Abstract Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are playing an increasingly important role for organizations that seek to build social and solidarity‐based finance. Blockchain technology has emerged as a potential disruptor for the financial industry. However, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology may help develop organizations that seek to build social and solidarity‐based finance.
Blockchain technology is an innovative framework that has the potential to transform transactions and revolutionise how we interact and do business with one another. The technology behind cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, blockchain enables a record of transactions in a secure, protected ledger with a distributed, networked database structure, which is secured by hashing power. This allows transactions without any intermediary which are permanent, unalterable, anonymous but transparent and ‘trustless’ – occurring without the possibility of interference. Online gambling is the most rapidly growing mode of gambling; however, players are subject to regulatory restrictions, fraud and cheating by other players and disreputable operators, and reliant on third-parties to ensure that games and monetary transactions are fair. These systems, checks, and balances increase the cost of online gambling for consumers and operators and reduce options. Here, we show how blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies have the potential to transform the gambling industry for players, operators, and regulators. We have reviewed the relevant literature to provide an overview of the potential impacts of this new technology as it is rapidly developing. Gambling sites can accept cryptocurrency, allowing players to operate outside of regulatory jurisdictions as cryptocurrencies are not reliant on regulated payment providers. Cryptocurrency also allow funds to be directly transferred to and from operators, removing the necessity of creating an account and verifying identity. Games run on blockchain systems are provably fair, ensuring outcomes are determined as intended and without interference. Outcomes and transactions are verified, ensuring payments are directed to players or operators as appropriate and all records are transparent ensuring fairness. For players and operators this creates many options for online gambling; for regulators, it may enhance the ability to oversee online operators, or remove the need for regulation altogether. Blockchain technology is not yet at a point where it may be readily adopted and used widely. However, the transformative potential of this technology makes it essential that stakeholders start considering the ways in which the gambling field may be altered and what appropriate responses are required.
Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is emerging as a potential disruptive force in the financial services industry and has garnered significant interest from various stakeholders. The technology offers the potential of significant efficiency gains and risk reduction, but also brings with it a new set of risks such as those related to security and privacy. Some argue that it could change the status quo of how securities are issued, traded and cleared, and redefine the roles of various market players. This paper provides an overview of distributed ledger technology and explains key features such as public versus private networks, the use of digital assets, and the general process for conducting and verifying transactions and recording them on a DLT network. It then highlights some key applications being explored in the securities industry including those in the equity, debt and derivatives markets, and in the utilities space. Further, the paper explores the potential impact of the technology in key areas of market efficiencies, transparency, role of intermediaries and operations, and highlights related benefits and risks. Many of the securities laws that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is charged with overseeing are potentially implicated by various DLT applications.
Abstract Blockchain as an engine for auto‐enforceable smart contracts could disrupt traditional governance structures by reducing bureaucracy through lower transaction costs, solving principal–agent issues, and subsequent moral hazard. While machine consensus can radically reduce transaction costs and disrupt traditional governance structures, there is a gap between initial conceptualizations of blockchains and their first instantiations. First use cases show that as circumstances change, protocols can become inappropriate for the new environment and require modification. Modification of blockchain code happens through majority consensus, but reaching consensus in a distributed multi‐stakeholder network with sometimes unaligned interests is complex, potentially introducing new agency issues.
Julia Kokina, Rubén Mancha, Dessislava A. Pachamanova
ABSTRACT Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology poised to transform the accounting practice. In this paper, we provide an initial examination of the technology itself and discuss the associated opportunities and limitations. We also present an overview of the current blockchain-related practices in large accounting firms and trace significant milestones in this technology's emergence. Finally, we discuss some potential areas that future research could address.
Blockchains-the cryptographically assured ledgers at the heart of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin-have been suggested as a platform for all kinds of financial instruments. But has the technology matured to the point where there's a significant market for developers who specialize in building on a blockchain? Signs suggest yes, based on what I saw and heard when hundreds of financiers, Wall Street analysts, and C-suite executives gathered in New York City in June. They were there to peer into the future of finance at the CB Insights' Future of Fintech conference, including what role blockchains might play.
In this position paper, we discuss the early stages of design research conducted as part of a widely multidisciplinary inquiry involving social psychology, cyber security and deep learning (AI). TAPESTRY aims to: \n \ni. investigate online users’ approaches to establishing the trustworthiness of an interactor or organisation they are about to disclose personal information to, and \n \nii. ways of supporting judgements through the use of a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) service such as blockchain which operates as a form of personal identity credit rating. \n \nBuilding on prior work, we are utilising game design within our Participatory Design approach that involves creatively engaging with three user groups (crowdfunding, eHealth, online dating). Drawing from recent design-led research projects we highlight some of the value and challenges in using creative and innovative techniques in participatory design in technically sophisticated work. We present very early concept ideas and contribute from novel recent literatures to provoke workshop discussion.
