Chanuka Wijayakoon, Hai Dong, H. M. N. Dilum Bandara, Zahir Tari · 5 authors
Smart contracts can implement and automate parts of legal contracts, but ensuring their legal compliance remains challenging. Existing approaches such as formal specification, verification, and model-based development require expertise in both legal and software development domains, as well as extensive manual effort. Given the recent advances of Large Language Models (LLMs) in code generation, we investigate their ability to generate legally compliant smart contracts directly from natural language legal contracts, addressing these challenges. We propose a novel suite of metrics to quantify legal compliance based on modeling both legal and smart contracts as processes and comparing their behaviors. We select four LLMs, generate 20 smart contracts based on five legal contracts, and analyze their legal compliance. We find that while all LLMs generate syntactically correct code, there is significant variance in their legal compliance with larger models generally showing higher levels of compliance. We also evaluate the proposed metrics against properties of software metrics, showing they provide fine-grained distinctions, enable nuanced comparisons, and are applicable across domains for code from any source, LLM or developer. Our results suggest that LLMs can assist in generating starter code for legally compliant smart contracts with strict reviews, and the proposed metrics provide a foundation for automated and self-improving development workflows.
In today’s fast-paced digital world, NFT have become mainstream, reaching a market value of $50 billion. They act as digital certificates of ownership of online resources, reshaping how we perceive ourselves to be on the digital realm. Our plan is to have a BidCraft NFT Hub, a marketplace where people can easily buy, sell and trade NFT. We simplify the process by using blockchain technology. For the user interface, we use web3.js for a smooth experience. In the background, Node.js and Express.js ensure smooth operation. We integrate MetaMask, a trusted digital wallet for account management and secure transactions. To ensure security and transparency in transactions, the platform relies on contract written in Solidity. Testing is done on the Hardhat network, which is planned to run on the Polygon blockchain in the testing environment. In summary, the BidCraft NFT Hub aims to make blockchain technology and NFTs accessible to everyone by leveraging the Polygon blockchain and prioritizing user friendliness while maintaining safety and security
The advance of Information Technology is closely related to and has a direct impact on the development of people’s lives. One of the real technological advancements that plays a major role in creating evolution in the community life order is Internet progress. As time passes, the internet world continues to experience rapid development, such as Metaverse, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), and Cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, the change of regulations and legal products that are not as fast as the advance of the internet and the business world raises their abuse potential as means of Money Laundering Crime. The research method used was normative juridical with analytical descriptive research specifications. Metaverse, NFTs, and Cryptocurrency are relatively new phenomena in this globalization era. The lack of regulation and the high volatility of price characteristics that are strongly influenced by public interest make them potential as means to hide or disguise the origin of assets from criminal acts. So, this research was conducted to analyse the potential use of Metaverse and Non-Fungible Tokens as means of money laundering.
