Should A Bitcoin Wallet Have Rights?
Artem Afian
Jun 1, 2023
Like corporate entities or intelligent robots, Bitcoin wallets are poised to gain legal rights of their own.
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This is an opinion editorial by Artem Afian, a lawyer and “legal futurist” at Hiveon, a crypto mining ecosystem that offers services for Bitcoin mining hardware.
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I want to draw your attention to the fact that Bitcoin transactions ultimately occur between wallets [1]. There are humans behind wallets, but this connection is not really what’s important. The pseudonymity of Bitcoin is thanks to the fact that there is no direct connection between the wallet and the person who owns it. It is what distinguishes a Bitcoin wallet from any other financial instrument. No matter how much regulators try to change this, the core of the technology remains the same.
What does this mean? It means that, soon, wallets will be recognized as entities deserving of legal rights.
First, humanity began to recognize animal rights [2]. Now, there is talk about the legal rights of a robot [3]. Soon, the rights of a Bitcoin wallet will come to the fray.
When one talks about the rights of robots, they usually refer to some imitation of human will that is deserving of legal recognition. We understand that a robot does not have a soul in the same way that a human does, but at the same time, it performs rather complex actions, which gives rise to legal consequences. For many of us, a robot or a Bitcoin wallet is something inanimate and devoid of a soul and, perhaps, therefore undeserving of legal protections. But we recognize the rights of companies and corporations and, of course, it is difficult to imagine more soulless forms than those. It turns out that the subjects of law can be inanimate.
So, what is the difference between a Bitcoin wallet and a legal entity? A legal entity is simply a set of files in a specific registry. Lawyers even have a theory of the “fiction of a legal entity [4].” We will calmly confirm that the legal entity is an American corporation. We can quickly check this. But how to check that a legal entity was created, say, under the laws of the country of Swaziland? Even if I show you documents that prove it, they are unlikely to tell you anything. So, if I tell you that you are dealing with a foreign company, you most probably just have to believe it.
Nevertheless, this legal entity, displayed as it is only on paper, has some rights. So, the Bitcoin wallet that exists is even more tangible than many legally-protected entities. Therefore, one more conclusion: Since legal entities have rights, then a wallet may have rights. Just like legal entities, wallets perform transactions, and just like legal entities, wallets can change their owners. This fact never changes: if robots or legal entities are deserving of legal rights, so too are Bitcoin wallets.
I think Bitcoin is an exciting new space and that we still have a lot to explore. Now, my idea that Bitcoin wallets will inevitably receive legal rights of their own may seem crazy, but many more discoveries await us.
This is a guest post by Artem Afian. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
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[3] https://www.wsj.com/articles/robots-ai-legal-rights-3c47ef40
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Bitcoin Magazine
Should A Bitcoin Wallet Have Rights?
Like corporate entities or intelligent robots, Bitcoin wallets are poised to gain legal rights of their own.
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Animal Legal Defense Fund
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LII / Legal Information Institute
legal fiction
[A screenshot from the provided report.]
“However, this is only a fraction of the BTC that Alameda controlled in the past,” the report noted. “Wallets connected to this network of Alameda’s BTC activity were worth at peak over $800M, with Alameda likely holding more BTC in Centralized Exchanges or unlinked Cold Wallets.”
Arkham Intelligence stated that it will continue to monitor the on-chain activity of Alameda’s liquidators.
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[Sources: Twitter[3], nytimes.com[4]]
The article featured a sweeping hero video banner [5], which was also used as a still image for social media sharing, showing smog-filled aerial drone footage [6] over operations run by Bitdeer, a Bitcoin mining company that occupies a previously-abandoned aluminum smelting plant on the outskirts of Rockdale. However, evidence suggests that the footage may have either been manipulated [7] or lacks the necessary color grading that would have maintained photojournalistic integrity and adhered to ethical standards.
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[The color histogram [4] for the image on the left, featured on The New York Times’ [5] website, has a distinct gap between its color data and its black point, possibly indicating either an improperly exposed image [6] or manipulation to add a smog effect [7]. The photo on the right has been color corrected, showing a normalized histogram with the full range of colors and indicating that the Times’ version seems to have been altered for effect.]
