The Uniform Law Commission and American Law Institute have recognized the need for commercial law to govern digital transactions and responded with the proposed addition of a new article to the Uniform Commercial Code (the “Code” or “UCC”), Article 12. Article 12 will govern the transfer of property rights in a particular category of digital assets (controllable electronic records), which would include commonly known digital assets, such as bitcoin and non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”). Although the addition of Article 12 should provide more certainty in transactions involving current and emerging technologies, there is a fundamental problem with the article as it is currently drafted, which, left unresolved, will instead invite legal uncertainty and litigation. The problem is the drafters’ choice to cast the “qualifying purchaser” in the role of the dramatis personae of Article 12. Article 12’s “qualifying purchaser” benefits from a generous rule that allows them to take controllable electronic records free from competing claims. The drafters include a person who obtains a controllable electronic record from a thief or hacker as someone who could be a “qualifying purchaser.” However, in order to be a “purchaser” under the current definition in the UCC, a person must take through a transaction that creates an interest in property. Thieves and hackers obtain no property interest when they steal a controllable electronic record, so a person who takes a controllable electronic record from a hacker could not be participating in a transaction that creates an interest in property. Thus, they could not be a “qualifying purchaser,” as the drafters claim. Most of the uncertainty of the result could have been avoided had the drafters chosen a term other than “purchaser” to describe the beneficiary of Article 12’s liberal take-free rule and defined it in a manner that would effectuate the drafters’ statutory aim. However, despite making the drafters aware of this glaring issue, they have failed to remedy the mistake. This is unfortunate and will likely lead to legal uncertainty and, thus, needless litigation after the article’s enactment. Why rely on courts to tweak sections of the Code if ambiguities are recognized and can be eliminated by careful drafting? If inartful statutory drafting is a source of uncertainty that can easily be reduced without offsetting social costs, efforts should be made to do so.
Article Jan-Gero Alexander Hannemann LL.B./Dr. Robert Müller LL.M., Automatisierte Governance in der Ära der Blockchain-Technologie – Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), Smart Contracts und KI im Einklang — Frankfurt/M. (dfv Mediengruppe) 2024, 289 S., 89 € was published on April 1, 2024 in the journal Computer und Recht (volume 40, issue 4).
2008 yılında Satoshi Nakamoto adlı bir kişi veya grup tarafından ortaya atılan, merkeziyetsiz ve dijital bir para olan Bitcoinin ilk transferinin yapıldığı yıl olan 2009 yılından günümüze kadar geçen sürede, Bitcoinin açık kaynak kodlarından esinlenen binlerce kripto para çeşidi yaratılmış, bu da işlem hacmi çok yüksek bir piyasanın oluşmasına sebep olmuştur. Halihazırda gelinen noktada, kripto paraların, büyük bir işlem hacmi ile yaygın bir şekilde kullanılmakta olduğu artık tartışma götürmez bir gerçek olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Kripto paralar ile yapılan işlemlerden elde edilen gelirlerin vergilendirilmesi, kripto paraların dayandığı karmaşık teknoloji ve kripto paraların hukuki nitelendirilmesinin zorluğu nedeni ile gerek karşılaştırmalı hukukta gerekse Türk Hukukunda henüz belirli temellere oturtulabilmiş değildir. Bu çerçevede bu çalışmanın amacı Türk Hukukunda kripto paraların nasıl vergilendirilebileceğine ilişkin önerilerde bulunmaktır. Bu bağlamda, bu çalışmada öncelikle karşı karşıya kalınan olgunun anlaşılması için kripto paranın ne olduğu ve blokzincir teknolojisi incelenmiş ve akabinde, karşılaştırmalı hukuk da dikkate alınarak kripto paraların hukuki nitelendirme problemi incelenmiştir. Türk Hukukunda, kripto paraların hukuki niteliğinin dijital gayri maddi iktisadi kıymet olduğu sonucuna ulaşıldıktan sonra ise gelir üzerinden alınan vergiler, servet üzerinden alınan vergiler ve harcamalar üzerinden alınan vergiler açısından kripto paraların nasıl vergilendirilebileceği incelenmiştir. Bu inceleme yapılırken, AB müktesebatı, OECD ülke uygulamaları ve ABD, Birleşik Krallık, Almanya ve Fransa’daki vergi uygulamaları incelenmiştir.