في ظل التنامي الرهيب لتكنولوجيا المعلومات والذكاء الاصطناعي، ظهر مفهوم التمويل اللامركزي بوصفه نظامًا ماليا يعتمد على التكنولوجيا اللامركزية المبنية على تقنية سلسلة الكتل البلوك تشين) لتمكين الأفراد والمؤسسات من إجراء عمليات تمويل دون الحاجة إلى جهة وسيطة مركزية كما هو معهود، وعلى إثرها تولدت منصات التمويل اللامركزي التي تتيح الإنجاز والسرعة في مجال الخدمات المالية، حيث يمكن للأفراد والشركات التعامل بشكل مباشر وفعال دون تدخلات من وسطاء مما يقلل من التكاليف ويسرع من إجراءات التمويل بصيغ مختلفة. وفي محاولة لتجلية الأحكام الشرعية الفقهية المتعلقة بالتمويل اللامركزي ومنصاته جاء هذا البحث ليكشف مكنونات الصناعة المالية الرقمية مستعينا بالمنهج الوصفي التحليلي وذلك بتوصيف المكونات وتفكيك المركبات وتكييفها حسب الفروع وردها إلى أصولها، للخلوص إلى حكم عام يضبط ما استجد من المعاملات، مع تحليل ماهيتها وبيان خصائصها لإيجاد قواعد ضابطة لها. وقد استعرض الباحث أقوال الفقهاء المعاصرين والمجامع الفقهية مع مناقشة أدلة كل فريق انتهاء بترجيح يثري وحكم يُرشد، وقد خلص البحث إلى جواز التعامل بمنصات التمويل اللامركزي وفق شروط وضوابط، جلباً للمصلحة ودرءا للمفسدة، برهاناً على قوة القواعد العامة للشريعة ومقاصدها، ومدى صلاحيتها ومسايرتها لكل وقت ومكان. وقد استعرض الباحث بعض المنصات الرقمية للتمويل اللامركزي، حاولت تجسيد ما ذهبوا إليه من جواز التعامل بالتمويل اللامركزي، وعليه تم استحداث آليات للتمويل وتشريع ذلك من خلال ملفات التعريف وبيان الماهية، ثم التأصيل الشرعي الذي يعطي المنصات شرعية للتعامل بها. وأوصى الباحث بأن المستجدات المالية الرقمية بحاجة إلى مزيد بحث وتنقيب وتنقيح، وذلك راجع للتسارع الهائل فيها وفي تحديثاتها طلباً لاكتمالها وتحسيناً لمنتجاتها.
ABSTRACT This paper examines the potential and inherent difficulties of initial coin offerings (ICOs), a different approach to startup funding. It investigates investor attitudes, startup motives, and the legal environment around initial coin offerings (ICOs) using a mixed-methods methodology that includes survey responses and literature research. The findings indicate that initial coin offerings (ICOs) provide quick, decentralized funding options and a broader global reach, particularly for firms focused on technology. Nonetheless, worries about investor safety, fraud, and a lack of regulation continue. The study comes to the conclusion that although initial coin offerings (ICOs) have the potential to be revolutionary, their full potential can only be achieved with organized governance, transparency, and investor education. Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) have become a cutting-edge way for entrepreneurs to raise money, especially in the technology and blockchain industries. This paper looks at ICOs' dual nature, emphasizing both the hazards related to investor protection and regulatory ambiguity as well as its promise as a decentralized fundraising strategy. This study highlights the main opportunities and difficulties faced by investors and entrepreneurs using a mixed-methods approach that includes surveys and a review of the literature. The results show that although initial coin offerings (ICOs) provide quick and worldwide access to cash, trust and openness are still essential to their long-term survival.
In recent years, the cryptocurrency market in Indonesia has grown rapidly. Along with this trend, investor behavior is frequently influenced by cognitive shortcuts known as heuristics. The purpose of this study is to look at how heuristic biases such as representativeness, overconfidence, anchoring, availability bias, and the gambler's fallacy affect retail investment decisions in the Bandung Raya area. A quantitative approach with a survey method was used to collect data from 139 respondents, which were then analyzed using statistical techniques such as correlation tests and simple linear regression. The findings show that heuristic biases have a significant impact on investment decisions, emphasizing the significance of raising investor awareness of psychological factors that may interfere with rational judgment when making cryptocurrency investments.
As blockchain technology drives the global expansion of the digital currency market, the widespread adoption of high-frequency trading and cross-market arbitrage strategies poses dual challenges to traditional regulatory measures in terms of timeliness and accuracy. This study constructs a hybrid neural network model that integrates supervised and unsupervised learning to explore multi-dimensional feature fusion paths between on-chain data from blockchain and secondary market price data. Based on dynamic game theory, an intelligent regulatory sandbox system is designed, incorporating on-chain address reputation scoring mechanisms and liquidity smart contract circuit breakers to achieve real-time warnings and responses to market manipulation behaviors. Furthermore,a distributed regulatory framework built on zero-knowledge proof technology is proposed, providing a feasible solution for establishing a penetrating regulatory system while ensuring transaction privacy.
