Members
Tron Black
Tron is a freedom advocate, crypto developer, and entrepreneur. Tron holds a BS in Computer Science and a Master’s of Business Administration.
Since early 2013, Tron has been working in the cryptocurrency space as a miner, developer, investor, and trader. He was one of the first five employees of t0 (tZero), and helped issue the first publicly traded SEC acknowledged parallel crypto-equity for Overstock.com and issued the world's first crypto bond offering. He worked for ANX International, a crypto-fintech company located in Hong Kong. Tron was a Principal Developer for Medici Ventures which invested in a portfolio of blockchain companies and funded the development of Ravencoin.
Tron has given away crypto-currencies to hundreds of people in order to increase awareness of how value now moves as easily as e-mail. He has written articles about Bitcoin, Monero, Dash, Financial Regulations, Security Tokens (STOs) and Ravencoin, and has been featured on many crypto-currency podcasts. He is the inventor on a number of patents in the crypto space and regularly gives talks on cryptocurrency topics worldwide.
Tron is currently the President of the Ravencoin Foundation, a co-founder of Blockchain Law Alliance, and on the Executive Board of Utah Blockchain Coalition, lead dev on Ravencoin, an advisor to TZero, TUSC, WETx and supporter of RVN which is both a top cryptocurrency and a leading crypto-asset platform.
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Andrew Bull, Esq.
Andrew is the founding partner of Bull Blockchain Law LLP. He specializes in technology-based transactions and provides legal advice and consultation to businesses and individuals operating in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry.
After finding Bitcoin in 2011, Andrew has become a legal thought leader on blockchain and cryptocurrency. Andrew’s background in blockchain includes extensive business, legal, and academic experience. After writing a master’s thesis on the regulation of cryptocurrencies, Andrew founded a digital asset investment fund and ran one of the first cryptocurrency mining companies in the United States. Andrew started Bull Blockchain Law in direct response to the lack of legal clarity in the industry.
Through his legal expertise in digital transactions, practical experience in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries, and academic background in policy and regulation, Andrew offers a unique interdisciplinary perspective to address the wide range of issues his clients face. Andrew strives for advancement in the industry and believes bridging the gap between technology and law is essential to client services.
Andrew is a regarded speaker and author on blockchain and cryptocurrency issues. He has written several publications for legal journals, spoken at international conferences, contributed to a publication on U.S. blockchain legislation for the European Union, and developed some of the first blockchain-focused courses for graduate programs and law schools. He has been quoted in Forbes regarding digital assets and was one of the American Bar Association’s Top 40 Young Lawyers Award nominees in 2020.
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Prof. Dr. Frank Emmert, LL.M., FCIArb
Frank is a professor of international business and trade law at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law and director of its Center for Int'l and Comparative Law. Frank has been a consultant in international business and trade cases for 30 years and an international arbitrator for almost 20. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a Member of the Silicon Valley Mediation and Arbitration Center. He started advising companies in the Blockchain space in 2017 and recently started teaching Blockchain and Digital Currency Law. In 2019, Frank co-founded The International Smart Mediation and Arbitration Institute and has been working on specific dispute resolution tools for the blockchain space, including automated options using smart contracts.
Frank has numerous presentations and publications about issues related to cryptocurrencies, most of which can be accessed free of charge on ResearchGate.
Tyler J. Harttraft, Esq.
Tyler is a partner at Bull Blockchain Law LLP in Philadelphia. He focuses his practice on protecting the business interests of clients in various industries, providing efficient legal strategies for complex issues related to corporate governance, FinTech and digital asset regulations, as well as intellectual property matters.
Tyler regularly counsels global and U.S.-based clients on regulatory and compliance requirements for cutting-edge technologies such as blockchain technology and digital assets, offering clarity in navigating complex federal regulations enforced by FinCEN, the SEC, and the CFTC, and overlapping state laws and regulations. Tyler also advises entrepreneurs, corporate clients, and fund managers on regulatory frameworks applicable to crowdfunding and private securities offerings, private investment funds, investment companies, private equity fund sponsors, broker-dealers, and money services businesses.
For start-up clients, Tyler provides a host of legal services, offering counsel on commercial transactions, developing protective website policies, and implementing brand protection strategies. Tyler’s IP advisory services include negotiating and drafting IP licensing agreements, preparing and filing trademark applications with the USPTO, resolving legal disputes related to counterfeiting, infringement, unfair competition, false advertising, trade secrets, and licensing disputes. Tyler is active in the legal community’s latest trademark discussions as a member of the American Bar Association’s Trademarks and Unfair Competition Division.
Tyler is a member of the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance, a non-profit trade association created for financial market professionals and legal practitioners dedicated to remaining on the cutting edge of developments in blockchain technology and smart contracts.
Prof. Douglas J. Pepe, Attorney-at-Law
Doug teaches Blockchain Law and Policy at the George Washington University School of Law in Washington, D.C. and is a partner at Cohen & Gresser LLP in New York, where he practices in the fields of complex com-mercial litigation and blockchain law.
In addition to his active law practice and teaching, Doug is the founder of Mango Farm Assets and Ravencoin IPFS, and is co-founder of IP Assets, which provide software and tools for tokenizing real-world assets and NFTs on the blockchain. He is also the inventor of a patent-pending cold storage wallet for blockchain assets, a patent-pending blockchain voting system, and other blockchain-related software and hardware products.
Doug serves on the Board of the Ravencoin Foundation and speaks and writes regularly on blockchain and other legal issues. He is a member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. Additional background and contact information for Doug are available at the websites for Cohen & Gresser and GW Law School, and also on LinkedIn.
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Rick Tapia
Rick Tapia is an advisor, international keynote speaker and thought-leader in the blockchain and digital asset space. As an entrepreneur himself, he has helped a number of blockchain-based businesses find success since 2016. As a firm believer in blockchain technology, Rick is a founding member of the Blockchain Law Alliance, an organization dedicated to bridging the educational gap between blockchain technology and the legal realm.
Rick specializes in startup ideation, corporate entity formation, DAOs, NFTs, and securities laws among other areas. Rick has an extensive background in United States politics that has fueled his vast network of connections to the blockchain and entrepreneur worlds.
For contact information see LinkedIn.