Mohd Saleem, Sohrab, Matloob Ullah Khan, Faizan Khan Sherwani
Key components of blockchain technology, DeFi represent a revolutionary advance in digital contracts and automated trades, and they are integrated into decentralized networks such as Ethereum. These self-executing contracts eliminate the need for middlemen by autonomously enforcing specified terms. This paper offers a thorough analysis of Decentralized Finance (DeFi), smart contracts, covering their underlying theories, technological foundations, wide range of applications, and ramifications in context of financial inclusion and investment. In order to clarify the workings and practical applications of such innovations, the research technique comprises a methodical evaluation of the literature, an examination of case studies, and an amalgamation of empirical data. This study evaluates their effects on efficiency, transparency, and trust in international transactions by looking at how they are revolutionizing industries like finance, and decentralized governance. It also thoroughly examines security considerations, including best practices and vulnerabilities, as well as regulatory issues and new developments.
Blockchain technology has a significant impact on smart contracts. In practice, they reflect the redistribution and organization of the rights and obligations of the contract parties, but the existing legal regulations regarding their functioning are still underdeveloped. With this regard, it is highly important to consider the legal effect of smart contracts in commercial transactions. The current research uses the methods of text-mining such as Chinese word segmentation, keyword extraction, co-occurrence network analysis, and LDA topic clustering to derive the factors that contribute to the legal effect of smart contracts in commercial transactions and then explores the relationships between those factors using association-rule mining in order to reveal the particularities of their legal effect. The experimental outcomes demonstrate that there are four critical areas of concern related to smart contracts: validity determination, transaction security, responsibility definition, and risk prevention and control. There are altogether 11 LDA topics and 33 dispute focus points of the legal effect of smart contracts in business transactions. Of them, the most significant share belongs to the disputes based on professional ethics and responsibility boundaries, which amount to 52.83 percent. The obtained result indicates that the professional ethics and the demarcation of responsibilities are very important aspects of the development of the legal effect of smart contracts.
The emergence of blockchain technology has fundamentally transformed the architecture of trust, transparency, and enforcement in legal transactions. By enabling decentralized, immutable, and cryptographically verifiable records, blockchain challenges traditional legal institutions that have historically relied on intermediaries such as courts, financial institutions, and regulatory authorities to establish trust and validate transactions. In this evolving digital ecosystem, smart contracts—self-executing agreements embedded in blockchain code—further redefine contractual relationships by automating performance, reducing transaction costs, and minimizing the need for human intervention. This article critically examines the legal implications of blockchain and smart contracts, with particular emphasis on their impact on foundational principles of contract law, mechanisms of dispute resolution, regulatory compliance, and evidentiary standards. It interrogates whether algorithmic execution can adequately substitute for legal interpretation and equitable considerations traditionally exercised by courts. Additionally, the article explores persistent challenges, including issues of enforceability, jurisdictional ambiguity in cross-border transactions, technological vulnerabilities, and the rigidity of coded agreements. While blockchain technology promises increased efficiency, transparency, and security in legal transactions, it simultaneously raises complex questions regarding legal accountability, allocation of liability, and the adaptability of existing legal frameworks. The analysis underscores that uncritical reliance on technological solutions may undermine core legal values such as fairness and justice. Accordingly, the article concludes that a hybrid legal approach—integrating technological innovation with established doctrinal safeguards and regulatory oversight—is essential for responsibly shaping the future of legal transactions in an increasingly digital society.
Leeladhar Chourasiya, Mr. Anand Jawdekar, Mr. Sanjay Patsariya, Ms. Aparajita Biswal · 7 authors
The blistering development of the decentralized technologies is transforming the conceptual and functional limits of the contemporary digital ecosystems. One of such innovations is blockchain, which is being presented as a core infrastructure of facilitating autonomous, trustless, and self-organizing systems, which has also been emphasized in recent academic conversations. The paper will examine how blockchain will be used to lay the foundations of autonomous societies where governance, economic dealings and social interactions will be implemented in the absence of a centralized force. The suggested framework is based on decentralized ledger technology, smart contracts, consensus mechanism, in order to promote transparency, security, and accountability on digital communities. The paper highlights the role of blockchain platforms (especially Ethereum-style architectures) in the development of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) that serve as building blocks to bigger social organizations. Identity management, decentralized models of governance, token-based economies, and trustless interactions are some of the critical components that are analyzed. Moreover, the paper also looks at how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and distributed storage systems can be integrated to make autonomous environments more scalable, adaptable, and make decisions. Issues concerning scalability, regulatory limitations, interoperability, and ethical aspects are also presented and possible solutions and future research areas specified. The results indicate that blockchain infrastructure has the capacity to reinvent the social structure and provide decentralized, robust, and participative digital economies. The article is a contribution to the existing literature on next-generation sociotechnical systems and a strategic roadmap of fully autonomous digital societies development.