Conflict of Laws in the Proprietary Issues of Dematerialized Securities Abstract The doctoral thesis focuses on the conflict of laws in the proprietary issues of DLT dematerialized securities. The subject is directly related to the phenomenon of blockchain technology as a subcategory of DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology). At the heart of the issue lies the so-called digital token, which is a virtual, non-replicable unit that originates and exists in a DLT environment. A digital token is qualified as a thing in a legal sense, more specifically, as an intangible movable thing, and may fulfil the characteristics of a dematerialized security (DLT dematerialized security). For example, a digital token may fulfil the characteristics of a DLT financial instrument within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2022/858 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2022 on a pilot regime for market infrastructures based on distributed ledger technology. DLT dematerialized securities should not be materially identified with a static entry in a register, account or any other records (the conception of the dynamic nature of digital tokens). The essential condition for the legal existence of DLT dematerialized securities is their creation on the relevant blockchain platform and the subsequent linking of the digital...
PRÁVNÍ ASPEKTY PLAY-TO-EARN (P2E) JAKO VÝDĚLEČNÉ ČINNOSTI 5 Abstract This thesis focuses on the legal qualification of a new business model of video games, which, in contrast to the traditional conception of video game entertainment as a recreational activity, promises players the possibility of achieving a stable income. This model has come to be known in the industry as "play-to-earn" (P2E), where the earning mechanism is implemented di- rectly in the source code of the video game. Unlike professional video game play for financial reward, known as e-sports, the P2E model is based on re- warding through the automatic generation of crypto-assets (cryptocurren- cies or non-fungible tokens known as NFTs). The player is then able to trans- act with the assets thus acquired, including the resulting exchange into legal tender. The mechanism of the game runs automatically through smart con- tracts built on a blockchain. This thesis examines this phenomenon from sev- eral legal aspects, in particular the issue of gambling, the upcoming Euro- pean regulation on Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA) and related Czech tax issues. In order to identify gambling, selected P2E games are subjected to a thorough analysis in the second part of the thesis, with the following chapter dedicated to a discussion of the legislation de...
Dominik Skauradszun, Jeremias Kümpel, Selina Schweizer, Vincent Gramlich
Zusammenfassung Für die Vertrauenswürdigkeit von Finanzdienstleistungsinstituten, die das Kryptoverwahrgeschäft nach § 1 Abs. 1a Satz 2 Nr. 6 KWG betreiben, ist es essenziell, dass die Kunden ihre verwahrten Kryptowerte in der Insolvenz des Instituts aussondern können. Wäre dies nicht der Fall und würde den Kunden im Fall der Insolvenz des Instituts womöglich ein Totalverlust drohen, würde dies die Attraktivität des Geschäftsmodells der Kryptoverwahrer erheblich beeinträchtigen und voraussichtlich Kunden dazu bewegen, die Verwahrung der eigenen Kryptowerte bzw. kryptographischen Schlüssel ohne Rückgriff auf ein solches Institut selbst zu übernehmen. Demgegenüber löst die Aussicht auf eine Rendite durch das sog. Staking für die Kunden einen Reiz aus. Im Rahmen des Stakings werden die Kryptowerte durch den Inhaber selbst oder seinen Kryptoverwahrer für den Proof-of-Stake-Konsensmechanismus einer Blockchain hinterlegt, wodurch sich fortlaufend weitere Kryptowerte verdienen lassen (sog. Rewards). Von einem einzelnen Kunden lässt sich dies in aller Regel nicht effizient durchführen, sodass diese Aussicht auf ein passives Einkommen für eine Verwahrung durch entsprechende Institute spricht. Es könnte insofern ein Zielkonflikt zwischen Insolvenzschutz und Renditechancen bestehen, d. h. die Aussichten auf eine Rendite könnten sich negativ auf den Schutz der Kunden in der Insolvenz des Kryptoverwahrers auswirken. Der Beitrag untersucht daher, ob und wann ein solcher Einsatz von sammelverwahrten Kryptowerten für den Proof-of-Stake-Konsensmechanismus (Staking) Aussonderungsrechte kraft fremdnütziger Treuhand oder kraft unwiderleglicher Vermutung nach § 46i KWG n. F. tangiert. Die Autoren schlagen eine aus dem BGB abgeleitete „Früchtelösung“ vor, mit der das Staking bei vollem Schutz der Kunden in der Insolvenz des Kryptoverwahrers ermöglicht wird.
