BCCILA study plan

Explain how blocks, hashes, Merkle trees, consensus mechanisms, and node types fit together, and distinguish public, private, and consortium ledgers with concrete examples

Map the core legal questions blockchain raises (property status of tokens, liability for protocol failures, enforceability of on-chain agreements) and note where jurisdictions diverge

Define at least 25 key terms (distributed ledger, validator, finality, custody, tokenization) in your own words without copying source text

Identify the main international standard-setting and regulatory bodies for cryptoassets and state what each actually does

Compare how major jurisdictions classify digital assets (as securities, commodities, property, or payment tokens) and what triggers each classification

Outline the licensing and registration regimes that apply to exchanges, custodians, and issuers in at least three jurisdictions

Trace the compliance obligations that flow from securities-law classification, including disclosure, marketing, and listing rules

Draft short answers to scenario questions asking whether a described token offering requires registration

Explain how contract formation rules (offer, acceptance, consideration, intention) apply when terms are encoded in smart contracts

Analyze enforceability problems including immutability versus mistake and frustration, oracle dependence, and ambiguity in natural-language terms

Distinguish on-chain code from the legal agreement and describe hybrid drafting techniques that reconcile the two

Evaluate dispute resolution options for smart contract failures, including arbitration clauses and expert determination

Draft model clauses that integrate smart contract execution with a traditional legal agreement, including amendment and termination provisions

Describe the risk-based approach to AML/CFT and apply customer due diligence tiers to low, medium, and high-risk crypto customers

Explain the travel rule, its thresholds, and how virtual asset service providers exchange originator and beneficiary information

Identify red flags of layering through mixers, chain hopping, and unhosted wallets, and state the escalation step for each

Construct a suspicious activity narrative from a set of transaction facts that covers who, what, when, how, and why it is unusual

Apply sanctions screening and explain how wallet addresses appear on designation lists and what freezing means operationally

Distinguish AML program elements: internal controls, designated compliance officer, training, and independent testing

Compare the FATF recommendations with at least two national implementations and note the gaps

Apply data protection principles (lawfulness, minimization, purpose limitation, storage limitation) to on-chain and off-chain personal data

Explain why immutability and the right to erasure conflict, and describe mitigation techniques such as encryption and off-chain storage of personal data

Classify common digital asset events (staking rewards, airdrops, forks, trading gains, mining) for tax treatment and identify the recognition point for each

Explain cost basis methods and record-keeping duties, and distinguish book versus tax treatment for held and issued tokens

Describe security and cyber law duties including incident notification timelines, custody controls, and key management standards

Build a risk register for a virtual asset business covering legal, operational, cyber, and third-party risks with likelihood and impact ratings

Design governance structures including board oversight, compliance reporting lines, and conflict-of-interest controls

Explain how a compliance monitoring and testing program is scoped and what evidence it produces

Analyze cross-border scenarios where the customer, the service provider, and the blockchain infrastructure sit in different jurisdictions, and identify which rules apply

Explain how conflicts between regimes (blocking statutes, data localization, conflicting sanctions) are resolved in practice

Complete two full-length timed practice exams and review every incorrect answer against the source concept

Consolidate weak areas into a final one-page review sheet you can reread in the last 48 hours before the exam