Dear reader,

Change is the only constant in this world. Living beings change by growing, learning and ageing. The world around us changes and we have to adapt to it every day. Without change, there would be no learning and no progress. There would be no digitization and it will not go away either. However, digitization has less to do with products substituting individual analogue processes and professions than with a general rethinking and redistribution of resources. Digitization has made the world fit into a cell phone. It is finding solutions before we can write laws for them.

But with progress ahead of the laws comes abuse. Changes have therefore to be viewed in both enthusiastic and critical light. Accordingly, the blockchain is deemed to be the holy grail and at the same time, at war with sacred data protection rules. However, building on believes while separating technology and law cannot be the right way.

A very helpful and interesting point of view is that of the Kenyan people. Their mobile payment system M-PESA has changed everyday life since its introduction in 2007. M-PESA is built on a real need. It has made the life of Kenyan people easier and more efficient. And it is not blockchain-based.

There is not just one truth. Or one solution. The changes associated with digitization, especially the interconnected and intertwined everyday life of human beings, need us to rethink laws. Still, every culture has its own understanding of

law and order and of right and wrong. Trust stems from the rules lived by and, of course, from personal experience. Painful experiences like the collapse of Mt. Gox lead to further development and to a more critical view of what it means to interact in a virtual world where technical understanding and law are the last things that come to mind. It has always been hard to balance interests and to keep up with time.

In the field of „crypto“ we are witnessing attempts to redefine familiar concepts and objects, as well as the transformation of identity towards authenticity. Legislators, law users and addressees should not accept confusion and demand clear answers. They must ensure that freedom and public order can remain in balance. Other countries might inspire to find solutions to problems that seem to be unsolvable at first glance.

That‘s why we bring the world together. The exchange of knowledge has always been an important part of humanity and will always remain to be one.

Best regards,

Claudia Otto

Editor

claudia.otto@rechtinnovativ.online