TDM Call for Papers for a Special Issue on "Cryptocurrencies and Other Digital Assets in Arbitration"

17 June 2025

Update March 2026: The TDM 1 (2026) - Cryptocurrencies and Other Digital Assets in Arbitration Special Issue has been published - table of contents and free excerpt available here https://www.transnational-dispute-management.com/journal-browse-issues-toc.asp?key=125

The topic remains of interest for future issues, send proposals to info@transnational-dispute-management.com

We are pleased to announce a forthcoming TDM Special Issue on "Cryptocurrencies and Other Digital Assets in Arbitration". This Special Issue will consider the wide breath of digital assets-related disputes and the differing strategic considerations they often demand. It will examine new trends, developments, and challenges in the field of digital assets disputes, and discuss the range of strategies employed by top` practitioners in the field to get the best results for their clients.

This special issue will be edited by Lisa Richman (Partner and Global Co-Head International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Group, McDermott Will & Emery LLP) and Javier Alvarez (Managing Director and Forensics - Digital Asset Leader at BDO).

Over the past decade, digital assets including cryptocurrencies have emerged from a fringe innovation into a major asset class, triggering a parallel evolution in legal disputes involving digital assets. As transactions increasingly take place in decentralized and pseudonymous environments, parties involved in crypto-related ventures-from token issuers to decentralized finance (DeFi) platform users-have turned to arbitration as a preferred method of dispute resolution. Arbitration offers confidentiality, technical expertise, and global enforceability, making it an attractive alternative to traditional litigation for resolving complex crypto disputes. As a result, arbitral institutions and practitioners are adapting their practices to address issues such as smart contracts, identifying anonymous parties, volatile and obscure asset valuations, fraudulent transactions, market dominance and manipulation, service providers breach of contract disputes, and damage calculations.

In recent years, the nature and volume of global digital asset-related arbitration has shifted significantly. Early disputes often focused on simple contractual disagreements, such as token sale failures or wallet access issues. Today, arbitrators are increasingly asked to address sophisticated conflicts involving decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), blockchain governance, and cross-border regulatory compliance. Legal frameworks and arbitral rules are being tested and, in some cases, revised to accommodate the novel challenges posed by blockchain technology. The growing institutional recognition of digital assets-along with high-profile collapses and hacks-has also elevated the stakes and complexity of crypto arbitration, making it a dynamic and rapidly evolving field.

This TDM Special Issue will provide international practitioners and academics with an overview of the strategic considerations at play in the world of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets disputes:

Possible topics for submission to the special issue might include:

• Jurisdictional Challenges in Digital Assets-Related Arbitration
  • Issues with anonymous or pseudonymous parties
  • Determining the seat of arbitration in decentralized transactions
  • Mass and class arbitrations involving cryptocurrencies
  • Applicable law / applicable seat and potential disputes surrounding the same and choice of law / forum issues

• Arbitrability of Digital Assets Disputes
  • Are all crypto-related issues suitable for arbitration?
  • Public policy considerations and enforceability of awards

• Smart Contracts and Arbitration
  • Enforceability and interpretation of self-executing contracts
  • The role of code as contract in arbitral proceedings

• Valuation and Damages in Digital Assets Disputes
  • Handling volatility and determining fair market value
  • Compensation in tokens vs. fiat currency and questions arising from illiquid tokens
  • Commercial contracts denominating payment(s) in cryptocurrency and impact of the same for forward looking damages claims
  • Other damages-related issues including laundering and other illegalities, transparency issues, rapid regulatory changes and other legal and factual concerns

• Breach of Contract Disputes
  • Involving dispute between owners, partners and service providers (e.g., custodians, storage, investment advisors)
  • Conflicts related to the issuance of tokens or Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), including misrepresentation, regulatory compliance, and investor rights.
  • Challenges relating to incomplete or inaccurate information held by exchanges
  • Differences in challenges arising out of centralized and decentralized exchanges
  • Disputes between commercial contract parties relating to contracts in which a digital asset is the currency of account