The integration of smart contracts into blockchain-based digital educational platforms enables radically increased transparency, security, and automation of processes: from issuing verifiable certificates and automatic course enrollment to distributing scholarships and motivating students through tokenized rewards. This article examines the theoretical foundations of smart contracts, their use, architectural solutions, and implementation, as well as a practical section with an implementation example in Solidity. These factors determined the primary objective of this work: a conceptual analysis of the integration of blockchain technologies into online educational platforms. The methodological framework is based on a comprehensive approach, including the systematization of theoretical data and a critical analysis of the implementation of decentralized ledgers in modern digital systems. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of mechanisms for ensuring the immutability of academic achievement data, thereby eliminating the possibility of diploma falsification. A model of a decentralized autonomous educational environment facilitating the development of individual learning paths is also proposed. An example of successful cases of integrating distributed ledgers into a learning management system (LMS) is provided, demonstrating a reduction in administrative costs. The conclusion, of course, summarizes the research and outlines prospects for scaling similar systems within the global educational space.
Nabeel Mahdi Althabhawi, Ra’ed Fawzi Aburoub, Rizal Rahman, Faris Kamil Hasan Mihna · 5 authors
Smart contracts raise persistent challenges regarding compliance with traditional contract formalities, including writing, signature, notarization, and in certain transactions, registration. These issues are particularly significant in high-value and public-facing transactions such as real estate, where formalities determine legal validity, evidentiary sufficiency and publicity effects. While existing scholarly work has examined these challenges from either doctrinal or technological perspectives, limited attention has been given to how the functional roles of formalities interact with blockchain architecture, practitioner perceptions and institutional legal frameworks. This study addresses this gap through a mixed-methods approach combining doctrinal legal analysis with qualitative socio-legal research based on 27 semi-structured interviews with legal professionals including attorneys, judges, and academic scholars. The analysis is grounded in a civil law framework, with particular reference to the Jordanian legal system, while references to the European Union’s eIDAS Regulation are used illustratively to demonstrate regulatory approaches to digital authentication. The findings demonstrate that blockchain-based systems can effectively support the evidentiary and attribution functions of contractual formalities through cryptographic verification, consensus mechanisms, and automated execution. However, they do not independently satisfy formalities that perform cautionary, constitutive, protective or public order function, namely notarization and registration, which remain dependent on institutional validation and legal recognition. The analysis further shows that practitioner concerns reflect not only doctrinal constraints but also institutional roles and varying levels of technical familiarity. To address these limitations, the study proposes a function-based analytical framework for evaluating smart contract formalities and identifies two complementary pathways for legal adaptation: (i) institutional integration, including registry-linkage systems and hybrid contracts; and (ii) technological adaptation, including digital authentication frameworks and legal oracles that connect on-chain execution to off-chain legal conditions. The study concludes that smart contract formalities’ challenges arise not solely from technological limitations, but from the interaction between legal doctrine, institutional structures, and system design. It advances a functional framework for aligning automation with the evidentiary, protective, and publicity functions of contractual formalities.
The proliferation of digital assets has catalyzed a profound decoupling between intangible property and traditional inheritance jurisprudence. Under the existing legal framework in Taiwan, practitioners must rely on the testamentary forms prescribed in Article 1189 of the Civil Code, which are fundamentally ill equipped to handle cryptographic assets. Specifically, Notarized Wills (Article 1191) necessitate full disclosure to a notary, creating a “Privacy–Security Paradox” where revealing private keys exposes assets to misappropriation. Conversely, while Sealed Wills (Article 1192) offer confidentiality, they are plagued by risks of physical degradation and technical non-executability. This study proposes zkWill, an EVM-compatible decentralized testamentary framework designed to bridge these structural gaps. By leveraging Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs), zkWill achieves a state of “blind compliance,” verifying that a sealed will meets the statutory requirements of the Civil Code without disclosing its underlying content. The system integrates the Permit2 protocol for secure asset migration and combines AES-256 encryption with IPFS to immunize testaments against centralized storage failures. Unlike conventional services that demand custodial trust, zkWill employs decentralized oracles to trigger automated execution, ensuring legacy distribution without compromising wallet private keys. Empirical data from the Arbitrum Sepolia testnet confirms that the framework maintains constant verification efficiency and a judicially resilient audit trail, providing a paradigm that harmonizes legal pragmatism with cryptographic security for digital inheritance.
