Did crypto just have its LLC moment?
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“The limited liability corporation is the greatest single discovery of modern times.”
— Nicholas Butler, Nobel Laureate
When the novel but seemingly innocuous idea of “limited liability” came before parliament in 1856, it proved surprisingly contentious.
It’s hard to fathom now, but before then, investors were typically on the hook for the debts incurred by the companies they invested in.
Imagine getting a bill in 2008 for your share of the $619 billion of debt that Lehman Brothers defaulted on, just because you bought the stock in 2007.
In the 1850s, though, many in the House of Lords thought that was exactly how…