Hong Qu, Krzysztof Gogol, Florian Grötschla, Claudio J. Tessone
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) lending enables permissionless borrowing via smart contracts. However, it faces challenges in optimizing interest rates, mitigating bad debt, and improving capital efficiency. Rule-based interest-rate models struggle to adapt to dynamic market conditions, leading to inefficiencies. This work applies Offline Reinforcement Learning (RL) to optimize interest rate adjustments in DeFi lending protocols. Using historical data from Aave protocol, we evaluate three RL approaches: Conservative Q-Learning (CQL), Behavior Cloning (BC), and TD3 with Behavior Cloning (TD3-BC). TD3-BC demonstrates superior performance in balancing utilization, capital stability, and risk, outperforming existing models. It adapts effectively to historical stress events like the May 2021 crash and the March 2023 USDC depeg, showcasing potential for automated, real-time governance.
Muhammad Mukhlis Kamarul Zaman, Zahari Md Rodzi, Yusrina Andu, Nur Aima Shafie · 7 authors
Blockchain integration in microfinance is beginning to reshape the scenario of financial inclusion and economic empowerment in emerging markets. To support a strategic decision on adoption, the study introduces the Adaptive Utility Ranking Algorithm (AURA), a newly established Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) method to be used in evaluating blockchain-based alternatives relevant to microfinance in Malaysia. AURA stands apart from traditional MCDM techniques in that it has a distance function that is flexible and a normalization scheme that is dynamic by nature, thereby making it capable of offering the decision maker more leverage in terms of adaptability to actual economic conditions. For demonstrating the methodology, a simulated dataset based on eight blockchain-modeled alternatives and six criteria considered important in economic performance was constructed. These criteria were used for sensitivity analysis; the application of comparative evaluation of well-known MCDM methods such as TOPSIS, VIKOR, and COBRA; and robustness checks with the simulation methodology, all of which helped attest to the reliability of AURA. Even though it was based on synthetic data, the study has provided strong conceptual insight into the possibility of financial institutions being able to prioritize options from the technology perspective under complex economic constraints. Portraying AURA as a competitive decision-support tool for technology evaluation in microfinance will certainly make an impact.
Abhinav Singh, P. P. Tripathi, Nishant Gupta, Dharm Raj · 5 authors
This paper introduces a crowdfunding platform that enhances the security and transparency of fundraising activities by leveraging Ethereum's blockchain technology. The system uses contracts based on Solidity to create a decentralized space, for setting up campaigns and receiving donations securely online. By recording donations in the blockchain and allowing refunds if fundraising goals are not reached the smart contract ensures accountability and safely manages transferring funds to campaign organizers. In contrast to traditional crowdfunding websites this platform provides transaction fees and enhanced transparency, making it easier for people worldwide, from various backgrounds to participate in the system. The design of the platform tackles problems such as, transaction costs and limited user autonomy that are common, in traditional crowdfunding approaches. Showcasing how blockchain technology can offer a fairer and more decentralized option.
A scrutinize exposition on tempering of vote in our country India and an exploration into the revolutionary concept of a secure online voting system using Blockchain Technology, aims to avoid tempering of vote by various update in traditional voting methods by integrating blockchain technology in a modernized prototype for polling. This paper presents a proposal to make the polling sturdy and impregnable framework deliberated to assurance transparency, accountability, uprightness, and reachability in current situations of polling. Built and Tested to Delivering a secure and seamless experience for voters, by using the Ethereum blockchain. By assimilating Ethereum Blockchain technology in the system, it makes the system tamper proof and verifies the votes through cryptographic hashes in Ethereum Blockchain.
Fykri Anass, Khalidi Maha, Moukafi Fayssal, Dafir Amine
In the era of digitization, blockchain technology is a game-changing factor in global trade with the potential to ensure greater transparency, security, and efficiency. Traditional trade agreements are marred with high reliance on paper-based systems, resulting in inefficiency, the risk of fraud, and high administrative costs. Blockchain technology with its decentralized ledger and smart contracts addresses these problems through the automation of trade flows, reduction in intermediaries, and creation of immutable records for transactions. The present study analyzes the impact of blockchain-based smart contracts on international trade agreements and assesses the possibility of simplifying the execution of transactions and overcoming regulatory and technical challenges. Despite the advantages it offers, the use of blockchain in trade is met with significant challenges such as scalability problems, legal uncertainty, and resistances from financial institutions. The lack of standard regulations and the multiplicity of jurisdictions add to the challenges in implementation. Despite the challenges, initiatives from global organizations are aimed at establishing standards to enable the use of blockchain in trade agreements. Applying comparative analysis, the research identifies the efficiency and cost savings achievable through blockchain and the limitations in the intricate trade environment. The research shows blockchain-based solutions have the ability to revolutionize global trade agreements if regulators, industries, and governments collaborate to develop legal clarity and technical interoperability.