The scientific article is devoted to a comprehensive study of the legal nature of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as objects of civil rights under the legislation of Ukraine. The relevance of the research is обусловed by the rapid development of the NFT market, the absence of specific legislative regulation, and the necessity of adapting Ukrainian civil legislation to the challenges of the digital economy. The paper analyzes the technical nature of NFTs as a prerequisite for their proper legal qualification. It examines the functioning of blockchain technology as a distributed ledger, the minting process, the role of smart contracts in automating the performance of contractual terms, and the distinctions between the ERC-721 and ERC-1155 standards. The article substantiates a critical thesis: an NFT does not constitute the digital object itself but rather represents a digital certificate of authenticity confirming ownership of the token as a digital asset. The position of NFTs within the system of objects of civil rights of Ukraine is determined. The study demonstrates the impossibility of qualifying NFTs as “things” in the classical sense or as securities, due to the absence of issuer obligations and the absolute uniqueness (non-fungibility) of tokens, or their limited fungibility exclusively within a single series governed by a unified smart contract. The most accurate legal qualification is recognized as a combination of the concepts of a “digital thing” (Article 179¹ of the Civil Code of Ukraine) and a “secured virtual asset” within the meaning of the Law of Ukraine “On Virtual Assets” (not yet in force), as NFTs meet the criteria of an intangible asset, constitute objects of civil rights, possess economic value, and are expressed as a set of data in electronic form. It is further established that a smart contract may be regarded as a civil law agreement in relation to an NFT token. Particular emphasis is placed on the fundamental distinction between ownership of an NFT and copyright in the underlying work. It is established that the acquisition of a token does not automatically entail the transfer of economic copyright. The transfer of such rights requires the conclusion of a separate written agreement in compliance with copyright legislation. The article also analyzes international regulatory approaches to NFTs, in particular the provisions of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) of the European Union. It is proposed to consider blockchain-based registration systems as evidence of the fact of creation of a work and the emergence of copyright. Finally, proposals are formulated for improving Ukrainian legislation in the field of NFT regulation.
The scientific article is devoted to a comprehensive study of the legal nature of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as objects of civil rights under the legislation of Ukraine. The relevance of the research is обусловed by the rapid development of the NFT market, the absence of specific legislative regulation, and the necessity of adapting Ukrainian civil legislation to the challenges of the digital economy. The paper analyzes the technical nature of NFTs as a prerequisite for their proper legal qualification. It examines the functioning of blockchain technology as a distributed ledger, the minting process, the role of smart contracts in automating the performance of contractual terms, and the distinctions between the ERC-721 and ERC-1155 standards. The article substantiates a critical thesis: an NFT does not constitute the digital object itself but rather represents a digital certificate of authenticity confirming ownership of the token as a digital asset. The position of NFTs within the system of objects of civil rights of Ukraine is determined. The study demonstrates the impossibility of qualifying NFTs as “things” in the classical sense or as securities, due to the absence of issuer obligations and the absolute uniqueness (non-fungibility) of tokens, or their limited fungibility exclusively within a single series governed by a unified smart contract. The most accurate legal qualification is recognized as a combination of the concepts of a “digital thing” (Article 179¹ of the Civil Code of Ukraine) and a “secured virtual asset” within the meaning of the Law of Ukraine “On Virtual Assets” (not yet in force), as NFTs meet the criteria of an intangible asset, constitute objects of civil rights, possess economic value, and are expressed as a set of data in electronic form. It is further established that a smart contract may be regarded as a civil law agreement in relation to an NFT token. Particular emphasis is placed on the fundamental distinction between ownership of an NFT and copyright in the underlying work. It is established that the acquisition of a token does not automatically entail the transfer of economic copyright. The transfer of such rights requires the conclusion of a separate written agreement in compliance with copyright legislation. The article also analyzes international regulatory approaches to NFTs, in particular the provisions of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) of the European Union. It is proposed to consider blockchain-based registration systems as evidence of the fact of creation of a work and the emergence of copyright. Finally, proposals are formulated for improving Ukrainian legislation in the field of NFT regulation.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) has emerged as one of the most transformative applications of blockchain technology, constructing a financial ecosystem that operates without traditional intermediaries through smart contracts and distributed protocols. This paper systematically reviews the research progress of DeFi in terms of technical architecture, core protocols, governance models, and application scenarios, with particular focus on analyzing key domains including lending platforms, decentralized exchanges, stablecoin mechanisms, and asset tokenization. Research indicates that although DeFi demonstrates revolutionary potential in enhancing financial inclusion and transaction efficiency, it still faces significant challenges in smart contract security, regulatory compliance, and systemic risk prevention. This paper further explores future research directions including the integration of DeFi with traditional finance, technological innovation, and real-world asset integration, providing reference for scholars, policymakers, and industry participants to understand this rapidly evolving field.
