Blockchain Papers

John Linarelli

No abstract is available for this record.

E.D.; id_orcid 0000-0003-0263-5985 Martino, Veronica Zerba

This article examines how the blockchain technology reshapes the traditional contract-property divide in private law, leveraging on the peculiar features of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation. <br/>Building on foundational doctrines—in rem rights, the numerus clausus principle, and third-party notice—we show that blockchain enables the creation of de facto property entitlements, including exclusivity and enforceability <br/>against subsequent transferees, without State involvement or adherence to traditional publicity requirements. We label this phenomenon “tokenising property.” Through illustrative examples, such as NFT royalties, we show how <br/>on-chain entitlements may override or bypass the allocation of rights under existing property regimes, raising coordination and enforcement challenges. Using a transaction cost framework, we assess the conditions under which <br/>tokenizing property can deliver efficiency gains and when it generates new frictions. Finally, we argue that blockchain regulation rather than private law reforms can reassert control over this new form of property by intervening directly in the technical layer of blockchain systems. This may help in ensuring consistency between tokenised entitlements and the broader legal order, as illustrated by the EU Data Act and the Liechtenstein Blockchain Act.

Madinabonu Yakubova

This article examines the legal status of smart contracts across different jurisdictions through a comparative legal methodology, analyzing regulatory approaches in the United States, European Union, Switzerland, Singapore, and Uzbekistan. The research identifies key challenges in integrating self-executing agreements into existing legal frameworks, including issues of contract formation, enforceability, dispute resolution, and data protection compliance. Using doctrinal analysis and comparative law methods, this study evaluates how different legal systems address the fundamental question of whether code-based agreements satisfy traditional contract formation requirements. The findings reveal a spectrum of regulatory responses ranging from explicit statutory recognition to application of existing contract law principles. The article concludes with recommendations for developing comprehensive legal frameworks that balance innovation with consumer protection and legal certainty.

Prof. (Dr.) Rupam Jagota, Vimmy Miglani

Smart contracts, self-executing protocols on blockchain platforms, challenge traditional contract law by automating performance without intermediaries. This doctrinal study examines their enforceability under Indian statutes, particularly the Indian Contract Act, 1872, and the Information Technology Act, 2000. The research problem centres on whether code-based agreements satisfy essential elements like offer, acceptance, free consent, and lawful consideration, amid ambiguities in evidentiary admissibility and remedies. Objectives include analysing statutory compatibility, identifying doctrinal gaps, and proposing reforms. Through examination of sections 10, 13-14, and 10A of relevant Acts, alongside judicial precedents on electronic contracts, findings reveal partial recognition: smart contracts qualify as valid if hybrid (code plus natural language) and digitally signed, but pure code versions face hurdles in proving intent and consent. Key challenges encompass immutability conflicting with revocation rights and cross-border jurisdiction issues. The study recommends legislative amendments for explicit recognition, judicial guidelines for code interpretation, and regulatory sandboxes. Ultimately, smart contracts hold transformative potential for India's digital economy if integrated via interpretive evolution and targeted reforms, balancing innovation with legal certainty.

Gamitra Anwar, Sholahuddin Al-Fatih, Sofyan Noor Arief

This study analyzes the fundamental regulatory disharmony concerning Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and smart contracts within the Indonesian Civil Law system. The root of the problem is identified as a rechtsvacuüm (legal vacuum) and the "ontological silence" of the Indonesian Civil Code (KUHPerdata), which fails to provide a definitive property status (zaak) for digital assets. This failure of the lex generalis triggers a "Regulatory Trilemma," wherein the status of NFTs is fragmented among the commodity regime (Bappebti), property law (KUHPerdata), and Intellectual Property Rights (Copyright Law). This normative-juridical research finds that such disharmony creates a domino effect in two realms. First, it threatens the substantive validity of smart contracts regarding the objective requirement of "a certain subject matter" (Article 1320 of the KUHPerdata) and confronts the adage 'code is law' with the principle of "good faith" (Article 1338 of the KUHPerdata). Second, the potential of NFTs as objects of fiduciary guarantee (UUJF) becomes practically paralyzed due to fundamental obstacles in valuation, registration (centralization vs. decentralization), and execution (private keys). Through a comparative law approach utilizing the Singaporean ruling of Janesh v. Chefpierre, this study recommends the adoption of "functional reasoning" through judicial rechtsvinding and legislative reform of the KUHPerdata to fill the legal void.

