Blockchain Papers

Guilisse La Fortune Nkoua Nkuika, Xia Yiqun

No abstract is available for this record.

Вера Шумилина, Kirill Lekomtsev-Kataev

The article is devoted to the study of cryptocurrency and its impact on the shadow sector of the economy. Operations related to cryptocurrencies are anonymous, so it is very difficult to control all operations, which is why it has become so actively used in the shadow economy. This raises the problem of how to control transactions and what laws should be applied to regulate the digital currency

Людмила Владимировна Гудакова, Александр Евгеньевич Мороз

В исследовании оценивается безопасность криптовалюты в современной экономики. Анализ проводится на основе главных характеристик криптовалюты как типа цифрового финансового актива. В результате исследования обнаружено, что основной проблемой регулирования правоотношений в сфере цифровых транзакций является отсутствие законодательных норм и децентрализация. The study evaluates the security of cryptocurrencies in the modern economy. The analysis is based on the main characteristics of cryptocurrency as a type of digital financial asset. As a result of the study, it was found that the main problem of regulating legal relations in the field of digital transactions is the lack of legislative norms and decentralization.

Daksh Gupta, Bhuvan Kumar, Ayan Sharma, Deepak Mishra

Blockchain is a rising technology and can revolutionize businesses, governments, organizations, and individuals. It helps to facilitate the transfer of money, products, and sensitive information throughout the world by providing a simple, safe means to create a trust for nearly any type of transaction. In this paper, we first introduce blockchain, its benefits, current developments and trends. Then we move on to Smart Contracts, discuss its working and lifecycle. Smart contract enforces behavior between parties that can be violated. This paper also describes ways of dealing and recovering from these errors. Finally, we provide an overview of different applications of smart contracts and a comparison between smart contract development platforms.

Sean Sullivan

The current hype cycle surrounding non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, has been going on for close to two years. As we continue to move through this phase and into whatever is next, it is important to look at the current use cases out there and some of the intellectual property issues facing companies that avail themselves of this technology. What follows are excerpts from my contributions to a discussion panel that took place in November 2021, modified as necessary for clarity and for the purposes of this Article. 
 The first question one might ask is, “Why are companies choosing to enter into the NFT space in the first place?”