As a core technology of blockchain ecosystems, smart contracts are fundamentally reshaping the operational logic and commercial landscape of the digital economy. This paper systematically analyzes the current economic ecosystem of smart contracts from four dimensions: business value creation, multi-dimensional industry applications, legal and regulatory challenges, and frontier technological evolution. Research indicates that smart contracts, by reducing transaction costs and enhancing trust mechanisms, have achieved maturity in financial applications (DeFi) and are demonstrating significant enabling effects in real-economy sectors such as supply chains, healthcare, and energy internet. However, their widespread implementation still faces institutional obstacles including ambiguous jurisdictional boundaries, compatibility between code and law, and liability attribution. Looking ahead, Layer-2 scaling solutions have significantly improved cost-effectiveness, while the integration of cross-chain interoperability and AI-driven intelligent decision-making will become key trends driving the expansion of "contractability" boundaries. Smart contracts are not merely technical tools but rather institutional infrastructure driving the transformation of business models from intermediary-dominated to algorithm-autonomous paradigms.
Abstract: This paper examines how national cryptocurrency regulations affect cross-country Bitcoin price segmentation, local prices, and traded volumes. Using daily data for 22 countries since 2013, we apply a dynamic fixed effects framework to deviations from the law of one price (LOP), controlling for country-specific barriers and global shocks. We distinguish between regulatory frameworks that enhance market functioning (e.g., securities laws, payment system integration, regulatory sandboxes), pro-innovation policies, restrictive measures (e.g., banking bans), and anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) rules. Our results show that comprehensive and pro-innovation frameworks reduce price deviations from the USD benchmark, lower local prices, and increase traded volumes, while banking bans fragment markets, depress prices, and reduce volumes. AML/CFT laws exert a consistent downward effect on prices regardless of global conditions. Threshold Auto-Regressive (TAR) models further reveal that highly regulated countries—whether supportive or restrictive—are more sensitive to macro-financial factors such as capital account openness, inflation, relative traded volumes, and remittances, indicating tighter links to the broader financial system. These findings suggest that regulation not only shapes domestic market conditions but also alters the transmission of global and macro-financial shocks into cryptocurrency markets.
The civil law consequences of the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in mass multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) as a special type of multimedia products are studied. The analysis focuses on the social relations arising from the tokenization of in-game objects, the issuance, circulation, acquisition, and use of NFTs within the gaming environment, as well as the determination of the rights of participants in these relations. Special attention is given to the delineation of rights to the token itself as a record in a distributed ledger, rights to the associated digital object, exclusive rights to elements of the multimedia product, and the obligations of users resulting from licensing and user agreements. The study also addresses the place of NFTs in the system of property rights, their relationships with digital rights, virtual assets, and other civil law constructs. Method, methodology of the research. The formal-legal, systemic, comparative-legal, and doctrinal methods have been employed. Provisions of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, regulations on digital financial assets, academic literature, user agreements of gaming projects, and foreign approaches have been analyzed. Special attention has been paid to licensing constructs and the differentiation of obligation and intellectual rights. It is advanced by the author that NFTs within MMORPGs should not be automatically classified as digital rights in the sense of Article 141.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, nor as digital financial assets, nor as things in the classical sense. It is proposed by the author to regard them as a special virtual asset— a unique record in a distributed ledger, certifying control over the token by a particular entity and capable of being linked with a digital object or a contractually defined scope of possibilities for its use. It is shown that acquiring an NFT does not in itself lead to the transfer of exclusive rights to the associated content, and the scope of user rights is primarily determined by user and licensing agreements. The results can be used for the legal qualification of in-game digital assets, the preparation of contractual models, judicial arguments, scientific qualification of similar objects, and the improvement of multimedia product regulation.