The article examines the main regulatory provisions governing digital legal relations, including the norms of civil legislation and legislation on digital assets. Particular attention is paid to the definition of the features of digital rights that distinguish them from other objects of turnover, as well as to the analysis of the conditions for the emergence, exercise and transfer of such rights in the framework of distributed registers. The legal peculi-arities of smart contracts as software constructions replacing traditional forms of contractual interaction and ensuring the fulfillment of obligations without the participation of the parties after the activation of the algorithm are considered. Legal risks arising in the absence of normative regulation of smart contracts are substantiated, including the impossibility of judicial correction of performance, loss of access to digital assets and uncertainty of identification of subjects. Measures to improve legislation are proposed, including the regulatory consolida-tion of the concept of a smart contract, the establishment of a presumption of ownership of a digital right for a person with access to a key, as well as the recognition of the legal significance of blockchain records in judicial protection. Сonclusion is made about the the necessity of systemic adaptation of civil legislation to new forms of digital interaction and technological autonomy of turnover.
This article evaluates the regulatory legal landscape of smart contracts within the EU and examines a few essential legal challenges related to the need to harmonize smart contract regulations across the EU. It starts with analysis of some legal and technical aspects of the smart contract term form and arrives at the conclusion that there is no universal and unified term that contains technical aspects of the smart contract. This creates legal uncertainty, as the currently existing legal frameworks in many EU member states are not equipped to address these characteristics of smart contracts.Another issue of importance is the varied approaches to smart contract regulation across the EU member states. The paper reveals that, currently, there is a spectrum of regulatory strategies from pioneering to conservative, and identifies the main obstacles to regulatory harmonization within the EU. Without a common legal framework, a smart contract deemed valid and enforceable in one state may not be recognized in another member state.Finally, the current EU legislation is not specifically designed for smart contracts. However, it impacts their regulation by addressing critical aspects of digital operations like data ownership, access and control. Thus, successful integration of smart contracts into the EU’s regulatory environment will require a concerted effort to address these complex challenges.
A persistent semantic gap separates the low-level revert data emitted by smart contracts from the high-level explanations Web3 users need when a transaction fails. Existing automated analyzers treat such reverts as hints of hidden vulnerabilities and do not tell users what actually went wrong. To close this gap and give users useful feedback, I present ErrorExplainer, an automated error-explanation framework rather than another bug detector. ErrorExplainer takes a novel two-phase approach. A lightweight static analysis of verified source code lifts every transaction-reverting statement into a canonical error representation of an origin function, a guard condition, and an expected error message. At runtime, when a failure occurs, ErrorExplainer first checks the invariant part of the error data with the error representation of the called function. If no hit appears, it expands the candidates to call traces until a match is found and then shows the matched record as a clear, human-readable explanation. The evaluation results show that ErrorExplainer could effectively identify 6284 normalized error records from a reverting-related dataset of SC-Bench. The high information completeness (0.952) and matching fitness (0.954 and 0.604 at the function and trace levels, respectively) indicate that the extracted error context of ErrorExplainer can provide more understandable information to users on failed operations.
