The Risks and Challenges of Implementing Ethereum Smart Contracts

Abstract

Smart contracts are designed to facilitate the performance of trackable and irreversible transactions without the need for third party involvement. Therefore, as a result of this lack of oversight, it is essential that these smart contracts are written and properly tested. In this paper, we examine some of the prominent risks and challenges involved with writing and implementing smart contracts and discuss how each of these challenges can be overcome. We focus on contracts executed on Ethereum, the most prominent smart contract platform.