إن التقدم التقني المعاصر، وما أحدثه من تقدمٍ في شتى المجالات غير خافٍ على أحد حيث تبع هذا التقدم الكثير من الابتكارات التقنية التي انتشرت بسرعةٍ رهيبةٍ، ومن هذه الابتكارات ما يُعْرف بالرموز الرقمية غير القابلة للاستبدال التي هي عبارة عن أصولٍ رقميةٍ تستخدم لإثبات الملكية الخاصة بالمحتويات الرقمية كمقاطع الفيديو والتغريدات والصور وغيرها، وتمتاز هذه الرموز بكونها غير قابلةٍ للاستبدال، فلا يمكن استبدال رمزٍ منها بآخر نظرًا لندرتها، كما تتمتع بالشفافية والأمان؛ لاعتمادها على تقنية البلوك تشين مما يمنحها قدرًا كبيرًا من الثقة، وقد تناولتُ في هذه البحث التعريف بالرموز الرقمية غير القابلة للاستبدال، وخصائصها، ومجالات استخدامها، ثم تحدثت عن التكييف الفقهي لهذه الرموز، من حيث كونها حقاً معنوياً، والأثر المترتب على هذا التكييف من حيث اعتبارها مالاً، أو عدم اعتبارها مالاً، ومن ثم حكم بيعها بصفةٍ عامةٍ، وبيعها إذا كان البيع بغرض استعمالها استعمالاً محرمًا، أو تكييفها باعتبارها وثيقةً لإثبات الملكية الرقمية، والأثر المترتب على هذا التكييف، ثم ذيلت البحث بخاتمةٍ بينتُ أهم النتائج والتوصيات التي توصلت إليها. The contemporary technological advancements and their impact on various fields are undeniable. This progress has been accompanied by numerous technological innovations that have spread rapidly. Among these innovations are non-fungible digital tokens, which are digital assets used to prove ownership of digital content such as videos, tweets, images, and more. These tokens are characterized by their non-fungibility; one token cannot be replaced by another due to their scarcity. They also possess transparency and security. Because it relies on blockchain technology, which grants it a high degree of trust, this research addresses the definition of non-fungible digital tokens, their characteristics, and their applications. It then discusses the jurisprudential classification of these tokens, considering them as intangible rights and the implications of this classification in terms of whether they are considered property or not. Consequently, it examines the ruling on their sale in general, and specifically the ruling on selling them for the purpose of using them in a prohibited manner. It also addresses their classification as a document for proving digital ownership and the implications of this classification. Finally, the research concludes with a summary of the most important findings and recommendations.
The rapid development of blockchain technology has led to the emergence of NFT-based (non-fungible token) digital collectibles, which are becoming a new direction within the digital economy and the cultural industry. NFT technology enables the uniqueness of digital assets, verification of ownership, and transparency of transactions. However, this phenomenon also generates a number of complex legal issues. In particular, the uncertain legal status of NFT assets, risks of intellectual property infringement, and the lack of clearly defined mechanisms for platform liability and user rights protection pose significant challenges to existing legal systems. Therefore, a comprehensive academic analysis of the legal protection of NFT digital collectibles is of particular relevance. The purpose of the study is to determine the legal nature of NFT digital collectibles, analyze the main theoretical approaches to their legal status, and substantiate regulatory mechanisms aimed at reducing legal risks in the NFT market. The study applies the method of literature analysis. Relevant domestic and international academic publications on NFT technology, digital asset law, and intellectual property were examined, alongside an analysis of current legislation and judicial practice. In addition, practical legal disputes and real cases related to the functioning of the NFT market were reviewed. The research identifies two main legal characteristics of NFT digital collectibles. First, NFT certificates recorded on blockchain platforms possess the legal status of data-based property rights. Second, the underlying digital content associated with NFTs should be considered a form of virtual property. Furthermore, the study substantiates the need to classify NFT trading platforms, depending on their business models, as either technical service providers or content service providers. It also demonstrates the necessity of proportionally allocating legal responsibilities to platforms based on their control capabilities and the extent of economic benefits they derive. The proposed approaches contribute to improving the legal regulatory framework for NFT digital collectibles, strengthening intellectual property protection, and clarifying legal relations between platforms and users. The findings may serve as a theoretical foundation for developing effective governance mechanisms for the digital asset market and ensuring its sustainable and secure development.