Milton César Feuillade

En el caso de los smart contracts, nos encontramos ante un contrato que más bien concebimos como una nueva forma de realizarlo. Son escasos los marcos legales existentes y por sus características propias poseen una gran incidencia en el derecho internacional privado. Actualmente se están haciendo marcos normativos y referenciales, como por ejemplo en la CNUDMI. El resto queda librado a las legislaciones comunitarias, como en el caso de Europa, o interna de los países, con dificultades a la hora de aplicar las normas tradicionales de conflicto. La lex mercatoria en la materia llamada Lex Cryptographia nos parece útil. Estamos ante nuevas soluciones de resolución de conflictos no jurisdiccionales. Las relaciones de consumo plantean mayores desafíos.

S.S. Boranbay

This paper presents a comprehensive comparative study of the legal regulation of smart contracts in the United States and the People’s Republic of China, taking into account both theoretical frameworks and practical applications. Smart contracts are examined as both technological and legal instruments that facilitate the automation of contractual obligations, enhance transactional transparency, and streamline the management of digital assets within the digital economy. The relevance of this research arises from the rapid integration of blockchain technology into the financial sector, public services, international trade, logistics, and insurance. Nevertheless, despite the widespread use of the technology, the legal status of smart contracts and their recognition by national and international courts remain subjects of academic and professional debate. The methodological basis of this study combines comparative legal analysis, a systematic review of regulatory acts and judicial practice, an examination of academic literature, and the synthesis of information from diverse sources. This research highlights the key features of the Chinese and American regulatory models. The Chinese model is characterized by centralized control, where smart contracts are integrated into state-backed digital platforms, including the Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) and the digital yuan. This approach ensures standardization and security, however constrains the pace of innovative adoption. By contrast, the American model demonstrates flexibility and fosters innovation by recognizing program code as a legally significant instrument under digital transactions and contract law (e.g., the E-SIGN Act of 2000 and various state laws). However, it lacks clear standards and uniform security protocols.

Yuvraj Singh, ANISHA SHAIKH

The arrival of contracts which are smart has brought a pattern shift in the way agreements are carried off in terms of their performance as well as their implementation. Basically, the smart contracts run on a block chain type of codes, which means that they can also be called as a self-executing contracts because they emerge up with promising features of being efficient, transparent, and most importantly they reduce the dependency on intermediaries. However, in India there are certain growing issues in terms of the adoption of such smart contracts leading to legal and regulatory questions arising. Now, obviously when smart contracts come up with such efficient automated code driven contracts so talking about the traditional agreements which are long governed by well-established legal framework, definitely may face certain challenges in terms of their interpretation, enforceability and also the comparison with the contracts which are smart. This article focuses and explores the legal validity of smart contracts in India, also diving deep and examining their true potential to break the common practices of traditional agreements and try to fill up the regulatory gaps that exist. Now, by analyzing the current legal scenario and expected future challenges, it aims to provide awareness into whether smart contracts are truly a revolutionary tool or a ticking time bomb for the traditional agreements.

M Qader Abdullah

Smart contracts are digital protocols programmed on the blockchain network that automatically execute agreements once pre-defined conditions are met, without human intervention.These contracts are characterized by transparency, speed, and security, as they are stored and documented on a network that cannot be easily modified.Smart contracts rely on software code that defines conditions and procedures, making their implementation precise but also irreversible or easily modified after publication. They are used in several fields, including decentralized finance (DFI), supply chain management, and digital healthcare.Despite these advantages, smart contracts face fundamental challenges, most notably software vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers due to the lack of a clear legal framework in many countries, the difficulty of interpreting human intentions through software code alone, and the limited ability of smart contracts to handle exceptional or complex situations.The research topic will be divided into a research plan consisting of an introduction, a section, and two sections.The first section addresses the concept of smart contracts, while the second section explains the legal status of smart contracts in civil law.