816 Mit den decentralized autonomous organizations ist eine digitale Gesellschaftsart benannt, die sich ihrer Bedeutung nach als ernstzunehmende digitale Organisationsform etabliert hat. Während in allen Teilen der Welt über ein Tokenprivatrecht für Wertpapiere und Kryptowerte diskutiert wird, sind entsprechende Erwägungen, wie ein Tokengesellschaftsrecht aussehen könnte, heute selten. Die Wende hin zu den Tokenprivatrechten brachte der Aufstieg der Kryptowerte, keinesfalls nur des Bitcoin, aber die Verfestigung von DAOs hat man in der gesellschaftsrechtlichen Literatur bisher meist unter den Gesichtspunkten der Rechtsform und Haftung behandelt. Der Beitrag geht auf die Eckpunkte der Vermögens- und Organisationsverfassung der DAO ein und fragt auch, ob das geltende Recht einen Anpassungsbedarf erkennen lässt. 817 Decentralised Autonomous Organizations are a type of software-based corporation that, in terms of significance, has found a place on its own in the world of business organizations. While a private law for digital assets such as stable coins or cypto currencies is globally discussed, considerations of what a token corporate law might look like are rarely debated. Even though the turn towards token private law has been driven by the rise of crypto assets, by no means only bitcoin, the consolidation of DAOs in corporate law literature has solely looked at the type of entity (incorporated or unincorporated) and liability of the token holder. The article considers key points in terms of the law of corporate governance and corporate finance of DAOs and questions whether adjustments to the current law are needed.
The past year has witnessed significant growth in the size, and mainstream profile, of financial markets built on distributed ledger technology (“DLT”), in particular “blockchain”. In February 2021, the market capitalisation of the cryptoasset Bitcoin, which is built on the first operational blockchain, topped USD 1 trillion. So-called decentralised finance (“DeFi”), built mostly on the Ethereum blockchain, grew from less than USD 1 billion to over USD 80 billion in May 2021. Even if one adopts a sceptical posture towards these developments, “crypto” markets cannot be ignored by scholars or practitioners of financial and monetary law.
Aim . To review the legal neologisms of corporate documents, in particular, smart contracts, recorded in fiction and industry literature, in order to compare the ways of word formation of neologisms from articles of the Civil Code (Code Civil) of the French and court decisions. Methodology . In the course of the study, a continuous sampling of legal neologisms from authentic French texts published between 2008 and 2019 was carried out, on the basis of which the most typical legal neologisms were identified. To determine the extent of their distribution in jurisprudence, corpus analysis was used (French-language corpus and English-language Google Ngram Viewer corpus for 2019). In order to determine the methods of word formation and compare these neologisms with the terms recorded in the dictionary, semantic analysis was used to identify the meanings of neologism terms, as well as descriptive and comparative general linguistic methods. Results . As a result of the conducted research, trends have been established and the main ways of word formation of legal neologisms associated with the use of smart contracts of the modern French special language in the period 2008–2019 have been identified. Research implications . The results of the study can be used for further application in the field of modern contract law, contracts based on blockchain and agreements in the electronic form, analysis and prediction.
Non-Fungible Tokens (Gayri-Misli Jetonlar) Mart 2021’den beri yoğun bir şekilde tartışılmaktadır. Bu tartışmalar ilk etapta NFT’lerin eser olup olmadığı, başkalarına ait eserlerin NFT’ye dönüştürülmesinin fikri hak ihlali olup olmadığı veya NFT alım satımlarında elde edilen haklar noktasında toplanmıştı. Benzer bir şekilde NFT’lerin fikri haklar yönetiminde etkili bir araç olup olamayacağı da gündemi epey meşgul etmişti. Ancak NFT ekosisteminin vazgeçilmez bir unsuru olan NFT platformları ve onların fikri hak ihlallerinden doğan sorumluluğu da ele alınması gereken konulardan biridir...
Was ist denn eigentlich eine Entscheidung, abgesehen von der allgemein akzeptierten Auffassung des öffentlichen Rechts? Wo liegt die Grenze zwischen einer Entscheidung und einer vorgegebenen Wahl ohne jeden freien Willen? Am Beispiel von automatisierten Datenschutzentscheidungen zeigt der Autor die Grenzen der Anwendung einiger Klauseln der DSGVO, des Übereinkommens 108+ und des Schweizer Bundesgesetzes über den Datenschutz im Zusammenhang mit intelligenten Verträgen und KI auf. Indem er erklärt, was entscheidungsfindende Maschinen wie Smart Contracts und AI Deep Learning Engine-Modelle wirklich tun, benennt der Autor das Problem, das sich im Vorfeld der Bedingungen eines Automated Decision-Making-Prozesses ergibt: Maschinen treffen nicht immer «Entscheidungen». (xf)