It is widely accepted that virtual currencies have the potential of revolutionising the global finance sector. The potential of bitcoin has been recognised by corporate organisations and governments. With the continuing growth of bitcoin as a cryptocurrency, its regulatory regime has become crucial in determining the fate of this novel system of exchange. The global economic crisis and pandemic situation of 2020 is turning industries towards adoption of digital and virtual currencies. Although bitcoins have been regarded as the pioneer of decentralized peer to peer virtual currencies, there remains uncertainties in various countries as to whether they should embrace, devise new regulations or completely outlaw the digital currency. It has been recognised that Mauritius has the potential of acting as a Financial Technology (Fintech) hub for the African and surrounding regions through the rapid development and adoption of technology.For this to become possible, the current regulatory framework of Mauritius must be updated to reflect the continuing innovating changes in this area.
Abstract The final chapter dives deeper into the territory of spin-off blockchains offered as technological modes of organisation for decentralising a host of socioeconomic practices. Recent discussions of platform capitalism are used to critique claims that blockchains are an incorruptible mode of democratic governance. Instead, blockchain capitalism is offered as a more accurate transaction model where profit necessitates certain points of centralisation through dominant distributed ledger technologies. A close examination of blockchain typologies reveals the co-option of these architectures by the very centralised banking firms and governments they were initially designed to bypass. As financial giants and central banks design their own distributed ledgers to increase the efficiency of business practices and monetary policy, innovation from the disruptive edges is once again absorbed into “the centre” by the corporate/state powers that be.
Marta Poblet, Darcy W E Allen, Oleksii Konashevych, Aaron M. Lane · 5 authors
Oracles were trusted sources of knowledge for public deliberation in classical Athens. Very much like expert and technical knowledge, divine advice was embedded in the deliberation and decision-making process of the democratic Assembly. While the idea of religious divination is completely out of place in our contemporary democracies, oracles made a technological comeback with modern computer science and cryptography and, more recently, the emergence of the blockchain as a “trust machine”. This paper reviews the role of oracles in Athenian democracy and, stemming from the renewed use of the term in computer sciences and cryptography, analyses the case of oracles in the nascent blockchain ecosystem. The paper also proposes a sociotechnical approach to the use of distributed oracles as informational devices to assist deliberative processes in digital democracy settings, and considers the limits that such an approach may face.
Key points The integration of crypto assets into the traditional journal model offers potential for both user incentives and financial security, especially for new or small journals. The case study reveals low uptake by users, which may be attributed to a resistance to new technology and underestimation of the incentives required. Implementation of cryptocurrencies is likely to be more successful if it is implemented by many journals and in an open environment for publishers.
A taxonomy of blockchain application uses cases that include application and apps. A major obstacle identified in several disciplines is the categorization of objects in a particular area of interest into a taxonomy. Blockchain is an innovation that is decentralized and characterized by value-based information that is distributed over a vast network with many untrusted users. Developing a taxonomy for blockchain applications is a complex process. This chapter thus attempts to discuss what internal factors contribute to the success of a blockchain application. This is followed by an analysis of which organizations use blockchain and which applications and apps they use. Finally, we classify blockchains according to what they are used for. For example, Blockchains are used in such fields as finance, agriculture, education, development, etc.
Cryptocurrencies have evolved erratically and at unprecedented speed over the course of their short lifespans. Since the inception of Bitcoin in 2009, more than 1600 cryptocurrencies have been developed, with majority of them witnessing success in the market. With the advent of cryptocurrencies, the possibility of online trading has reached new heights. Thus, this chapter focuses on enterprise cryptocurrencies and provides a thorough analysis of the various opportunities that lie with the use of cryptocurrencies for online payments. This chapter is presented as there is a need to draw a fine line between using fiat currencies and using cryptocurrencies for online transactions. It is also important as there is not much research done on using cryptocurrencies in enterprise systems, and so this will give a fair idea to researchers and organizations and help them in making decisions while making corporate payments. We are basing our research using grounded theory, and our research will focus on the certainty of using cryptocurrencies.
