm to be a founding partner and co-founding member of the Blockchain Research Institute, a multi-million dollar knowledge network led by Don and Alex Tapscott that studies the strategic implications of blockchain alongside the Bank of Canada, Nasdaq, the TMX Group, IBM, KPMG, Bell Canada and others.

Gowling WLG has also broken new ground in the listing of the first blockchain company in the world, and one of our practitioners coordinated the very first token sale offered as a security by way of an Offering Memorandum across Canada in accordance with Canadian securities laws.

In addition, our team is often called upon to brief and advise cabinet ministers, mayors and other high-ranking corporate executives on the state of blockchain technology in Canada and around the world.

Full service offering

Our Blockchain & Smart Contracts Group offers clients a broad range of legal services to help them overcome the latest challenges and take advantage of new opportunities. Our experienced lawyers frequently advise on blockchain matters related to:

Initial coin offerings (ICOs)
Crypto-currency exchanges
Digital wallets
Securities law compliance
Capital markets transactions (e.g., underwriting and going public transactions and crowdfunding/online investment platforms)
Investment fund formation
Business operations
Tax

Anti-money laundering (AML)/know your client (KYC) compliance
Litigation
M&A and other corporate transactions
Insolvency and restructuring
Patents and other intellectual property matters
Consumer protection compliance
Banking law
Real estate law

In addition, our practitioners are working on matters that touch on blockchain's foundational impact on identity, provenance, fraud suppression, cyber security, supply chain management and the internet of things, as well as blockchain's disruptive implications for such diverse domains as finance, insurance, law, healthcare, accounting, real estate, entertainment and law enforcement.

Our clients include leading digital wallets, crypto-currency exchanges, investment funds seeking to invest in crypto-currencies or crypto-assets, and key blockchain pioneers.

Global reach

With offices in 19 cities in Canada, the U.K., Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and an extensive referral network spanning more than 30 countries, Gowling WLG is equipped to support your domestic and cross-border blockchain legal needs in jurisdictions around the world.

Thought leaders

Our lawyers are blockchain thought leaders and are sought-after speakers at key blockchain industry events and conferences in Canada and internationally. Gowling WLG has also hosted a number of its own well-attended blockchain seminars for clients.

Unmatched legal team

Our team comprises seasoned practitioners from all legal disciplines, including capital markets, financial services, tax, and intellectual property. Our top-ranked litigation team, in particular, includes leading commercial litigators, former prosecutors at the Ontario Securities Commission and former Crown Attorneys. Our lawyers have also developed exceptionally strong relationships with government agencies, including through their work on significant regulatory committees such as the Ontario Securities Commission Securities Advisory Committee and the Small and Medium Enterprises Committee.

Highlights

Advised on the transaction that resulted in the world's first public listing of a blockchain company, bringing BTL Group to market on the TSX-V.
Counsel to one of the co-founders of Ethereum, now one of the largest crypto-currencies in the world.
Currently acting as lead counsel on a high volume of initial coin offerings (ICOs) / token sales with blockchain projects relating to all industry sectors, including infrastructure, construction, property management and energy.
Counsel to several investment funds seeking to invest in crypto-currencies or crypto-assets (such as tokens and other blockchain startups), including fund formation, securities registration and compliance, downstream investments and M&A.
Counsel on novel patent applications for several banks and other blockchain pioneers.
Trademark agent to a crypto-currency bitcoin exchange and internet financial services company with respect to the registration in Canada and the US of its new exchange trademark.
Counsel to leading Canadian crypto-exchanges and digital wallets, as well as leading players in India and Australia seeking Canadian legal advice.
Counsel to a leading full-service blockchain technology company, in ongoing tax, GST, transfer pricing and corporate commercial matters.

Browse our upcoming events

Past events:

Rotman School of Business - Usman Sheikh and Anthony Diiorio, co-founder of Ethereum and founder of Decentral, will deliver a lecture entitled "FinTech, Blockchain, Crypto Currencies & Cybersecurity" - January 25, 2018
Blockchain Impact: Bootcamp & Event - Gowling WLG's Usman Sheikh will be speaking on blockchain regulatory developments at this event presented by FinTech Canada - December 8, 2017
Blockchain Expo - Usman Sheikh will be speaking on "Smart Contract Management & Innovation" at the Blockchain Expo in Santa Clara, California - November 29-30, 2017
New Frontiers in Capital Innovation: ICOs - Gowling WLG's Toronto office co-sponsored an event with the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada on blockchain innovations and ICOs for investors, issuers, traders, key participants and stakeholders - November 16, 2017
Blockchains, Smart Contracts and the Law Conference - Gowling WLG practitioners Usman Sheikh and Parna Sabet-Stephenson spoke at an Osgoode CPD program on blockchain litigation and differences in blockchain business models - November 15, 2017
Blockchain Research Institute (BRI) All-Members Summit - Gowling WLG Partner Usman Sheikh led a BRI workshop on CLO & Legal/Regulatory Developments - November 8, 2017
Blockchain Breakfast: Leading Movers and Key Developments - Gowling WLG's Toronto office hosted a breakfast session with pioneers in the blockchain community who described blockchain's application to their businesses, followed by a legal update from Gowling WLG lawyers at the forefront of capital markets and litigation developments - November 2, 2017
Benchers Retreat: Law Society of Upper Canada - Usman Sheikh provided the lunchtime address to the Benchers of the Law Society of Upper Canada on blockchain technology and its application to the legal profession - October 25, 2017
Blockchain for everyone! The Bitcoin and Blockchain Revolution - Gowling WLG's Vancouver office co-hosted this event that featured special guests Manie Eagar (Blockchain Association of Canada) and Thomas Linder and Lukas Sieber (MME) from Switzerland - October 16, 2017
ETHWaterloo - Gowling WLG sponsored a key Waterloo 36-hour hackathon attended by over 400 leading developers from around the world - October 13-15, 2017
Pillsbury Blockchain Seminar: When Will Blockchain Matter? - Usman Sheikh spoke on Blockchain and litigation developments in New York at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP - June 7, 2017
The Blockchain Revolution: A Technology Primer - Gowling WLG's Blockchain & Smart Contract Practice Group hosted blockchain experts from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and independent blockchain engineers to explain the technical underpinnings of blockchain technology as well as where this technology stands today and where it might go - March 14, 2017
Blockchain Symposium - Gowling WLG's Blockchain & Smart Contract Practice Group hosted a full-day conference in the Toronto office featuring discussion from leading experts on the latest developments in blockchain technology and what the future might hold - December 7, 2016
IIROC-CLS Conference - Usman Sheikh spoke on Blockchain & the Capital Markets to the financial services and compliance industry at an event hosted by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) Education Sub-Committee - December 5, 2016