How Blockchains Will Change Stockholder Democracy

Gesundheit!

Generally speaking, when Delaware sneezes, everybody else gets a cold.

That's because Delaware is the undisputed jurisdictional leader in corporate finance in the United States, with well over a million companies incorporated in that state.

Delaware sneezed big time on August 1, when the new Delaware Blockchain Initiative became law. Thanks to this initiative, the Delaware General Corporation Law now permits Delaware corporations to register their shares of stock, and transfers of shares, on a blockchain.

The reason that's revolutionary is this: Delaware companies can now cryptographically link a particular number of shares of stock to a particular owner in a manner that cannot effectively be challenged, due to the more or less bulletproof nature of modern cryptography.