Kathryn Haun

Research Interests

• Intersection of Regulation and Technology
• FinTech
• Cryptocurrencies
• Cybersecurity
• Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
• Blockchain and Decentralized Platforms

Teaching Statement

Katie draws on her experience in both the government and private sectors in teaching courses addressing the intersection of technology and regulation. Her research interests include governance systems for cryptocurrency, the legal and ethical implications of artificial intelligence and machine learning, the future of fraud, cybersecurity, and how financial technologies can create more openness and transparency. Katie's teaching focus is on exposing students to the issues they will face in founding, scaling, and operating companies in new and emerging fields where laws and regulations are often yet to be written, and draws heavily upon the experiences of real-world entrepreneurs who are invited to provide insights during guest lectures. She has taught at Stanford since 2016, including a cybercrime course at the law school.

Bio

Kathryn Haun advises technology companies and investment funds, and serves on the Board of Directors of Coinbase, where she chairs its Audit and Risk Committees. In addition to lecturing at Stanford Business School, she taught cybercrime and cryptocurrency at Stanford Law School. Kathryn speaks frequently on security, privacy, and the intersection of technology and regulation at events ranging from Money2020 and RSA to SXSW. She has appeared in Bloomberg, CNBC, Forbes, Fortune, The New York Times, Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal, and has testified before Congress. Her oped on hacking was recently published in The New York Times.

Kathryn spent over a decade as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice, where she focused on fraud, cybercrime, and corporate compliance failures alongside agencies such as the SEC, FBI, and Treasury. She was DOJ’s first-ever coordinator for digital assets, and led investigations into the Mt. Gox hack and the corrupt agents on the Silk Road task force. Before that she led prosecutions and jury trials involving organized crime, public corruption, RICO murders, gangs, and money laundering. She also held senior positions at Justice Department headquarters in both the National Security Division and as Counselor to the Attorney General where her portfolio included antitrust, tax, national security, and civil matters.

Prior to her government service, Kathryn was an attorney in private practice at Sidley Austin LLP. She clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy and is an Honors graduate of Stanford Law School where she served as Managing Editor of the Stanford Law Review.

Academic Degrees

• JD with Honors, Stanford Law School, 2000

Academic Appointments

• Teaching Fellow, Stanford University, 1997-2000
• Lecturer in Law, Stanford Law School, 2016
• Lecturer, Stanford GSB, 2017-present

Professional Experience

• Coinbase, Member of the Board of Directors
• U.S. Department of Justice, Assistant U.S. Attorney
• U.S. Department of Justice, Counselor to the Attorney General
• U.S. Department of Justice, Counsel to the AAG for National Security
• Sidley Austin LLP, Attorney
• U.S. Supreme Court, Law Clerk to Justice Anthony Kennedy

Awards and Honors

• Women Leaders in Tech Law, The Recorder, 2016

Teaching

Degree Courses

2017-18

MGTECON 515: Cryptocurrency

This class will provide an overview of the rapidly evolving area of distributed ledger and blockchain technologies, with a focus on economic and strategic issues. We will cover key components of the architecture that affect the products derived...

In the Media

Bitcoin is already regulated and traceable: Coinbase board member

CNBC: Squawk Box, December 13, 2017

Not even an SEC probe can damp demand for initial coin offerings

Financial Times, December 8, 2017

As the bitcoin boom accelerates, so does scrutiny from regulators

CNBC, December 7, 2017

The Next CryptoKitties? The Blockchain Might Not Be Ready

Coindesk, December 6, 2017

Regulation and the Future of Cryptocurrency at Token Summit II

Bitcoin Magazine, December 6, 2017

Students at elite business schools bypass Wall Street for blockchain

CNBC, December 1, 2017

Senate Testimony | Modernizing AML Laws to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

Senate Committee on the Judiciary, November 28, 2017

Speach starts at 1:48:00

Acrimony over $232m ICO set to intensify regulatory scrutiny

Financial Times, October 26, 2017

Call Her the Constable of Cryptocurrency

Law.com, October 11, 2017

What Are All These Blockchains And Crypto Assets Building?

Forbes: Digital Currency , October 5, 2017

Chaos and Hackers Stalk Investors on Cryptocurrency Exchanges

CNBC, September 29, 2017

SEC Is Set to Monitor Digital Coin Sales as Market Tops $2 Billion

Bloomberg, September 15, 2017

Hacking Coinbase: The Great Bitcoin Bank Robbery

Fortune , August 22, 2017

Digital-Coin Companies Shrug Off SEC Scrutiny

The Wall Street Journal , July 26, 2017

Opioid Dealers Embrace the Dark Web to Send Deadly Drugs by Mail

The New York Times, June 10, 2017

The Health Data Conundrum

The New York Times, January 2, 2017

Congress Testimony | Virtual Currency: Financial Innovation and National Security Implications

House Financial Services Committee Hearing, 2017

Federal Prosecutor Kathryn Haun On How Criminals Use Bitcoin -- And How She Catches Them

Forbes: Digital Money, November 1, 2016

Federal Prosecutor Kathryn Haun On How Criminals Use Bitcoin -- And How She Catches Them

UnChained, November 1, 2016

How the US Government Is Using Blockchain to Fight Fraud

TEDx San Francisco, October 26, 2016

Meet Our 2016 Women Leaders in Tech Law

The Recorder, September 26, 2016

American Greed: 'Silk Road: Digital Drug Dealers'

CNBC, September 23, 2016

Stealing bitcoins with badges: How Silk Road’s dirty cops got caught

ARS Technica, August 17, 2016

Digital Currency Crimes Chief: DOJ Has No Bitcoin Agenda

Coindesk, September 10, 2015

Consensus 2015: DOJ's Kathryn Haun to Discuss Blockchain Analysis and Silk Road Case

Coindesk, May 27, 2015