<p><strong>Abstract </strong></p><p>In Indonesia, <em>bitcoin</em> is a form of digital currency (<em>e-money</em>) and means of payment transactions that have been used by some communities. It is necessary to get attention, especially from Bank Indonesia. Other than that, the supervision that was once fully done by the central bank of Bank Indonesia, is now taken over by OJK (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan). Thus, Bank Indonesia only has the authority to regulate and control the circulation of currency only. Since some of the tasks and authorities of Bank Indonesia were taken over by OJK (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan), many things have not been covered, such as the new phenomenon in the field of finance in terms of capital, investment, currency circulation, and others. In addition there is no legal umbrella against <em>bitcoin</em>, which is increasingly widespread transaction using <em>bitcoin</em> done in <em>e-commerce</em> transactions. So in terms of security also need to be questioned, therefore there needs to be regulation and supervision specifically against <em>bitcoin</em>, and society will not feel harmed. When viewed in the perspective of Islamic law, that relating to the issuance of money as a means of transactions in a country, is a matter protected by general rules in Islamic law. Therefore, the issuance of money and the determination of the amount is matters relating to the benefit of the people. Another aspect to consider in the use of <em>bitcoin</em> is whether from the side of <em>madharat</em> is greater or benefits taken if used as currency and tool transactions, even as a commodity though. So the focus in this research is the use of <em>bitcoin</em> as currency and transaction tool by using approach and study of Islamic law.</p>
An appealing feature of blockchain technology is smart contracts. A smart contract is executable code that runs on top of the blockchain to facilitate, execute and enforce an agreement between untrusted parties without the involvement of a trusted third party. In this paper, we conduct a systematic mapping study to collect all research that is relevant to smart contracts from a technical perspective. The aim of doing so is to identify current research topics and open challenges for future studies in smart contract research. We extract 24 papers from different scientific databases. The results show that about two thirds of the papers focus on identifying and tackling smart contract issues. Four key issues are identified, namely, codifying, security, privacy and performance issues. The rest of the papers focuses on smart contract applications or other smart contract related topics. Research gaps that need to be addressed in future studies are provided.
Over the past few years, ... From Google Wallet to Bitcoin, all these technology-enabled financial innovations have been a ‘wake-up call’ to address the regulatory aspects of a new ‘era’ of financial services and market players. The FinTech sector comprises a very heterogeneous group of providers of technology-driven financial innovations. Some of them open up new markets in the financial industry; others offer new solutions to replace or augment products or services already offered by banks, asset managers or insurance companies. More changes are underway with the rapid growth of agile innovative players boasting new business models, user-friendly consumer interfaces, peer-to-peer services or advanced automated tools.
A large number of people earn money in foreign countries and many of them have to send across the money back home in India. For every such transaction, multiple fees could be charged, varying from 3 to 12 percent. In this paper we offer a peer-to-peer settlement solution for such remittance on blockchain at negligible rates. Money transfers can be securely converted into crypto-currencies, which can easily be transferred across nations, and then again converted into local currencies. In this paper, we use Multi-chain for digital assets and peer-to-peer electronic cash systems where transactions take place between users directly, without an intermediary. These transactions are verified by network nodes and recorded in a public distributed ledger called the blockchain. Each block is verified and added to the blockchain (distributed public ledger), which includes all past transactions through a process known as Mining. Mining using CPU is unwise and has high cost of operation. We present an alternative approach using CUDA-enabled Graphics Processing Unit(GPU) for mining. The massively parallel nature of some GPUs majorly increases the mining power.
Growing use of smart contracts - issues to be addressed when contracts can self-execute based on computer code - reliance on blockchain technology - legal issues for smart contracts in Australia - ...
Blockchain is considered as the important technological innovation behind Bitcoin system. It facilitates the transaction payment process by creating a decentralized, general ledger to improve regulatory capacity and remove unnecessary intermediaries. At present, the blockchain technology has been employed in the financial industry for a wide range of experimental application and exploration. In this paper, we firstly analyze the principle architecture and the technical characteristics of blockchain. Then its current research achievements and application scenarios are introduced. Finally, the application of blockchain in China Foreign Exchange Trade System is designed and explored. Combining with the credit matching trading system X-Swap, an inter-bank application based on the blockchain technology is implemented.
