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The Paris office's Financial Services and Tax Law departments worked alongside SmartNode, a subsidiary of Smart-Chain, which became an institutional "baker" on the Tezos Blockchain on 1 December 2020.
SmartNode, the provider of professional staking services, becomes an institutional "baker" (or block validator) on the Tezos blockchain. Tezos is a third-generation decentralised blockchain dedicated to the creation and management of distributed assets and applications. By officially becoming a "baker", SmartNode participates in securing the network and its decentralised governance.
Created in May 2020 under the impulse of Smart-Chain, Digital Service Group and Token Strategy Advisory, SmartNode was born from the desire to actively participate in the development of PoS (Proof of Stake) protocols, their governance and their ecosystem. Staking is crucial to the proper functioning of these blockchains and SmartNode, alongside Nomadic Labs, is committed to supporting the professionalisation of the ecosystem by offering the community a legal, tax and accounting frame of reference.
As part of this long-term collaboration, the Financial Services and Tax Law teams worked with SmartNode and Nomadic Labs to propose a legal, regulatory and tax classification of the node validation activity and the operation of a PoS blockchain, as well as a formalisation of the legal relationships between the various parties involved.
Arnaud Grünthaler, partner in charge of the Financial Services department and a specialist in regulatory issues related to FinTech and the Blockchain, comments: "We are delighted to have been able to work on this project and thank SmartNode and Nomadic Labs for having trusted us to assist them in this major development. SmartNode, like other players in the French blockchain ecosystem, faces many challenges, whether regulatory, legal or fiscal, in a constantly evolving market. Our firm, a forerunner in these matters, is able to offer full assistance in the implementation of a reference framework for the business activities of these companies in the Blockchain sector, who we are proud to be able to assist".
Fieldfisher's team consisted of Arnaud Grünthaler, partner, in regulatory and legal aspects, and Antoine Gabizon, partner, in tax law, assisted by their teams.
SmartNode, the provider of professional staking services, becomes an institutional "baker" (or block validator) on the Tezos blockchain. Tezos is a third-generation decentralised blockchain dedicated to the creation and management of distributed assets and applications. By officially becoming a "baker", SmartNode participates in securing the network and its decentralised governance.
Created in May 2020 under the impulse of Smart-Chain, Digital Service Group and Token Strategy Advisory, SmartNode was born from the desire to actively participate in the development of PoS (Proof of Stake) protocols, their governance and their ecosystem. Staking is crucial to the proper functioning of these blockchains and SmartNode, alongside Nomadic Labs, is committed to supporting the professionalisation of the ecosystem by offering the community a legal, tax and accounting frame of reference.
As part of this long-term collaboration, the Financial Services and Tax Law teams worked with SmartNode and Nomadic Labs to propose a legal, regulatory and tax classification of the node validation activity and the operation of a PoS blockchain, as well as a formalisation of the legal relationships between the various parties involved.
Arnaud Grünthaler, partner in charge of the Financial Services department and a specialist in regulatory issues related to FinTech and the Blockchain, comments: "We are delighted to have been able to work on this project and thank SmartNode and Nomadic Labs for having trusted us to assist them in this major development. SmartNode, like other players in the French blockchain ecosystem, faces many challenges, whether regulatory, legal or fiscal, in a constantly evolving market. Our firm, a forerunner in these matters, is able to offer full assistance in the implementation of a reference framework for the business activities of these companies in the Blockchain sector, who we are proud to be able to assist".
Fieldfisher's team consisted of Arnaud Grünthaler, partner, in regulatory and legal aspects, and Antoine Gabizon, partner, in tax law, assisted by their teams.