전북대학교 동북아법연구소 전임연구원., Bong Geun Shin

NFT(non-fungible token)는 우리의 생활을 근본적으로 바꿈으로써 여러 산업에 큰 변화를 줄 암호화된 토큰이다. 이러한 NFT의 활용 가능성이 늘어남에 따라, NFT의 발행, 거래, 응용 등에 있어서의 법적인 문제에 대한 관심도 높아지고 있다. NFT란 블록체인(blockchain)을 이용하여 디지털 자산에 대한 권리를 나타내는 일종의 암호화 수단으로서의 디지털 토큰(증표)을 말한다. 즉 고유의 값(ID)이나 속성을 갖고 있어서 다른 토큰으로의 대체성(fungibility)이 없다. 이로써 데이터에 희소성, 유일성 등을 갖게 할 수 있다. NFT는 데이터와 그 보유자를 묶는 디지털 ‘증명 서’를 블록체인에 기록하는 기술이라고 할 수 있다. NFT는 사전에 정해진 규칙에 따라 자동으로 거래를 집행하는 프로그램인 스마트 계약(smart contract) 등을 활용함으로써, 2차 유통 거래의 대가의 일부를 크리에이터(창작자)에게 환원하는 구조도 구축할 수 있다. NFT의 유용성으로서, 디지털 콘텐츠의 희소성 및 유일성 등의 확보, 자산의 소유권 보장 및 증명, 높은 현금 유동성, NFT 마켓 플레이스에 대한 액세스의 실현, 크리 에이터에 대한 대가의 환원 등을 들 수 있다. 이러한 NFT의 특성들이 디지털 자산에 대한 ‘소유 권의 성질’을 강화해 준다고 할 수 있다. NFT는 블록체인(blockchain)의 디지털 토큰으로 발행된 데이터로 존재하는 것에 지나지 않아 서 유체성이 부족하고, 전기 기타 관리할 수 있는 자연력이라고도 볼 수 없기 때문에, 민법상의 ‘물건’에 해당하기는 어려운 것이 현실이다. 따라서 NFT에 대한 소유권의 성립도 어려울 수밖에 없을 것이다. 가상자산의 사법적 성질은 데이터(data)의 물건성을 긍정하는 견해와 소유권의 대상을 부정하는 견해 및 새로운 권리와 정책이 필요하다는 견해가 있다. NFT에 대해서도, 매매 의 장소가 되는 NFT 플랫폼을 통해 시장이 형성되어 있기 때문에, 적어도 재산적 가치가 인정된 다고 생각할 수 있지만, NFT에 표시되는 권리와는 별도로, NFT 그 자체를 민사법상 재산권의 객체로 볼 수 있을지에 대해서는 검토가 필요하다. NFT가 나타내는 권리의 대상으로서, NFT 아트의 양도에 따라 그 디지털 콘텐츠에 관한 저작 권 그 자체가 양도된다고 할 수 있는가에 대해서는, NFT 아트의 양도에 의해 당사자가 무엇을 양도의 목적으로 했는지에 관한 합리적인 의사의 해석에 의해 결정하게 된다. 그리고 현물자산 에 관한 권리를 나타내는 NFT를 매매하는 경우에, 그 NFT 플랫폼의 이용에 관한 규약 등에 있어 서, NFT가 어떠한 권리를 표시하고 있는지, 또한 NFT의 이전과 그 NFT에 표시된 현물 자산과 관련된 권리 이전의 연동성을 어떻게 담보하고 있는지 등을 확인할 필요가 있다.

Ibrahim Abo Alil, Mahmoud Melhem

In this research, we discuss the smart contracts, legal acts, Block Chain rules and their scope, the legal problems that they arise, and how the theory of contracts has been developed accordingly. At the current time, the smart contracts, specially those relating to Block chain rules and cryptocurrency trading, are creating a radical transformation where the conventional language has fallen back and a new and unique phenomenon, known as the language of codes, has emerged. Thus, the digital relationships performed within smart contracts raise several questions. Hence, the question arises here: to what extent these contracts need a specific legislation to address all the problems that they pose?

O.S. Kulakova

Digital art is the result of creative activity practiced in the virtual space. There is no unified concept of digital art in Russia, and there is no legislative consolidation of this term. In this regard, attempts to find an answer to what digital art is and what rights its acquirer has are topical issues of Russian legal science. At the same time, under the influence of technology, as a result of the development of the blockchain, new ways of handling digital art objects have appeared. The appearance of non-fungible tokens (NFT) causes a lot of legal problems. The study of these problems is the most important task for modern lawyers. The purpose of the study is to identify the legal qualification of digital art objects. In this regard, the author sets the task to study the structure of NFT as an object of civil law. The purpose of the article is also to identify potential risks for intellectual property rights holders when issuing NFT. The methodology of this research is based on the use of a set of general scientific methods and specific methods of analysis used in legal science: system-structural method, system-functional, induction and deduction, analogy, method of formal logic and system approach. In particular, the dialectical method provides an opportunity to systematically explore the unity of social content and legal form of art objects in the digital space. The formal legal method makes it possible to form legal categories by highlighting the main features of phenomena related to research questions. The author has made assumptions about the legal nature of digital art and NFT, as well as their place in the system of intellectual property law. The author has come to the conclusion that crypto art is one of the types of digital art. A specific feature of cryptographic art objects is that their emergence and existence is possible only in blockchain. As a result of the conducted research, it has been revealed that not all NFTs connected to art objects are crypto-art objects in digital commerce.

