In his talk at the Bankless Summit, Peter Van Valkenburgh, a lawyer from Coin Center, takes an unexpected turn from discussing privacy law to advocating for stronger private law systems. He shares a personal story about his stolen cargo bike, highlighting the struggles of urban life. Van Valkenburgh argues that we are caught between a repressive surveillance state and a fragmented, individualistic society. He emphasizes the need for a robust, accessible, and tech-savvy private dispute resolution system—similar to a "Layer 2" for justice—to foster a healthy community. Alongside this, he calls for improved decentralized social safety nets, leveraging individual-controlled surveillance technology to enable efficient and affordable conflict resolution.
