The American Arbitration Association (AAA), one of the world’s largest providers of private dispute-resolution services, has launched a specialist panel for blockchain and digital-asset cases, giving companies access to arbitrators with expertise in the technical and legal complexities of crypto disputes.
On Wednesday, the AAA said that its new Web3 Panel brings together arbitrators with experience across law, technology, academia, litigation and digital-asset businesses.
The panel is designed to address disputes arising from increasingly automated and decentralized commercial systems, including disagreements over contract interpretation, governance, asset control, cybersecurity, transaction records and cross-border enforcement.
The move signals that mainstream legal institutions are building specialist infrastructure to handle the increasingly complex disputes emerging as blockchain and automated transactions enter commercial use.
“Web3 disputes involve familiar commercial questions in a highly technical environment,” said Eric Dill, the AAA’s senior vice president and head of panel relations.
Initial members include lawyers specializing in digital-asset and technology disputes, University of Pennsylvania law professor David Hoffman and Rich Widmann, Google Cloud’s global head of Web3 strategy.
The panel also covers disputes involving agentic commerce and autonomous transactions, where software or artificial intelligence systems may initiate or execute agreements with limited human involvement.
The panel does not give the AAA regulatory authority over the crypto industry. Arbitration generally requires the parties involved to agree to submit their dispute to a private arbitrator.
Related: US arbitration giant rolls out ‘legal layer’ for agentic commerce