Nataliya Vinnykova

A transnationalization of corruption practices, born by globalization processes, is one of nowadays negative phenomenon that deserves intensive studying. Digital technologies smooth the pathways for transnational corruption. On the other hand, digitalization also provides tools for building up respective countermeasures. This article examines the potential of digital technologies, primarily artificial intelligence (AI), in preventing corruption practices. Firstly, the characteristics of the «global corruption» phenomenon are outlined. The experience of implementing digital technologies in the corruption countermeasures has been analysed that revealed problems and prospective trends in the development of digital anti-corruption mechanisms at the supra-national level of governance. Digital tools for detecting and tracking of transnational corruption schemes were described in the framework of international journalistic investigations or anti-corruption control technologies in the European Union. One of key factors preventing the effective application of AI against the transnational corruption is the lack of the consolidated international regulatory regime for data evaluation. However, AI is ambivalent for both fighting corruption and creation new corruption pathways. Arguments in support of the distributed ledger technologies as the promising corruption-preventing techniques are provided. The study discloses factors inhibiting the scaling of the implementation of blockchain or smart contracts as mechanisms of reducing the risks of corruption. The need to develop international standards for the use of AI technologies in the fight against corruption practices is emphasized. The creation of a transnational structure with appropriate rule-making and control powers in this area becomes extremely important.

Maria A. Egorova, Д. В. Пономарева, О. В. Кожевина

In this article, the authors consider the features of smart contracts as a fundamentally new model of contractual relations, relevant in view of the comprehensive digitalization of various spheres of life. Smart contracts are considered as the so-called self-executing contracts, in which the terms of the agreement between the buyer and the seller are directly spelled out in lines of code. At the same time, the code and the agreement associated with it exist in a distributed decentralized blockchain network. Smart contracts guarantee a very specific set of results, which makes it possible not to resort to litigation, in fact, avoiding conflict situations. The authors analyze various types of smart contracts, problems associated with changing the terms of a smart contract, and limitations connected with the use of such a model of contractual relations. The article draws attention to the fact that the automated execution of the terms of the contract will cause problems, because the lines of code, unlike a traditional written contract, cannot be changed with the same ease. In conclusion, the authors discuss the impact of digitalization processes on the development of smart contracts.

A. A. Mayorov

The development of modern technologies has led to the creation of a new way to conclude agreements through automated systems — smart contracts, the emergence of which was largely due to the development of distributed ledger technology (Blockchain). The advantage of the system of “smart contracts” is the ability to make transactions directly with counterparties, without resorting to the services of banks, payment system operators and other transaction operators, which, in turn, reduces costs. Smart contracts can also be used during remote electronic voting, allowing you to solve problems related to security, reliability of data and their protection. Many states have managed to assess the advantages of this technology, having decided to implement it in the digital economy. But before implementing the achievements of scientific and technological progress, it is necessary to understand their technical and legal nature in order to form proper legislation regulating their application. Within the framework of this work, the technical and legal features of smart contract technology are considered in comparison with the traditional form of concluding contracts, and it is also proposed to use it in economic turnover within a special platform.

Igor Antolović

U ovom radu predstavljeno je potencijalno rešenje za decentralizovanu aplikaciju za sportsku kladionicu u okviru Ethereum blockchain mreže. Objašnjenje su teorijske osnove i navedeni izazovi koji se susreću u ovom domenu. Opisane su terminologije vezane za ovu decentralizovanu aplikaciju kao što su blockchain tehnologija, Ethereum blockchain, koncept pametnih ugovora, Oracle entiteti i Solidity jezik. Na kraju je prikazan model i opis implementacije sistema, kao i završna zaključena zapažanja.