• Market Manipulation or Market Dominance
  • Pump and Dump Schemes: Disputes involving orchestrated efforts to artificially inflate the price of a digital asset before selling off holdings, leading to significant losses for other investors
  • Wash Trading: Conflicts arising from the practice of buying and selling the same asset to create misleading activity in the market, affecting price perception and investor decisions
  • Potential for market manipulation when sponsors or exchange operators hold large positions in assets traded on their own platforms (e.g., FTX and high-profile meme coins)

• Evidentiary Issues and Digital Forensics
  • Proving transactions and ownership on the blockchain
  • Use of expert witnesses and blockchain analytics
  • Technical and evidentiary challenges

• Confidentiality vs. Transparency
  • Protecting trade secrets in arbitration involving public blockchains
  • Implications of transparent ledger systems on private dispute resolution

• The Role of Arbitral Institutions and Rule Adaptation
  • Institutional efforts (e.g., ICC, SIAC, AAA) to accommodate crypto disputes
  • Model clauses and best practices

• Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Involving Digital Assets
  • Recognition and enforcement under the New York Convention
  • Challenges when awards involve crypto-based remedies

• Decentralized Justice and On-Chain Dispute Resolution
  • Comparison between traditional arbitration and blockchain-native mechanisms (e.g., Kleros)
  • Legitimacy and effectiveness of decentralized arbitration platforms

• Regulatory Uncertainty and Its Impact on Arbitration
  • Navigating global regulatory differences in crypto law
  • Effect of enforcement actions (e.g., SEC, FCA) on arbitral proceedings

• Bankruptcy and Restructuring
  • Solvency risks, restructuring challenges, and legal considerations for digital asset platforms, including exchanges and DeFi protocols
  • Overlap between cryptocurrency and digital assets disputes with insolvency proceedings with a focus on underregulated exchanges and the recovery and distribution of digital assets

• Experts in Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets Disputes
  • Use of expert witnesses in resolving disputes involving cryptocurrency and digital assets
  • Importance of subject matter and technical experts for blockchain analysis, transaction tracing, and interpretation of smart contracts
  • The role of damages experts in quantifying financial losses, asset valuations, and economic impact in digital asset litigation and arbitration

• Risks and Detection of Insider Transactions in Digital Asset Markets
  • Explore how sponsors retaining significant quantities of newly issued/minting digital assets or exchange-traded tokens create incentives for insider trading and examine methods for identifying and monitoring such activities
  • Market makers provide liquidity and facilitate trading in digital asset markets, while also considering the potential for conflicts of interest, price manipulation, and insider advantages when market makers have close relationships with exchanges or token issuers

We would encourage authors to consider comparative studies of a variety of jurisdictions, and not just papers focused solely on one jurisdiction.

We invite all those with an interest in the subject to contribute articles or notes on one of the above topics or any other relevant cryptocurrency and digital assets related issues. This special issue will be edited by:

Articles accepted for publication ahead of this schedule can also go through TDM's on-line advance publication process allowing your work to reach its target audience as soon as the paper completes peer review and editing process. Contributors might be asked to cross-review up to two other papers.

The minimum word count of articles should be 5000 words (excluding footnotes, endnotes, appendices, tables, summary etc.). Articles should include summaries (150-200 words). Citation style, with emphasis on internet sources, should strictly conform to the 4th edn of the Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) along with the 'OSCOLA 2012 Citing International Law Sources Section'. The layout of the articles should conform to Transnational Dispute Management's (TDM) submission guidelines available at: www.transnational-dispute-management.com/contribute.asp (more information available upon request)

This call for papers can also be found on the TDM website here:
www.transnational-dispute-management.com/news.asp?key=2080

Feel free to circulate this call for papers amongst friends, colleagues and other people who you think may have an interest in this topic.

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