This article provides a doctrinal, technological, and prospective analysis of the Global Code of Digital Enforcement, adopted by the International Union of Judicial Officers (UIHJ) in 2021 as a soft law instrument intended to guide the enforcement of judicial decisions in the context of the digital transformation of justice. Building on the 2015 Global Code of Enforcement, the digital version responds to the dematerialisation of procedures, the expansion of electronic registries, the emergence of digital assets, and the increasing use of artificial intelligence in enforcement processes. From a doctrinal perspective, the study examines the internal coherence, principles, and normative scope of the Code, emphasising its effort to reconcile the effectiveness of enforcement with fundamental rights, due process, data protection, and the principle of proportionality. Particular attention is given to the continued role of judicial oversight and to the ethical governance of automated systems. From a technological standpoint, the article analyses how the Code addresses issues such as access to digital data, interoperability of registries, cybersecurity, and the seizure of intangible assets, including crypto-assets, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and domain names. Finally, adopting a prospective perspective, the article evaluates the Code’s potential influence on national and European legal systems. Recent case law relating to the seizure of NFTs in the Netherlands and domain names in Belgium is examined to illustrate the growing practical relevance of the standards promoted by the Code in contemporary enforcement practice.
Under the influence of Industry 4.0, numerous scientific breakthroughs have emerged, including "cryptocurrencies and virtual currencies." Globally, various types of crypto-assets such as Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin, Swisscoin, and Zcash have gained prominence, with regulatory approaches ranging from outright bans to formal authorization. This article examines the legal framework governing virtual currencies in Canada—a pioneer in establishing such regulations—to derive critical lessons for Vietnam in refining its legal framework for assets currently being drafted in the Law on Digital Technology Industry
The article discusses the controversial issues of the legal nature of self-executing transactions. It is proved that a smart contract is an algorithm that automates the execution of legally signifi cant and actual actions, subject to constant monitoring in accordance with the agreement of the parties and the regulatory requirements embedded in the program code. The use of digital tools for recording expressions of will, including software algorithms that create convincing evidence of the validity of an agreement, is being investigated. The authors conclude that a smart contract cannot be considered an independent form of contract, as a special algorithm, it helps automate the fulfillment of obligations under constant control and in strict accordance with the terms of the agreement embedded in the program code.
This paper examines the most common smart contracts security issues included in the OWASP Smart Contract Top 10. The purpose of the study is to synthesize a set of recommendations that can help eliminate these key weaknesses or mitigate associated risks. The relevance of this research stems from the rapid development of Web3 technologies, particularly the expanding use of smart contracts. According to various estimates, this market is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 25% in the medium term. Furthermore, another factor contributing to the relevance of this topic in Russia is the lack of comprehensive regulation for this class of instruments, especially concerning security requirements and compliance verification. This paper proposes a smart contracts lifecycle model best suited to the research context, describing each stage with particular attention to its impact on security. Existing security weaknesses classifiers specific to smart contracts are identified, with a detailed review of the ten most common vulnerability classes. Based on this review, recommendations are provided to prevent these vulnerabilities or mitigate their associated risks. The findings can be applied by both smart contract developers and security auditors. Additionally, the presented materials contribute to the development of a methodological framework for addressing regulatory issues in the industry.
Abstract The 21st century digital transformation and rapid development of blockchain technology create fundamentally new challenges for legal regulation. The increasing popularity and economic significance of cryptocurrency as a digital asset makes its legal qualification and, consequently, regulation within the framework of inheritance law relevant. The global cryptocurrency market capitalization already reaches trillions of dollars, and millions of individuals and legal entities use crypto assets as an investment instrument, payment method, and value storage mechanism. From this reality, critical legal questions arise about inheritance in cases of cryptocurrency holders’ death. The complexity of the problem is determined by the unique characteristics of cryptocurrency: decentralized nature, cryptographic protection, private key system, and high degree of anonymity create specific difficulties for heirs’ access to and identification of these assets. This research analyzes the current state of cryptocurrency inheritance legal regulation using comparative legal methods, identifies existing problems, and develops recommendations for improving legal regulation based on international experience from the USA, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and Australia.