Sam Goundar, Niumaia Tabunakawai, Jobe Tamata, Arpana Deb · 5 authors
Government and state approaches to any venture first begin with regulations being kept in place to safeguard its interests as well as those of its citizens. Cryptocurrency adoption on a global scale has been led by major players such as the U.S. and China, while some smaller countries have achieved comparable success. In this chapter, we analyze and assess a country’s level of cryptocurrency adoption on the basis of its regulatory framework. We then classify this approach according to the business function that regulates the use of these cryptocurrencies. We also derive a gradual approach to cryptocurrency adoption and regulation, which can be used by fledgling countries new to cryptocurrency.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to design a sustainable development platform for water and energy peer-to-peer trading that is financially and economically feasible. Water and other resources are becoming scarcer every day, and developing countries are the neediest for an immediate intervention. Water, as a national need, is considered to be one of the most precious commodities, but it is also one of the main causes for conflicts in the 21st century. Rainwater harvesting and peer-to-peer trading of the harvested water is one of the most convenient, scalable and sustainable solutions but faces organization challenges such as the absence of suitable business models motivating normal users to sell their generated resources (such as water and energy), currency and financial settlement complexities and single utility markets. Design/methodology/approach This paper proposes a multi-utility trading platform based on the blockchain technology which can address the challenges faced by peer-to-peer trading for resources such as energy and water. Findings This paper presents a peer-to-peer multi-utility trading platform that solves the shortcomings of existing utility frameworks reported in the current literature. Originality/value This proposed platform meets the needs of developing countries as well as rural areas of developed countries. The open nature of the proposed design makes it suitable for adoption and use by various stakeholders.
The land is an immovable property. Tracing the details of property and involvement of third-party is the challenging task. Fraudulent may forge documents and mislead the purchaser and if it's a litigate land it takes many years in the court battle, waste of time and resource. Problems escalate in this current land registration process which is non-transparent. Such demands made to integrate technologies and lead to the blooming of blockchain technology. Blockchain is a decentralized and transparent ledger. The smart contract is the confirmable and permanent document between two parties. This proposed framework is used to develop a registration application system in which new purchaser has to register and continue with the further process. The proposed research work is implemented using SHA256 algorithm which provides unique hash values for the messages getting stored in blocks and ethereum blockchain technology is used to store both smart contract and transaction details.
Michael Darlin, Nikolaos Papadis, Leandros Tassiulas
The Maker Protocol is a decentralized finance application that enables collateralized lending. The application uses open-bid, second-price auctions to complete its loan liquidation process. In this paper, we develop a bidding function for these auctions, focusing on the costs incurred to participate in the auctions. We then optimize these costs using parameters from historical auction data, and compare our optimal bidding prices to the historical auction prices. We find that the majority of auctions end at higher prices than our recommended optimal prices, and we propose several theories for these results.
Tasneem Darwish, Kamalrulnizam Abu Bakar, Gen Matsuda, Ahmed Aliyu · 13 authors
Blockchain provides a distributed digital ledger platform for not only cryptocurrencies but also many other distributed applications. Blockchain platforms work flow and performance are controlled by the used consensus algorithms. Although many studies evaluated cryptocurrency from the Shariah perspective, they focused only on the cryptocurrency concept and did not consider the underlying blockchain technology. However, designing a Shariah compliant application on top of a non Shariah compliant platform does not fulfil the requirements of Shariah. Therefore, it is necessary to use a Shariah compliant blockchain platform in order to produce Shariah compliant blockchain applications. To support the production of Shariah compliant blockchain applications, this study provides a comparative analysis of the most used consensus algorithms in blockchain platforms. In particular, the considered consensus algorithms are evaluated from a Shariah perspective. In conclusion, based on the conducted evaluation some of the widely used blockchain platforms (e.g. Bitcoin and Ethereum) are found to be not compliant with the Shariah rules due to using a consensus algorithm that is not Shariah compliant.
