Cadwalader Attorneys Analyze Blockchain's Potential Impact On Bills Of Lading

In a recent memorandum, Cadwalader attorneys examined the potential implications of developments in blockchain technology for bills of lading.

The function of a bill of lading is to "evidence the title to the goods being shipped, the contract of carriage, and the right to receive and direct the disposition of those goods." The Cadwalader attorneys characterized blockchain, which functions as a digital ledger, as a "decentralized, automated system for storing information about transactions among its members."

The attorneys suggested that transactional data in a particular blockchain could be used to identify all parties to a transaction, the time that in which the transaction was executed, what was transferred, and other relevant information, in the form of metadata. The attorneys also suggested that digital coins could be used in tandem with a particular blockchain to represent the goods being transferred. As such, the digital coins and the blockchain could be