A.О. Сыздықова, Р.М. Тажибаева, А.Т. Абубакирова

Блокчейн технологиясының дамуымен, алмастырылмайтын токендар (NFT- Non-fungible token) цифрлық меншік тұжырымдамасын қайта анықтады және құқықтық реттеулер тұрғысынан маңызды сұрақтарды көтерді. NFT-лер өнер туындылары, музыка, ойын ішіндегі активтер және виртуалды жылжымайтын мүлік сияқты көптеген сандық активтерді сатып алуда-сатуда қолданылады және орталықтандырылмаған құрылымына байланысты олар дәстүрлі заң негіздеріне толығымен сәйкес келмейді. Бұл жағдай меншік құқығы, зияткерлік меншік, келісім-шарт құқығы және алаяқтық сияқты әртүрлі мәселелер бойынша құқықтық белгісіздік тудырады. Көптеген елдердегідей, Қазақстанда да NFT үшін арнайы құқықтық база жоқ. Бұл жағдай сатып алушылар үшін де, сатушылар үшін де заңды белгісіздіктер тудырады және зияткерлік меншік құқығы, алаяқтық, келісім-шарт құқығы және тұтынушылардың құқықтары тұрғысынан әртүрлі тәуекелдерді тудырады. NFT нарықтарының жылдам өсуі үкіметтердің осы жаңа цифрлық актив сыныбын реттеу қажеттілігін арттырды. Дегенмен, елдер арасында айтарлықтай нормативтік айырмашылықтар бар. Кейбір юрисдикциялар NFT-лерді сандық активтер немесе бағалы қағаздар ретінде жіктеп, оларды қолданыстағы қаржылық ережелерге бағындырса, кейбір елдер арнайы заңдарды әзірлеуде. Зияткерлік меншік құқықтарына келетін болсақ, NFT-лер жай сандық куәлік пе немесе авторлық құқықты беруді де қамтуы мүмкін бе деген жалпы көзқарас әлі жаһандық деңгейде әзірленбеген. Әртүрлі елдерде салық салуға қатысты әртүрлі тәжірибелер де бар. Кейбір елдерде NFT операцияларына қосылған құн салығы (ҚҚС) салынса, басқа елерде олар құн өсіміне салынатын салық ретінде қарастырылады. Алайда, NFT-дің трансшекаралық сипаты мен орталықтандырылмаған құрылымы салық салу процестеріндегі сәйкестік пен аудит мәселелерін туындатады. Бұл мақалада NFT-лердің құқықтық мәртебесі мен салық салу процестері халықаралық тұрғыдан қарастырылады және қолданыстағы ережелер салыстырмалы тұрғыдан бағаланады. Нәтижесінде, NFT экожүйесінің тұрақты өсуі үшін үйлесімді және ашық заңнамалық базаны құру қажет екендігі атап өтілді.

Rahul J. Nikam

Smart contracts, a revolutionary technology that offers a digital alternative to conventional contracts, are popular. Smart contracts also known as automated digital contracts are becoming common in various countries due to their efficiency and openness. Various national and global forums have agreed that smart contracts might alter contract enforcement and boost economic development in India. Given this, it’s crucial to understand the Indian Contract Act, (ICA) 1872 stance on smart contracts. ICA requires testing smart contracts for contractual validity before entering the uncharted seas of autonomous and anonymous digital contracting. This experiment raises many issues, especially given the law’s strict procedural structure. This article refutes the claim that smart contracts should be regulated by self-regulation. Rather author prefers a broad interpretation of substantive contractual law to harmonize smart contracts under the ICA, following common law’s flexibility. It is shown that smart contracts are built on the same principles as common law contracts and deepen our research in the framework of Indian law and precedent. Similar approaches from other countries support this perspective. Although many legislations require change, it is believed that a smart contract law is not needed. The paper concludes by proposing solutions to the potential obstacles that may arise due to present approach.