The hazy footage used by the Times may give readers a false impression that rural Texas air has been polluted by Bitcoin mining. Bitcon mines are fully electrified and, like electric vehicles [8], the mining facilities photographed by The Times have zero Scope 1 carbon emissions. In other words [9], there are no direct greenhouse (GHG) emissions [10] that occur from sources that are controlled or owned by the operators of the mines. Any indirect Scope 2 emissions [11] associated from mining’s energy use comes from the grid’s normal emissions.
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[Vonderhaar published a clear weather photo on his personal website [3], taken within minutes [4] of the photo that showed smog surrounding the same Bitdeer mine.]
Vonderhaar's clear and sunny photo was also featured on the front page of the Times’ print edition [5] (from April 11, 2023), with a color histogram that had similarities to the one found in the smoggy photo — another extended black point. Normalizing the black and white points on Vonderhaar's portfolio image reveals vibrant colors and a sunny morning in Rockdale. Notice in the side-by-side comparison below that the Times intentionally cropped out some of the blue skies when it published this particular shot:
[Footage filmed nine minutes apart shows both clear weather and smog. Photos by Jordan Vonderhaar (top, middle), Shademap [14] (bottom), via @yeolddoc [15].]
Responding to allegations of manipulation, Vonderhaar — who described miners as “massive polluters [16]” — publicly stated on Twitter [17] that, “Nothing about the footage was doctored. It’s humid most mornings in Texas and when the sun rises you get low level haze. This is very common.”
Leaving aside for a moment that Vonderhaar appears to be admitting that he was perhaps intentionally seeking out hazy weather for his photojournalistic spread, the nearest automated weather observation station [18], located at Hearne Municipal Airport — 40 miles to the Northeast [19] and well out of view of the aerial photography — reported low-level fog [20] at that same moment.
Indeed, Vonderhaar's clear and sunny photo shows low-level fog on the distant horizon, many miles beyond Alcoa Lake. “Low-level” fog is not a high-altitude phenomenon, and sure enough, Vonderhaar's photo shows blue skies in the upper atmosphere and golden hues that are conspicuously missing in his smoggy footage, taken a few minutes later.
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[Analysis by Rory Highside [5] of Vonderhaar’s Times footage.]
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[DJI drones can record in a logarithmic (log) color profile, which appears hazy if it isn’t color graded in post-processing [4]. Source: “Shooting In D-Log - DJI Mavic Pro [5].”]
To convert log footage to an accurate color profile, a process called “color grading” or “color correction” is typically performed [6]. This involves adjusting the image's color and tonal properties to achieve a more visually pleasing and accurate representation of the scene. The proper conversion from log [7] involves mapping the tonal values in the log footage to their corresponding values, such as with lookup tables, or LUTS, to color grade the final footage.
Vonderhaar could very well have been telling the truth when he claimed [8] that “Nothing about the footage was doctored.” Indeed, publishing unedited log footage without proper color grading would quite literally result in a misleading smog effect, without having to do anything. Doing this deliberately, of course, would be unethical if it intentionally misleads viewers into seeing smog that did not exist.
Photojournalists have a duty [9] to maintain journalistic integrity and adhere to ethical standards to truthfully convey the events they witnessed. While there is no definitive "correct" color to any image, intentionally misleading readers by failing to color grade log footage is a breach of ethical standards. Photojournalists must depict the scene as faithfully as possible, avoiding anything that might distort reality. Publishing raw and uncorrected video footage, which actively removes colors from a scene and creates a misleading smog effect, is effectively a passive form of photographic manipulation. If not manipulation, then it is an egregious example of Hanlon’s razor [10].
It should be noted that Vonderhaar’s lack of color grading may not be due to malice or even artistic bias. While a professional photographer who has expertise in color correcting raw still images [11] to JPEG may possess a solid foundation in color correction and a good understanding of color theory, it does not automatically mean they have the necessary skills to color grade log video footage. Color grading log video involves a different set of skills and considerations [12] compared to color correcting raw still images [13]. Expertise in video editing software and a specific understanding of the technical aspects of working with video formats — such as frame rates, codecs and color spaces — is a requirement to adeptly work with log footage. Managing temporal continuity and ensuring consistent color grading is critical to maintaining visual coherence. It’s entirely plausible that Vonderhaar was simply unable to color grade log video. But, whether it be malice or inability, the Times should issue a correction.
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[The Times’ signature photographic style [2] uses an extended white point that slightly darkens the image.]
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[1] 