Dr. Muharem Kianieff is the author of the second edition of Blockchain Technology and the Law: Opportunities and Risks, which explores the legal opportunities and challenges surrounding blockchain technology. (PETER MARVAL/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
Nearly two decades after Bitcoin first appeared, blockchain technology remains one of the most talked-about and often misunderstood innovations of the digital age.
For Dr. Muharem Kianieff, a professor at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law, that enduring fascination inspired a newly expanded second edition of his book, Blockchain Technology and the Law: Opportunities and Risks.
The book explores how legal frameworks can help society maximize the benefits of blockchain technology while minimizing its risks.
"When I first heard about Bitcoin, it sounded ridiculous," Kianieff said with a laugh. "I was skeptical. I've seen technologies come and go."
That skepticism, balanced by curiosity about emerging technologies, shaped the first edition, published in 2019. Rather than focusing on companies or short-lived trends, Kianieff sought to explain the technology itself and examine the legal questions surrounding it.
After the first edition was well received, his publisher invited him to produce a second. The result is an expanded volume that reflects how the blockchain landscape has evolved, including new chapters on non-fungible tokens (NFTs), stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
While blockchain is often associated with cryptocurrencies, Kianieff argues the technology's future extends beyond digital coins.
"Blockchain is more than just cryptocurrency," he said. "Like most technology, it has good and bad qualities. The question is how to maximize the good and minimize the bad."
Kianieff specializes in banking law, consumer protection and financial technologies, and his research traces the evolution of payment systems over centuries, allowing him to place blockchain developments within a broader historical context. One of the book's central themes is that many of today's debates are not as new as they may seem.
"Every time a new payment technology comes along, we hear similar arguments," he said. "The industry says regulation will stifle innovation. Governments worry about consumer protection. We've seen versions of this conversation for hundreds of years."
Among the developments explored in the new edition are NFTs, which gained widespread attention during a speculative boom in digital collectibles. The book examines the gap between what buyers believe they are purchasing and the rights they actually receive under the governing contracts.
The book also examines stablecoins — cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value — and the regulatory challenges of ensuring companies can deliver on their promises to consumers.
It also explores central bank digital currencies, or government-backed digital money. Supporters suggest CBDCs could improve financial inclusion, reduce transaction costs and make cross-border payments more efficient while protecting privacy through appropriate legal safeguards.
Looking ahead, Kianieff identifies privacy as one of blockchain's biggest legal challenges, noting that transactions can remain permanently recorded online and that emerging technologies such as quantum computing may eventually undermine existing security protections.
The book also considers the growing use of cryptocurrencies as speculative investments, along with concerns about investment fraud and the need for stronger consumer protections.
"Technology alone is not the answer," he said. "If we don't put the right legal framework in place, we're going to repeat mistakes."
That perspective also shapes his teaching.
After publishing the first edition, Kianieff developed an early Canadian law school course on blockchain technology and commercial law. At Windsor Law, students learn how lawyers identify legal risks, advise businesses and help policymakers navigate emerging technologies.
"The role of a lawyer isn't just to fill out paperwork after decisions have already been made," he said. "It's to spot issues and help guide innovation in a way that serves the public interest."
For students entering a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, Kianieff advocates cautious optimism.
"We've seen this before with the internet, with the dot-com era and with other technologies that promised to change everything overnight," he said. "Some of those promises took decades to materialize. Some never happened at all."
His goal, both in the classroom and through his writing, is to help readers move beyond the hype.
"We have to ask what's really here," he said. "What does this technology actually do? What problems can it solve? What risks does it create? Once we answer those questions, then we can decide how to move forward.”
The second edition of Blockchain Technology and the Law: Opportunities and Risks examines those questions through the lens of law, economics and public policy, offering readers a practical guide to one of the most widely discussed technologies of the modern era.