Attia Suleiman Khalifa, Nashwan Salah Samad

General Background: Blockchain-based smart contracts have revolutionized global transactions by enabling automatic, transparent, and decentralized execution of agreements. Specific Background: Despite their efficiency, these digital instruments challenge traditional private international law, particularly regarding jurisdiction, applicable law, and enforceability in cross-border contexts. Knowledge Gap: Existing legal systems, especially in the Middle East, lack comprehensive frameworks to address decentralized contracting and blockchain-based evidence. Aims: This study critically examines the intersection between smart contracts and conflict of laws in digital environments, focusing on Iraq’s legal framework and regional comparison with the EU and the US. Results: The analysis reveals that while the EU has developed coherent regulatory models such as MiCA and the Data Act, and several US states have recognized smart contracts’ validity, Iraq’s Civil Code of 1951 remains inadequate to regulate automated digital agreements. Novelty: The paper proposes a unified legal model integrating UNCITRAL’s 2024 Model Law on Automated Contracting, regional cooperation through the Arab League and GCC, and legislative reforms in Iraq to recognize blockchain evidence. Implications: Implementing such a framework would harmonize technological progress with legal certainty, enhance cross-border trust, and position Iraq and the Middle East within the global digital economy.Highlight : Analyzes the intersection of smart contracts and conflict of laws in digital space. Examines Iraq’s outdated legal framework amid rapid technological change. Suggests adopting international models and regional cooperation for legal reform. Keywords : Smart Contracts, Blockchain, Conflict of Laws, Private International Law, Jurisdiction, Iraq.

Samiur Rahman

Smart contracts—auto-executing digital agreements built on DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology), an emerging technology of blockchain—are revolutionizing cross-border payments by enhancing efficiency and automation. However, their widespread adoption is hindered by a fragmented regulatory landscape and legal uncertainties across jurisdictions. Therefore, to promote the urgency of regulatory governance of smart contract, this research advocates for the techno-legal standardization of smart contracts to ensure regulatory compliance in international financial transactions. It investigates how smart contracts can be designed to meet diverse legal requirements while maintaining technical adaptability, scalability, and interoperability. Drawing on interdisciplinary literature and qualitative methods—including expert interviews, surveys, and case studies—the study aims to develop a framework that balances innovation with legal certainty. Key challenges addressed include jurisdictional fragmentation, enforcement mechanisms, integration with legacy systems like SWIFT, and compliance with KYC/AML regulations. The research also examines emerging solutions such as decentralized identity frameworks, trusted oracles, and hybrid on-chain/off-chain models. By bridging the gap between law, technology, and finance, this study offers actionable insights for policymakers, financial institutions, blockchain developers, and international businesses. Ultimately, it contributes to the development of a standardized smart contract ecosystem that supports secure, efficient, and legally compliant cross-border payments.

Yiwei Wang

With the development of artificial intelligence, blockchain, and metaverse technologies, the forms of virtual property have shifted from traditional types such as game items and social accounts to novel virtual property like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), metaverse land, digital artworks, and algorithmically generated content. Although Article 127 of the Civil Code calls for protection of virtual property, it does not clarify the legal character or ownership of such property. Legal protection for virtual property currently faces core dilemmas including ambiguous rights-holders, difficulty in identifying the objects of rights, and the absence of a registration and public-notice system. This paper argues that novel virtual property should be recognized as a form of “special property right.” Drawing on foreign experience and adopting a phased approach to legislation, China should construct a three-dimensional protection framework centered on registration and public notice. Such measures would enrich property-rights theory, safeguard user interests, and promote the healthy development of the digital economy.