The prosperity of Ethereum has led to a rise in phishing scams. Initially, scammers lured users into transferring or granting tokens to Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs). Now, they have shifted to deploying phishing contracts to deceive users. Specifically, scammers trick victims into either directly transferring tokens to phishing contracts or granting these contracts control over their tokens. Our research reveals that phishing contracts have resulted in significant financial losses for users. While several studies have explored cybercrime on Ethereum, to the best of our knowledge, the understanding of phishing contracts is still limited. In this paper, we present the first empirical study of phishing contracts on Ethereum. We first build a sample dataset including 790 reported phishing contracts, based on which we uncover the key features of phishing contracts. Then, we propose to collect phishing contracts by identifying suspicious functions from the bytecode and simulating transactions. With this method, we have built the first large-scale phishing contract dataset on Ethereum, comprising 37,654 phishing contracts deployed between December 29, 2022 and January 1, 2025. Based on the above dataset, we collect phishing transactions and then conduct the measurement from the perspectives of victim accounts, phishing contracts, and deployer accounts. Alarmingly, these phishing contracts have launched 211,319 phishing transactions, leading to 190.7 million in losses for 171,984 victim accounts. Moreover, we identify a large-scale phishing group deploying 85.7% of all phishing contracts, and it remains active at present. Our work aims to serve as a valuable reference in combating phishing contracts and protecting users' assets.
The financial services industry is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by the emergence of the API economy. Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) have become fundamental building blocks, enabling seamless integration between traditional financial institutions, innovative fintech startups, as well as businesses across diverse sectors. This article examines how APIs are reshaping the financial landscape through open banking frameworks and embedded finance solutions. It explores the technical foundations of financial APIs, including RESTful versus GraphQL architectures, security standards such as OAuth 2.0 and FAPI, and emerging event-driven approaches. The regulatory catalysts accelerating API adoption are analyzed across different regions, highlighting varied implementation approaches and their impacts. The article also investigates Banking-as-a-Service models, embedded finance categories, technical implementation challenges, and real-world case studies demonstrating successful API implementations. Finally, it evaluates future directions, including decentralization and blockchain technologies that may further democratize financial services through API-enabled innovations.
Traditional voting systems face significant challenges, including susceptibility to fraud, lack of transparency, and privacy concerns. Centralized electronic voting systems, while improving accessibility, often suffer from vulnerabilities such as tampering, single points of failure, and insufficient auditability. This project proposes a blockchain-based distributed electronic voting system that leverages smart contracts to ensure voter privacy, ballot integrity, and decentralized verification. The system employs cryptographic techniques such as zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to anonymize voter identities while maintaining a verifiable audit trail on an immutable blockchain ledger. Smart contracts automate vote tallying, enforce voting rules (e.g., eligibility checks, one-vote-per- voter), and ensure tamper-proof execution of electoral processes. A permissioned blockchain network enhances scalability and reduces energy consumption compared to public blockchains. The system also incorporates multi-factor voter authentication and end- to-end encryption to safeguard against unauthorized access. By decentralizing control and enabling real-time transparency, this solution addresses critical flaws in existing systems, reduces electoral fraud, and strengthens public trust in democratic processes. The proposed architecture is implemented using Hyperledger Fabric for blockchain operations and Ethereum-based smart contracts, ensuring high performance, security, and compliance with electoral regulations.
Sung-eun Heo, Manho Kim, Wijin Kim, Jongseok Choi · 12 authors
Biometric data has the potential to revolutionize health analytics and pharmacology by providing personalized insights into drug efficacy and health trajectories. However, its governance presents significant ethical challenges, particularly around individual ownership and privacy. This study addresses these challenges by proposing a sustainable and ethical framework that integrates biometric data with non-fungible tokens (NFTs). We developed a customized NFT framework with advanced smart contract functionalities that enhance privacy protection and decentralized authentication of biometric data ownership. This approach ensures the secure and ethical management of digital health data while reinforcing individuals' control over their biometric information. By leveraging cryptographic techniques for privacy protection, this framework enhances both the security and efficiency of personal health data management, offering a new perspective on ownership in digital health. Furthermore, a sustainable economic model is proposed to facilitate ethical transactions of tokenized biometric data within the NFT marketplace. The implications of this study extend beyond technology and commerce, offering valuable insights into human behavior in emerging digital economies and contributing to the creation of a more sustainable and equitable digital health ecosystem.
