Ideas, writing, and interests that inform the work — and extend well past it.
The best lawyers are, at their core, students of the world. Bryan's interests range from the technical architecture of Bitcoin and open-source money to the long arc of constitutional history, political philosophy, and the ways technology reshapes power. These aren't hobbies separate from his practice — they're the lens through which he sees the law.
This page collects writing and reflection from outside the strict bounds of legal practice — the ideas that sharpen the thinking that goes into the courtroom.
Despite serving as the backbone of the Bitcoin ecosystem, the mining process remains one of the more challenging aspects of Bitcoin to understand. This piece explains how mining works, why it matters, and how Satoshi Nakamoto designed an incentive structure that secures the network through economic self-interest rather than centralized authority.
An asteroid called 16 Psyche contains an estimated $700 quintillion in precious metals. If it were mined and brought to Earth, gold markets would not be enriched — they would be destroyed. Adam Smith understood this problem in the eighteenth century. Bitcoin, for the first time in history, solves it.
The Lummis amendment was designed to protect Bitcoin miners from being classified as brokers under the infrastructure bill. The intent was right — but the technical language may miss the mark. A close reading of how Bitcoin's protocol actually assigns roles reveals a gap that could leave miners exposed.
A rigorous examination of U.S. securities law as applied to the cryptocurrency landscape, analyzing how Bitcoin's unique origin story and distribution model distinguish it from virtually every other digital asset under the Howey test — and what that means for issuers, investors, and regulators. Although federal agencies have taken a softer stance against cryptocurrencies of late, the Howey test question remains an undeniable hurdle for digital assets.
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