Eduardo Andrés Calderón Marenco, Romina Mariela Sánchez Silveyra, Juan Manuel Rodrigo, Gabriel Ravelo-Franco

El artículo analiza el efecto de la inteligencia artificial en la contratación inteligente y la protección de datos personales y argumenta que la automatización mediante smart contracts plantea desafíos regulatorios, ante la falta de un marco normativo adecuado para garantizar la privacidad y la seguridad jurídica en Latinoamérica. A través de un análisis comparado de los marcos normativos de Argentina, Perú, Colombia, Ecuador y la Unión Europea, se identifican avances y vacíos en la regulación de estas tecnologías, y se destaca que, aunque algunos países han reconocido la validez jurídica de los contratos inteligentes, la protección de los datos almacenados en blockchains sigue siendo un reto. Asimismo, se aborda el concepto de lex criptográfica como un sistema de autorregulación basado en la descentralización tecnológica, lo que genera tensiones con principios tradicionales del derecho. El artículo concluye que la creciente automatización contractual exige una actualización normativa que armonice la eficiencia tecnológica con la protección de los derechos fundamentales, y propone el desarrollo de un marco regulador que garantice la seguridad jurídica, la transparencia en el tratamiento de datos y la responsabilidad en la toma de decisiones automatizadas, conforme a los estándares internacionales y europeos de protección de datos.

Zainab Johar

This Research paper attempts to examine and analyse the legal nature and law which govern virtual property, covering the concept of ownership, transfer, and regulatory challenges within the metaverse. This Research paper aims to set-out the struggles of traditional legal framework to adapt to the new digital environment consisting of technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), 3D modelling, and edge computing converge to form the metaverse. The study explains blockchain technology, as it reinforces non-fungible tokens (NFTs) which is the key standard for virtual ownership. It also attempts to analyse how existing legal framework in India for property laws, such as the Transfer of Property Act 1882[1] and the Sale of Goods Act 1930[2], could bring virtual assets under its legal parameters. A comparative analysis of the UK, US, EU, and Indian legal frameworks shows how different legal approaches helps in classification of digital assets. The UK Law Commission’s recommendation demonstrates a progressive shift toward recognising virtual property rights by introducing a new category of “digital objects”.[3] The Research paper highlights the inadequacy of existing property laws for resolving the exclusive cross-jurisdictional and ownership challenges posed by digital environments, concluding that just providing conceptual foundation is not enough. It advocates for a harmonised global governance framework integrating statutory law, soft law principles like the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts[4], and platform-specific regulation to ensure certainty, accountability, and protection of digital ownership.

Stribor Gligorić

Rad analizira digitalnu transformaciju u industriji osiguranja s posebnim naglaskom na primjenu blockchain tehnologije i pametnih ugovora. Istražuje kako telemetrija i oracle tehnologija omogućuju prikupljanje i korištenje podataka iz stvarnog svijeta za dinamično oblikovanje ugovora o osiguranju, što vodi razvoju novih modela poput mikroosiguranja, peer-to-peer osiguranja i osiguranja temeljenog na stvarnoj uporabi. Rad također razmatra pravne aspekte pametnih ugovora, njihovu pravnu valjanost, ograničenja u interpretaciji, te izazove u zaštiti privatnosti i regulatorne izazove koje donosi njihova primjena unutar EU i Republike Hrvatske. Poseban naglasak stavlja se na važnost stvaranja jasnih i prilagodljivih pravnih rješenja koja će omogućiti odgovornu i učinkovitu integraciju novih tehnologija u osigurateljnu praksu.

Vitalii Pankin

This study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of tools and methods for ensuring smart contract security.The research employs a systematic review of static analysis, dynamic testing, and formal verification approaches.Static analysis tools, including Oyente, Mythril, and Slither, are systematically evaluated regarding their effectiveness in identifying vulnerabilities at early development stages, highlighting strengths in detecting known vulnerability patterns as well as limitations such as false positives.Dynamic analysis methodologies, such as fuzz testing (e.g., Echidna, Harvey) and symbolic execution (e.g., MAIAN, teEther), are assessed for their capability to identify complex logical vulnerabilities that are typically missed by static methods, examining their accuracy, scalability, and real-world applicability.Formal verification approaches employing K-framework, Why3, and Coq are thoroughly examined for their ability to deliver rigorous mathematical guarantees of smart contract correctness, along with their practical applicability, complexity, and integration into typical smart contract development workflows.The study reveals that an integrated security strategy, combining static analysis, dynamic testing, and formal verification methods, is essential for comprehensive and robust smart contract protection, effectively mitigating diverse vulnerabilities across the entire contract lifecycle.The research contributes to the field by offering a comparative analysis of current tools, identifying their strengths and limitations, and proposing future research directions, including automated specification generation and AI-driven vulnerability prediction.