María Victoria Yépez Idrovo, María Paz Vela Sevilla, Bernarda Alegría Haro Aillón
La presente investigación analiza la figura de los smart contracts o contratos inteligentes, los cuales se caracterizan por su ejecución automática a través de blockchain. Se desmiente la creencia de que por ejecutarse automáticamente, estos contratos están exentos de disputas, y se analiza qué tipo de controversias podrían surgir de ellos. El presente trabajo sostiene que el arbitraje posee ciertas características, en particular su deslocalización, flexibilidad y confidencialidad, que lo convierten en el método idóneo para resolver disputas derivadas de smart contracts, y analiza cómo dos plataformas han desarrollado mecanismos de resolución de disputas para contratos inteligentes. A la luz del procedimiento adoptado por estas plataformas y de la Teoría General del Arbitraje, se hace un análisis de los desafíos que implica arbitrar este tipo de contratos.
Ahmed Aliyu, Kamalrulnizam Abu Bakar, Gen Matsuda, Tasneem Darwish · 13 authors
Cryptocurrency has emerged as the most promising digital asset, which serves as a medium of exchange with distributed control and highly secured financial system. This lead to an increase in stakeholders’ interest in digital currency investment. The cryptocurrencies majorly involve two phases including Initial Coin Offering (ICO) and blockchain creation. These phases have been challenged with criticisms in terms of the Islamic shariah injunctions. These criticisms are based on two fundamental issues including whether cryptocurrency is backed by asset and has a regulatory authority or not. These issues are related to uncertainty, volatility and high speculation of the cryptocurrencies. Although, several cryptocurrencies claimed to have considered the shariah requirements in their proposed cryptocurrency ecosystems. However, a strict analysis of some of the existing cryptocurrencies reveals otherwise. Therefore, this paper presents a review of some shariah-compliant cryptocurrencies focusing on their volatility and speculation. The operations of cryptocurrencies need to follow the Islamic shariah requirements. The proposed review provides an insight regarding the acclaimed shariah-compliant cryptocurrencies to assess whether they comply with the shariah requirements or not.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the audit-related causes of financial scandals and advice on how emerging technologies can provide solutions thereto. Specifically, this study seeks to look at the facilitators of financial statement fraud and explain specific fintech advancements that contribute to financial information reliability for equity investments. Design/methodology/approach The study uses the case studies of Enron and Arthur Andersen to document the evidence of audit-related issues in historical financial scandals. Then, a comprehensive and interdisciplinary literature review at the intersection of business, accounting and engineering, provides a foundation to propose technology advancements that can solve identified problems in accounting and auditing. Findings The findings show that blockchain, internet of things, smart contracts and artificial intelligence solutions have different functionality and can effectively solve various financial reporting and audit-related problems. Jointly, they have a strong potential to enhance the reliability of the information in financial statements and generally change how companies operate. Practical implications The proposed and explained technology advancements should be of interest to all publicly listed companies and investors, as they can help safeguard equity investments, thus build investors’ trust towards the company. Social implications Aside from implications for capital markets participants, the study findings can materially benefit various stakeholder groups, the broader company environment and the economy. Originality/value This is the first paper that seeks solutions to financial fraud and audit-related financial scandals in technology and not in implementing yet another regulation. Given the recent technology advancements, the study findings provide insights into how the role of an external auditor might evolve in the future.
Blockchain, IoT, and AI are key technologies driving the next wave of the digital transformation. We argue that these technologies will converge and will allow for new business models: Autonomous agents (i.e., sensors, cars, machines, trucks, cameras, and other IoT devices) will in the future act as own profit centers that (1) have a digital twin leveraging IoT, (2) send and receive money leveraging blockchain technology on their own and (3) autonomously make decisions as independent economic agents leveraging AI and data analytics. We further argue that this convergence will drive the development of such autonomous business models and, with it, the digital transformation of industrial corporations.