Б. А. Шахназаров

The problem of legal regulation of cross-border private law relations in the field of intellectual property implemented through blockchain technologies requires thorough scrutiny on behalf of both legal theorists and practitioners. The use of blockchain technologies is relevant for both copyright and industrial property issues. A practical method to establish a technological basis for the protection of intellectual property rights that is used for their storing and for other purposes provides for implementation of so-called blockchain ledgers. At the same time, the main function of blockchain ledgers is to protect the rights of copyright holders and to provide them with an opportunity to use results of their intellectual activity simultaneously in several jurisdictions. In this respect, the use of distributed ledger technologies should be regulated by a system of rules established by the participants of legal relations within the framework of implementation of certain cross-border private law relations. This article considers, inter alia , lex registrum as a system of rules regulating relations under consideration.

Pınar Çağlayan Aksoy

Smart contracts continue to formulate the backbone of blockchain transactions. After the foundation of the Ethereum protocol, the Initial Coin Offerings, Security Token Offerings, and Non-Fungible Tokens have all relied on smart contracts, with enormous market volume. The broad scope of smart contracts’ (potential) application is undisputed, yet many countries have been silent on the regulation of smart contracts. These same countries, however, have already set some standards regarding crypto assets and crypto asset service providers. We can include Switzerland and the European Union, that has already prepared a draft Regulation for Markets in Crypto Assets, in this first group. Some jurisdictions, such as the UK and the US, have already concluded that common law principles suffice to tackle with smart contracts. The third group, including Italy, has defined smart contracts but has no comprehensive regulatory framework. There is a final group of countries that have chosen not to regulate any aspects of the distributed ledger technology (yet). It is without a doubt that the use of smart contracts will cause problems regarding formation, contract performance, applicable law, jurisdiction, protection of consumers, and personal data.

Jihye Shin

닉 사보(Nick Szabo)에 의해 창안된 스마트 컨트랙트(Smart Contract) 개념은 당사자들의 합의를 자동화된 절차에 의하여 이행되도록 하는 기술적 방법을 의미한다. 한편 최근에는 이더리움(Ethereum) 등 블록체인 위에서 구현되는 DApps(Decentralized Applications)를 의미하는 용어로도 사용된다. 양자 사이에 개념과 범위에서는 차이가 있으나, 양자 모두 자동화된 집행을 의미하는 것으로, 반드시 법적인 의미의 계약을 뜻하는 것은 아니라는 점에서는 동일하다. 스마트 컨트랙트를 통하여 계약 등 법률관계에서 발생하는 이행절차를 자동적으로 처리할 경우, 채무불이행 등 법적 분쟁을 회피할 수 있다고 평가된다. 그러나 계약 등의 이행이 스마트 컨트랙트를 통하여 자동적으로 이루어지더라도 채무자의 무자력이나 의사표시 하자 등 법적 쟁점들이 완전히 회피되는 것은 아니다. 더욱이 이더리움 등 블록체인 위에 구현된 스마트 컨트랙트의 경우에는 블록체인 자체에서 기인하는 법적 불확실성 때문에 오히려 더 큰 분쟁이 발생할 여지가 있다. 이 글에서는 특히 이더리움 기반의 DAO(Decentralized Autonomous Organization) 사건의 경위를 소개하고 분석함으로써, 이러한 문제점들을 발굴하고 부각하고자 하였다. 스마트 컨트랙트는 거래계에서 활발히 이용될 가능성이 높다. 이때 기존의 법체계를 통한 통제를 포기하여서는 안 된다. 스마트 컨트랙트를 통한 자동화된 이행시에도 약자의 보호나 사적자치의 존중 등 사법의 기본원리와 법질서가 관철될 수 있도록 장치를 마련해야 할 것이며, 이를 위하여는 스마트 컨트랙트나 블록체인에 관한 정확한 기술적 이해가 선행되어야 할 것이다.