Bariq Yousif Mohammed

The profound digital transformations currently shaping the world—particularly in the field of contracting—have given rise to a new type of legal relationship known as self-executing smart contracts. These contracts are characterized by their autonomous conclusion and execution through blockchain technology, without the need for continuous human intervention. This poses a significant challenge to traditional legal frameworks, foremost among them the conflict-of-law rules in private international law. These rules presume the existence of certain criteria that allow for the determination of the law applicable to the legal relationship in dispute, whether based on the place of contract formation, the place of performance, or the nature of the contested relationship. However, the decentralized technical nature of self-executing contracts undermines these assumptions and weakens the ability of the adjudicator to apply traditional legal tools in understanding the relationship and attributing it to the appropriate legal system.

Irsyad Noeri, Salsa Nur Ramadhani Hermandasari

This research aims to examine the regulatory compliance aspects of smart contracts within the Indonesian legal system using a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach. The review focuses on how smart contracts are recognized and regulated within Indonesia’s legal framework, the challenges related to consumer protection, their compatibility with traditional contract principles, and comparisons with international regulatory standards. From a total of 158 relevant studies, 50 articles were selected based on multi-layered search strategies, citation chaining, and relevance scoring. The findings reveal that while Indonesia has established a normative legal basis for recognizing electronic contracts, significant gaps persist in enforcement, legal clarity, and consumer protection. The implications of this review highlight the need for regulatory reform, the standardization of legal frameworks, and the integration of interdisciplinary approaches to secure the application of smart contracts within Indonesia’s growing digital economy.

Zhenguang Liu, Lixun Ma, Zhongzheng Mu, Chengkun Wei · 7 authors

Widespread reuse of open-source code in smart contract development boosts programming efficiency but significantly amplifies bug propagation across contracts, while dedicated methods for detecting similar smart contract functions remain very limited. Conventional abstract-syntax-tree (AST) based methods for smart contract similarity detection face challenges in handling intricate tree structures, which impedes detailed semantic comparison of code. Recent deep-learning based approaches tend to overlook code syntax and detection interpretability, resulting in suboptimal performance. To fill this research gap, we introduce SmartDetector, a novel approach for computing similarity between smart contract functions, explainable at the fine-grained statement level. Technically, SmartDetector decomposes the AST of a smart contract function into a series of smaller statement trees, each reflecting a structural element of the source code. Then, SmartDetector uses a classifier to compute the similarity score of two functions by comparing each pair of their statement trees. To address the infinite hyperparameter space of the classifier, we mathematically derive a cosine-wise diffusion process to efficiently search optimal hyperparameters. Extensive experiments conducted on three large real-world datasets demonstrate that SmartDetector outperforms current state-of-the-art methods by an average improvement of 14.01% in F1-score, achieving an overall average F1-score of 95.88%.

Sarah Zein

From oral agreement to paper to digital format, the contract, which encapsulates and defines the relationships between those who compose it, has undergone multiple revolutions. These days, it's the smart contracts that are interfering between technology and law. A new generation of contracts known as intelligent contracts (smart contracts) has emerged as a result of the remarkable advancements in artificial intelligence coupled with the development of blockchain technology and crypto money. Furthermore, this intelligent contractual model is no longer limited to the creation of traditional agreements alone. Because it can be created and executed automatically, often without external intervention, it tends to expand to other types of legal acts and a wide range of electronic transactions.

Agalya Ajith

Journal article: Legal Challenges in Smart Contracts: A Contemporary Analysis

Niteen Kumar Jethani

Journal article: Legal Implications Of Smart Contract