Jing Lu, Shihong Wu, Hanlei Cheng, Bin Song · 5 authors
Abstract In this article, aimed at the future “let go” electricity market, smart contracts for grid enterprises doing electricity transactions and charge settlements based on blockchain technology, as well as the trading model using the smart contracts, are proposed. Then the key technological difficulties are analyzed, and the solutions are given. The main goal of our research is to help developing the infrastructure for electricity market members, and match their bilateral trading. By running a smart contract instance in a peer‐to‐peer network composed by 4000 nodes, experiments show that the success rate is 99.38% and the average time consumption for each transaction is 16 seconds. If our method is applied, we can reduce the trust cost of the electric electricity market, and improve the efficiency of the electricity transaction and charge settlement.
Blockchain (BC) provides an encrypted echo system to the users where they can securely mark their transactional entries in a distributed ledger. The ledger comprises of distributed and shared network of nodes that validate the authenticity of each transaction and keeps its authentic record for perusal. Keeping view of the enormous potential of this technology, numerous public and private entities are embarking the bandwagon of blockchain and integrating this technology for ensuring a transitioning in their digital finance operations. Apart from the financial realm, healthcare, agriculture, and education sectors are also benefiting from the security and reliability of BC. Incorporation of BC in the public sector at increased scale requires a review of existing governance and legislative structures and a recalibration of regulatory regimes. This paper presents a literature review on blockchain technology, its current usage trends, and its governance.
Cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, Ethereum and many others are closely affiliated with the financial technology (fintech) industry. These digital or virtual currencies are encrypted using cryptography and distributed on public ledger (blockchain) across decentralised peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. Since cryptocurrencies are issued by private entities and technically beyond the controls of any states, they may be exploited by criminals for illicit purposes such as money laundering, terrorism financing and many others. Thus, this article will examine whether cryptocurrency amounts to a new form of money under the existing rules on financial services and analyse how it should be regulated. This study is a qualitative research that adopts pure legal research methodology by analysing existing laws on national currency and digital currency. Further, the study analysed other secondary sources including academic books, journal articles, conference papers, and other materials in newspapers or reputable websites. The output of the research is expected to provide an overview on the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency in Malaysia. In conclusion, the government has favoured a minimalist approach so as not to stiffen the innovation and future development of cryptocurrency in the country.
Dirk Andreas Zetzsche, Ross P. Buckley, Douglas W. Arner
Libra is the first private cryptocurrency with the potential to change the landscape of global payment and monetary systems. Due to the scale and reach provided by its affiliation with Facebook, the question is not whether, but how, to regulate it. This article introduces the Libra project and analyses the potential responses open to regulators worldwide. We conclude that perhaps the greatest impact will come not from Libra itself, but rather from reactions to it, particularly by other BigTechs, incumbent financial institutions and governments around the world.
Smart contracts and the blockchain have generated considerable excitement and concern (in equal measure) throughout the commercial world. These technologies promise to revolutionise commercial transactions by making them faster, cheaper, more transparent and more secure. Opponents, however, have warned of the issues that arise through the use of these technologies. One major concern is that smart contracts will not be compatible with existing laws. Some commentators have suggested that these contracts lack consideration and are prima facie unenforceable. This paper bluntly dismisses this suggestion. Such a ‘myth’ has been constructed upon misconceptions of the nature of smart contracts and the legal obligations they contain and enforce. It will be argued that smart contracts do not, as a class, lack consideration.
In today's competitive marketplace, companies are strategically utilizing technological advances to gain a competitive advantage, while increasing efficiency throughout their supply chain. One area of innovative technology adoption companies are becoming more aware of is distributed ledger technology, otherwise known as blockchain. The blockchain job market grew over 200% between 2017 and 2018 It is predicted that by 2024, the blockchain information technology marketplace will be worth over $16 billion