The development of blockchain technology has introduced smart contracts as a new form of automated commercial agreement. Smart contracts are self-executing programs that perform contractual obligations when predetermined conditions are met, reducing the need for intermediaries and increasing efficiency in commercial transactions. Their growing use raises important legal questions regarding their validity and enforceability under existing legal systems, particularly under U.S. commercial law. This article examines the legal nature and enforceability of smart contracts within the framework of United States commercial law. It analyzes whether smart contracts satisfy the essential elements of contract formation, including offer, acceptance, consideration, and mutual assent. The article also explores the applicability of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and its role in recognizing electronic and automated agreements. The article concludes that smart contracts can be legally enforceable under U.S. commercial law if they meet traditional contract requirements. Existing legal principles are flexible enough to accommodate smart contracts, making them a reliable tool for modern digital commerce.
The article examines digital payment tokens circulating in decentralized finance. The aim of the study is to de-velop a typology of digital payment tokens for their subsequent adaptation to the cross-border payment infra-structure as a specific payment token type that meets the necessary economic characteristics. The objectives of the study include an overview of the key innovations that led to the emergence and spread of decentralized finance, an analysis of the capabilities and advantages of smart contracts for creating digital tokens, a systema-tization of approaches to the regulatory framework for unsecured cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, and the selection of the optimal type of digital payment token for use in a cross-border payment infrastructure based on distributed ledger technology. The results of the study include a developed typology of digital payment tokens based on their suitability for use in a cross-border payment system. The study concludes that, in order to elimi-nate the fragmentation of national legislation that hinders the use of digital payment tokens in cross-border payment infrastructure, it is advisable for national regulators in countries participating in the unified cross-border payment space to focus their attention on the development and implementation of harmonized regula-tion of stablecoins.
Shashikumar Bhambhani Shailak Jani, ,Anju Gakhar, Purvi Dipen Derashri, Hiren Harsora Younis Malik
Blockchain and smart contracts are bringing a technological transformation to banking and financial service industry. This scholarly article evaluates the revolutionary nature of smart contracts in reinventing the concepts of trust, efficiency, and automation in transactions of diverse financial sectors. By using a qualitative and explorative methodology that uses secondary resources, the research integrates the know-how of academic publications, white papers, policy-related pieces, and case studies published since the year 2020. The results show that smart contracts are increasingly being used in trade finance, cross border payment, insurance claim settlement, credit release as well as compliance with regulations. Such applications have resulted in cost efficiency, transparency, auditability, and speed of operation being strengthened tremendously. Nevertheless, the paper also reveals some of the existing problems such as the lack of legal clarity, weaknesses in the coding of contracts, scalability of the blockchain technology used, regulatory compliance, and privacy. In practice, being used by institutions like JPMorgan and Santander and in DeFi platforms like Aave and Compound, smart contracts are increasingly becoming institutionally friendly. Also, legal and compliance agencies in different jurisdictions, such as European Union, India and United States, are developing infantile legal regimes that plan to control such innovations. This paper provides the conclusion that smart contracts have a potential to become the backbone of an automated, decentralized, and trusted financial world. To achieve successful integration, there must be a coordination between regulators, technologists, the financial institutions, and policymakers. The paper adds value to the academic discussion by offering a clear, detailed, practice-oriented view on the topic of how smart contract is changing future of banking and finance.
The rapid evolution of digital technologies has fundamentally disrupted traditional arbitration processes, introducing new complexities and opportunities at the intersection of blockchain technology, smart contracts, and online arbitration. This study examines the legal and practical challenges arising from the integration of blockchain technology, smart contracts, and online arbitration. The research addresses the problem of adapting traditional dispute resolution frameworks to decentralized automated agreements that transcend national borders. Using doctrinal analysis and comparative review of legal sources, case studies, and real-world platforms, the study identifies key types of smart contracts and evaluates on-chain and off-chain arbitration models. Findings highlight both the efficiency and transparency offered by blockchain-based dispute resolution, as well as persistent issues such as jurisdictional uncertainty, enforceability, technical vulnerabilities, and privacy risks. The results underscore the need for clear legal standards, technical safeguards, and the adoption of advanced technologies. The study recommends promoting interoperability, specifying governing law in smart contracts, and leveraging AI and off-chain execution systems to enhance the robustness and adaptability of digital dispute resolution.