Smart contracts automate agreements in blockchain systems but their immutable nature makes them vulnerable to permanent flaws once deployed. This thesis evaluates 256 smart contract vulnerability detection tools developed between 2018 and 2024, including approaches such as fuzzing, symbolic execution, formal verification, and artificial intelligence–based analysis. Tools were classified by detection strategy (static, dynamic, hybrid), domain (academic or industry), and scope. The evaluation involved a theoretical review of architecture, usability, and documentation, alongside an empirical assessment of accuracy, speed, and false positive rates. Findings show that while certain tools excel in specific areas, none achieve balanced performance or comprehensive coverage. To address these gaps, a modular six-layer evaluation framework is introduced, defining functional areas such as code analysis, coverage, integration, and user experience. The framework offers a benchmark for tool assessment and future development. Additionally, a graph-based detection model is proposed, demonstrating improved accuracy in both binary and multi-class settings.
Abstract : A smart contract is a self-executing program designed to automatically enforce the terms of an agreement between two parties, eliminating the need for intermediaries. Stored on blockchain or other distributed ledger technologies (DLTs), smart contracts ensure high security, immutability, and protection from vulnerabilities. These contracts facilitate various transactions, including financial exchanges, service delivery, and data manipulation, such as updating land titles. Additionally, they can be used to enforce privacy protection by selectively releasing privacy-protected data.While smart contracts are not legally binding by default, they automate business processes based on pre-defined conditions. Legal steps must be taken to make them enforceable in a legal context. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the anatomy of smart contracts, focusing on their key components, architectural structure, and underlying working principles., aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of their operation and the challenges they present for adoption in various industries. Additionally, the study examines the various types of smart contracts, their real-world applications, and the significant benefits they offer, including automation, transparency, and security. The paper also addresses the challenges and limitations associated with smart contract implementation, such as scalability issues, security vulnerabilities, and legal complexities. By providing a detailed exploration of smart contracts from design to deployment, this research aims to offer valuable insights into their transformative potential in the digital economy. Keywords: Blockchain, Smart Contract,dApps,Hyperledger, DeFi,NFT,GDPR.
Cryptocurrencies are decentralized digital currencies secured by blockchain technology. Their growing popularity has a significant impact on traditional financial markets. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of cryptocurrency investment on stock financial development. Our empirical evidence is conducted on (30) Canadian firms during the period August 2017- May 2023. The firms are the most important companies in the financial sector. The results of the VECM estimation show a positive and significative impact of Bitcoin Value on each variable assessing stock market development in long term as Market Liquidity, Market Size, Market Capitalization. In short term, this same relationship is observed with Market Size and Market Liquidity. Bitcoin value has a negative impact on Market Capitalization. The Exchange Rate and Unemployment Rate provide a negative and significant relationship towards stock market development in the long-term. In contrast, the short-term relationship results show that Exchange Rate acts positively only on the Market Capitalization. In contrast, Market Liquidity has a positive impact on the Exchange Rate. Moreover, we find the absence of the impact of Unemployment Rate on Stock Financial Development in short term. But, there is a significant and negative incidence of Market Liquidity and Market Size on Unemployment Rate. Our results demonstrate also the positive and significant impact of Unemployment Rate on Bitcoin Value.
Introducing a grip of a Blockchain technology that can be used to transform the way Community Savings can be carried forward. The various savings and payments are automated through smart contracts which can carry out all savings contributions and payouts in a secure and verifiable way, using Truffle and Ganache-based ledger to provide immutable and secure transaction records. Financial companies could base the savings scheme on the Rotational Savings Scheme (Chit fund model) where they get the opportunity to contribute every month and take their payout in their own month. It has a dashboard that makes it easy for the participants to be able to track their contributions, the reviews they received, and their payouts. Operations are managed by the admin which verifies users, validates users, retrieves data from the database, and also checking fraud detection. Natural Language Processing (NLP) is utilized in the system to do sentiment analysis on user reviews to create trust scores for various financial companies to improve credibility as well as transparency. It is a scalable, secure, transparent ecosystem for building a community savings blockchain solution based on this blockchain.