Andrea Miglionico

Abstract 828 The use of digital platforms in the financial sector requires automated processes in order to collect the large volumes of data which will allow firms to create a shared understanding around rules through technological applications. The UK Financial Conduct Authority launched innovation programmes, i. e. a regulatory sandbox, to assess technologies and expedite the delivery of fintech products. This initiative has been followed by the European Digital Finance Package, which introduced the Pilot Regime for market infrastructure based on distributed ledger technology. Albeit a laudable initiative, the EU sandbox model may face obstacles on account of the different approaches taken by Member States in relieving regulatory requirements which can create a perverse incentive to circumvent prudential rules in the context of risk assessment. This article examines the impact of sandboxes on the operation of digital platforms and considers the extent to which decision-making processes are amenable to digital treatment, and what will be the implications for the quality of regulation and the exercise of judgement by the supervisory authority. It argues that the application of regulatory sandboxes can promote more effective compliance processes, while ensuring transparency and accuracy of enforcement actions. 829

Rubén Trejo Guardado, Eduardo Alejandro Carmona, Herlinda Goretti López Verver y Vargas, Iván Saúl Jiménez Hernández · 6 authors

Objective. In the present work, the bibliographical production referring to smart contracts is reviewed from the business, academic and scientific points of view. The aim is to analyze precisely how the relationship between smart contracts and blockchain occurs to establish a context in both developments. Design/Methodology/Approach. The Scopus database was consulted using the keyword: "smart contract". It was decided to use the SciMAT bibliometric tool for the bibliometric study with the approach based on a joint analysis of words and the h-index to visualize diagrams and thematic areas relatively simply for two periods: 2010-2018 and 2019-2021. Results/Discussion. It was necessary to know the concept of smart contracts for the future of contract law and the digital economy. Some institutions and people will be against considering them as authorized legal alternatives; However, due to the technological advance currently being presented, their development will only be a matter of time. Conclusions. Smart contracts are a technological innovation that, through blockchain technology, carry out transactions safely, quickly and with almost no risk of non-compliance.

Ece Su Ustun, Melek Yüce

Availability, and efficiency of dispute resolution mechanisms are sine qua non for a healthy and prosperous environment. Regarding the technical difficulties and challenges, however, traditional judiciary mechanisms may not be effective for blockchain-related disputes. In this manner, judicialization of blockchain becomes highly inevitable, especially regarding the vision of creating a “self-sufficient system.” In this context, decentralized dispute resolution platforms have occurred and started to provide solutions to blockchain-based disputes. Yet, they are still far from being perfect and should be improved by legal standards and frameworks, as well as employing technical tools. This paper focuses on on-chain dispute resolution mechanisms for blockchain-related disputes, particularly those derived from smart legal contracts.

Michael Schillig

Based on the reception of DLT/blockchain, this article argues that legal discourse is subject to hype cycle dynamics. Thinking in hype cycle categories provides a structured way for analysing the legal implications of a particular innovation. This critical engagement with enthusiasts, sceptics and pragmatists through the different stages may help to present a more realistic picture of DLT/blockchain's potential from a legal perspective in the short and medium term. Consequently, this article discusses the potential for disruption to the legal system envisaged by enthusiasts at the height of inflated expectations, attempts to deconstruct the arguments levelled at the technology by its detractors during the trough of disillusionment, charts the emerging legal landscape that seeks to harness the potential of DLT/blockchain up the slope of enlightenment, and concludes by risking a glimpse towards the plateau of productivity.

Valentina Kvanina, Natalia Savenko

Based on a systematic analysis of the general provisions of civil law on the forms of transactions, contracts and methods of performance of obligations, and doctrinal points of view on the essence of the smart contract as a product of digitalization conclusions are made that the smart contract has a complex and ambiguous legal nature, allowing to define it as a kind of electronic contract, a separate form of written transaction (contract), a way to fulfill an obligation. In the absence of its legal concept, it does not replace the traditional civil law contract. The subject composition and content of the smart contract is mediated by the scope of its application. We should not exaggerate the role and importance of smart contracts and expand the scope of their application outside of civil turnover.

