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w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m J u n e 2 0 1 4 27 2 0 1 4 C A N A D I A N C A N A D I A N w w w . 27 27 27 2 0 1 4 2 0 1 4 2 0 1 4 J u n e J u n e J u n e J u n e J u n e m a g . c o m m a g . c o m m a g . c o m m a g . c o m m a g . c o m m a g . c o m m a g . c o m m a g . c o m m a g . c o m L a w y e r L a w y e r L a w y e r L a w y e r C A N A D I A N C A N A D I A N C A N A D I A N C A N A D I A N w w w . w w w . w w w . 2 0 1 4 L a w y e r C A N A D I A N C A N A D I A N C A N A D I A N w w w . 2 0 1 4 J u n e m a g . c o m m a g . c o m L a w y e r L a w y e r L a w y e r L a w y e r C A N A D I A N C A N A D I A N J u n e m a g . c o m m a g . c o m m a g . c o m m a g . c o m L a w y e r 27 27 27 2 0 1 4 2 0 1 4 J u n e J u n e J u n e m a g . c o m m a g . c o m m a g . c o m m a g . c o m L a w y e r m a g . c o m L a w y e r L a w y e r L a w y e r L a w y e r C A N A D I A N L a w y e r C A N A D I A N C A N A D I A N C A N A D I A N C A N A D I A N C A N A D I A N C A N A D I A N C A N A D I A N 2 0 1 4 2 0 1 4 J u n e m a g . c o m C A N A D I A N 2 0 1 4 2 0 1 4 2 0 1 4 J u n e m a g . c o m L a w y e r L a w y e r L a w y e r C A N A D I A N C A N A D I A N C A N A D I A N CRYPTOCURRENCY ! CURRENCY CURRENCY CURRENCY CURRENCY CURRENCY CURRENCY CURRENCY CURRENCY CURRENCY CURRENCY CURRENCY CURRENCY CURRENCY CURRENCY CURRENCY hen Jillian Friedman completed her articles at McMillan LLP at the end of last year, the young Montreal lawyer attended by fortuitous happen- stance a networking event presentation on bitcoins, a controversial and extremely volatile virtual currency that exists only digitally, as computer code. Friedman, unshaken by the scandals and sordid headlines that have rocked the nascent virtual currency over the past year, was hooked, enticed by the notion of becoming a cryptocurrency legal expert. She is on her way. Heeding the advice of her mentors, Friedman is cultivating a clientele of bitcoin startups, a sector that allows her to share her knowledge and brief legal experience in financial services and general commercial law to an industry pushing for mainstream recognition. Friedman has since become one of a handful of Canadian lawyers who accepts payments in bitcoins, though she does not hold it in trust. "I would love for the legal community in Canada to understand that bitcoin is not some sketchy digital currency that is used to laun- der money — it is much more than that," says Friedman, who is counsel to Bitcoin Embassy, a Montreal non-profit corporation founded to promote the adoption of bitcoin and related cryptotechnologies. Bitcoin has been in the spotlight over the past year, in part because of the volatility of the dollar-to-bitcoin exchange rate. Its reputation for seemingly facilitating illicit activities as well as several high-profile arrests in the bitcoin universe has added to its notoriety. So has security and technological problems that led to the collapse in February of the world's largest bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, after an attack by hackers, resulting in an estimated loss of approximately US$500 million. Closer to home, a self-styled bitcoin bank in Edmonton shut down in March after hackers made off with $670,000. "It's sort of two steps forward, one step back in terms of the scandals," says Stuart Hoegner, an international gaming lawyer and accountant who is general counsel for advocacy group the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada. CURRENCY CURRENCY ! KicKPiXEl

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