Xingjie Yu, Michael Thang Shiwen, Yingjiu Li, Robert H. Deng
In Bitcoin network, the distributed storage of multiple copies of the blockchain opens up possibilities for double spending, i.e., a payer issues two separate transactions to two different payees transferring the same coins. To detect the doublespending and penalize the malicious payer, decentralized non-equivocation contracts have been proposed. The basic idea of these contracts is that the payer locks some coins in a deposit when he initiates a transaction with the payee. If the payer double spends, a cryptographic primitive called accountable assertions can be used to reveal his Bitcoin credentials for the deposit. Thus, the malicious payer could be penalized by the loss of deposit coins. However, such decentralized non-equivocation contracts are subjected to collusion attacks where the payer colludes with the beneficiary of the deposit and transfers the Bitcoin deposit back to himself when he double spends, resulting in no penalties. On the other hand, even if the beneficiary behaves honestly, the victim payee cannot get any compensation directly from the deposit in the original design. To prevent such collusion attacks, we design fair deposits for Bitcoin transactions to defend against double-spending. The fair deposits ensure that the payer will be penalized by the loss of his deposit coins if he double spends and the victim payee's loss will be compensated. We start with proposing protocols of making a deposit for Bitcoin transactions. We then analyze the performance of deposits made for Bitcoin transactions and show how the fair deposits work efficiently in Bitcoin.
The Internet provided the world with interconnection. However, it did not provide it with trust. Trust is lacking everywhere in our society and is the reason for the existence of powerful intermediaries aggregating power. Trust is what prevents the digital world to take over. This has consequences for organisations: they are inefficient because time, energy, money and passion are wasted on verifying everything happens as decided. Managers play the role of intermediaries in such case: they connect experts with each others and instruct them of what to do. As a result, in our expert society, people’s engagement is low because no one is there to inspire and empower them. In other words, our society faces an unprecedented lack of leadership. Provided all those shortcomings, the study imagines the potential repercussions, especially in the context of management, of implementing a blockchain infrastructure in any type of organisation. Indeed, the blockchain technology seems to be able to remedy to those issues, for this distributed and immutable ledger provides security, decentralisation and transparency. In the context of a blockchain economy, the findings show that value creation will be rearranged, with experts directly collaborating with each others, and hierarchy being eliminated. This could, in turn, render managers obsolete, as a blockchain infrastructure will automate most of the tasks. As a result, only a strong, action-oriented, leadership would maintain the organisation together. This leadership-in-action would consist in igniting people to take action; coach members of the organisations so that their contribution makes sense in the greater context of life.
Cryptocurrencies — being digitally transmitted and embodied within peer-to-peer infrastructures — may mediate new forms of peer-driven interactions and collaborations among Internet users. In this paper, I performed in-depth interviews of cryptocurrencies’ emerging uses with 16 participants between September 2013 and March 2015. My analysis of how these users have used cryptocurrencies revealed a new feature, large-crowd, cost-effective transactions (trades involving massive numbers of participants), that can drive trades involving massive numbers of participants. Cryptocurrencies, having a peer-driven logical infrastructure, are already known to offer a freer alternate medium for users to customize or automate monetary processes. But the newly identified feature makes it possible for peer producers to organize work payment options involving a large crowd of contributors. This capacity suggests the emergence of many-to-many financial flows in small individual amounts. Taken together, I identify a cluster of temporal and spatial ways that cryptocurrencies remix and automate payment mechanisms and pathways.
Smart contracts are contracts essentially in form of Computer Codes, where the terms of the contract are enforced by the logic of the program’s execution. They do not require judgement or skill of any specialist. This allows us to form a vastly strong system of checks-and-balances, in a trust-less and decentralised manner. Smart contracts also gain the benefit of global transferability, without sacrificing any local knowledge. It’s both cost and time effective. Smart Contracts would dramatically reduce the costs of developing, maintain and securing our relationships. It’s very similar to an online Chessboard game, where the players would design the rules of the game before they are willing to play. And once the rules are agreed on, the Contract would act as a board manager, this allows the parties to move freely but within the rules of the game. Although, enforceability is a challenge to proper working of Smart Contracts, many international conventions can be used to govern the working of such contracts. There exists a clear lack of theoretical framework in this respect. This paper tries to draw out such a theoretical framework by identifying the different modes for regulating and enforcing smart contracts in multiple jurisdictions. Establishment of a legal framework regulating Smart Contracts would be a giant leap in the field of Contractual Laws.