Valeriy Lisitsa, Elizaveta Zainutdinova

Although the term “digital rights” and their kinds are now stipulated in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and other federal laws, the concept of a smart contract and its legal issues arising with its use are not reflected in the current legislation. In our view, it is a drawback since digital rights are transferred from the one to another person in an information system with the use of a smart contract. Smart contract is deemed to be a contract which is concluded and performed in a special information system being decentralized and distributed (like blockchain) and enabling making transactions of digital rights. The peculiarities of a smart contract enhance stability of civil turnover and promote due performance of obligations. It is argued to be possible to transit digital rights in virtue of law on such lawful grounds as a court decision, hereditary succession in case of presenting a certificate of inheritance, where an operator of an information system makes an appropriate record in accordance with the rules of such information system. The lack of legal regulation of a smart contract restrains the broader use of digital rights as well as implementation of accrual of digital rights on the basis of decisions of law enforcement bodies.

Charlie Morgan, Dorothy Livingston, Andrew Moir

The novel characteristics of distributed ledger technology (‘DLT’) and ‘smart legal contracts’ (‘SLCs’) make it essential for parties to think carefully about how disputes arising in this context will be resolved. Put simply, codification and self-execution of parties’ agreements will not do away with disputes, and conflict of law questions can be very complicated in the absence of express dispute resolution mechanics within the SLC itself or the governance framework of the relevant DLT ecosystem. Many users of DLT are keen to resolve disputes ‘on chain’, avoiding recourse to traditional courts or tribunals. This trend is diving a new wave of Online Dispute Resolution (‘ODR’) tools. However, notwithstanding the potential benefits of efficiently enforcing ODR decisions ‘on-chain’ as a matter of practice, it is crucial to consider how those decisions can be anchored (and enforced or protected) within a valid domestic or international legal framework. It is no good to have a self-executing ODR process ‘on-chain’ which can be wholly unwound if a dissatisfied party takes the matter to a domestic court. This chapter summarizes the basic concepts related to ODR, DLT, smart contracts, and SLCs, reviews the possibility of resolving DLT disputes through new and established ODR processes, and explores the promise and challenges of DLT-based ODR solutions currently available. It comments on the need for greater multi-disciplinary collaboration at the interface of law and technology to build legally robust ODR processes that are fit for the digital economy and will enable and promote more mainstream adoption of DLT.

Krisztián Norbert Karikás

Az elmúlt évtizedben az élet minden területén nagy mértékben jelentek meg új technológiák, olyan online rendszerek, amelyek mindennapjaink részévé váltak. Ezeknek az innovációknak a célja, hogy mindennapi életünket megkönnyítsék ebben a rohanó világban. A sport iparágában is egyre nagyobb teret nyer a digitalizáció. Az élsporton keresztül egészen a szabadidős sportig rengeteg módon jelen vannak az új technológiák. Az egyik ilyen innovatív technológia, amely az elmúlt években egyre többször jelenik meg az iparágban az a blokklánc rendszerek és a blokklánc rendszeren alapuló kriptovaluták, amelyek segítségével új szponzorok jelentek meg a sportban és ezeknek a szponzorációs szerződéseknek köszönhetően több milliárd dollár került a sport iparágába. Dolgozatom célja bemutatni ezt az új technológiát és a napjainkban előforduló felhasználási formáit, külön kitérve a sportban való elterjedésére és az ott megjelenő innovációkra.

Татьяна Павловна Максимова, Elena Maksimova

В статье авторами исследованы особенности этапов становления финтеха и возможностей технологии smart-контракта («умный» контракт) в системе финтеха, включая особенности данной технологии; осуществлен SWOP-анализ технологии smart-контрактов для системы финтеха; обоснованы перспективы развития в условиях современных вызовов. In the article, the author examines the features of the stages of fintech formation and the possibilities of smart contract technology in the fintech system, including the features of this technology; a SWOP analysis of smart contract technology for the fintech system is carried out; the prospects for development in the conditions of modern challenges are substantiated.