Blockchain Papers

Lyudmila G. BELOVA, Dmitrii M. KRUK

Subject. Regulatory Approaches to Crypto‑Assets in the EU and the USA amid the Formation of a Global Regulatory Architecture for Digital Finance. Objectives. To identify similarities and differences in the regulatory philosophies and institutional mechanisms of the EU and the USA, and to determine the economic consequences of regulatory impact on the global financial system. Methods. A comparative legal institutional analysis was applied, along with general scientific methods. Results. It has been established that the convergence of requirements for stablecoins is taking place amid fundamental differences in institutional architectures: the EU’s centralized model, with ESMA and EBA playing a coordinating role, is contrasted with the decentralized US dual banking system, where supervisory powers are distributed among the OCC, the Federal Reserve, the CFTC, and the SEC. Recommendations have been formulated for market participants and regulators to navigate the conditions of regulatory fragmentation. Conclusions. Positions regarding central bank digital currencies are diametrically opposed, which creates strategic risks for the international monetary system; regulatory differences generate risks of global market fragmentation and regulatory arbitrage.

Marius-Gabriel Păun

The present research explores how blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies challenge the traditional continental civil law framework. By reassessing the legal taxonomy of digital assets, the paper argues against their strict classification as jura in personam, primarily due to the absence of a designated debtor in permissionless networks. Alternatively, it supports the recognition of a sui-generis real right (jus in re) grounded in the concept of ‘cryptographic possession’. Furthermore, classical civil classifications are reinterpreted to address the ubiquitous nature of digital assets and the inherent complexities of jurisdictional localization. The study highlights the legal distinction between fungible cryptocurrencies and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), alongside the emerging fructiferous character of assets deployed within Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ecosystems, which generate civil fruits. To contextualize these shifts, three European regulatory paradigms are evaluated: the French dualist approach under the PACTE Law, the German institutional integration into the banking sector, and the Swiss DLT framework, which innovatively merges substantive rights with digital tokens. Finally, the analysis focuses on the practical implications for the pathology of legal relations, particularly regarding the efficacy of forced execution and the safeguarding of the creditors' general pledge. The paper concludes with targeted de lege ferenda proposals for the Romanian legal system. These include the express statutory recognition of digital assets as intangible movable property in the Civil Code, alongside modern civil procedure mechanisms, such as the judicially mandated surrender of private keys under penalty and automated electronic garnishment, aimed at harmonizing state coercive power with the realities of the Web 3.0 economy.

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Olga V. Chumakova

The article considers current legal issues of implementation and use of smart contracts in the sphere of capital construction. It is shown that an objective need of capital participants to conduct electronic transactions, store and process legally significant information, and conclude smart contracts has been formed. The rapid development of high technologies has inevitably led to the need to use smart contracts in the sphere of capital construction as a mechanism for quick transactions. A smart contract is a legal form of obligatory relations in the sphere of capital construction, a special means of forming and expressing the will of participants aimed at creating the desired legal consequences. The use of smart contracts will allow developing and simplifying the interaction of participants in the construction process itself, increasing their level of trust, and accelerating mandatory procedures.

Danil R. Bogachev, Aleksandr S. Kiselev

The introduction of digital technologies into many economic processes is changing the functioning principles of many government institutions. This process requires regulatory regulation of newly emerged economic relations and their proper registration and legal protection. The issues of developing information relations in the sphere of turnover of the Central Federal District are related to economic, political, social and other factors that are taken into account in strategic planning, including the national security of the Russian Federation. As part of the study, a comparison of the legal regimes of the CFD turnover using the DLT system was carried out, the legal regimes of digital currency circulation and cryptocurrency circulation as a type of CFD in developed countries were analyzed.

Elena A. Krutiy

Relationships involving blockchain organizations are largely governed by special rules that form the lex cryptographia. This regulatory framework is represented by the code of smart contracts and blockchain protocols. Regulating the legal status of digital legal entities, it acts as a local legal act, and in the field of private international law, as a supranational, conditionally autonomous legal or sub-legal system. In the first case, the lex cryptographia can be classified as a “third” legal order, developing alongside the international and domestic legal systems. In the second case, it is a system of rules that operates solely within the applicable legal order, based on the principles of autonomy of the parties’ will and freedom of contract.

Sang-Hun Kim

Although smart contracts are currently realized in a limited scope around virtual assets, the blockchain characteristics of transparency, immutability, and self-enforcing capabilities hold significant value—especially in real estate transactions—as a way to overcome the limitations of traditional real estate transaction systems, such as double selling and duplicate registration, while improving efficiency. For these reasons, several countries have implemented blockchain technology in their real estate registration or recording systems as well as in smart contracts, and are actively operating them. We also need to identify the pros and cons of these operations and utilize blockchain-based smart contracts for real estate transactions. Under current domestic law, introducing measures to digitize real estate transactions using blockchain technology presents several legal challenges. Key issues include how to address the legal validity of smart contracts, the valuation of tokens, compliance with requirements for the transfer of property rights, the legal effect of public registration, and potential conflicts with data privacy obligations. Therefore, measures to promote smart contracts must be established through a thorough review of their consistency with existing legal frameworks. First, to prepare for the activation of smart contracts, measures to ensure regulatory flexibility—such as standard trading rules that minimize post-contract modifications—must be established, along with efforts toward technical standardization. Furthermore, if smart contracts are introduced, attempting to transition the real estate registration system to a blockchain based on its core purpose is the ultimate way to resolve the issues of the existing registration system. Legislative discussion requires establishing legal grounds to grant in rem effect to the digitization and embodiment of real assets, as well as drafting a new registration system to recognize blockchain-based registration records as valid registration for the creation and transfer of real rights. Additionally, relevant legal frameworks must be revised to ensure that the operation of blockchain does not conflict with personal information protection obligations. As blockchain technology—a core domain of information and communication technology, alongside AI—expands beyond the socio-economic sphere into daily life, a more advanced discussion is needed regarding the distinct functions or roles smart contracts based on it will play at this current stage.

Elizaveta A. Khozova

The article examines the concept of legal settlement finality as applied to two fundamentally different payment instruments — decentralized cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The author analyzes the absence of a statutory definition of settlement finality in Russian financial law, compares the approaches of Russia, China, India and the UAE, and studies judicial practice and doctrine. Based on a comparative legal analysis, an original definition of the legal finality of digital settlement is proposed, and liability regimes for payment process participants prior to transaction completion are differentiated in relation to cryptocurrency P2P transactions and CBDC operations.

Collective Shift, Collective Shift

This informative document explores the evolving digital asset landscape, covering cryptocurrency, NFTs, blockchain technology, Web3, and emerging market trends. It provides readers with practical insights into digital ownership, market developments, and the importance of research when evaluating opportunities in the growing blockchain economy. Collective Shift

Nima Asadi Azizabadi

The expansion of blockchain technology and the evolution of digital platforms have led to the emergence of new concepts in contractual relations, of which "smart contracts" are among the most significant. These contracts are designed as blockchain-based computer programs that execute the terms of the parties' agreement in the form of digital codes and enable the automatic performance of obligations without the need for traditional intermediaries. Such features have increased the speed, transparency, and efficiency of transactions. However, the introduction of this technology into the field of contract law has raised fundamental questions regarding the legal nature, validity, and enforcement of such contracts in various legal systems, particularly those based on classical traditions. The aim of this research is to elucidate the legal nature of smart contracts and analyze the challenges of their enforcement in the Iranian legal system. The research method is descriptive-analytical, and data have been collected through library studies and the examination of domestic and international legal sources. Additionally, with a comparative approach, some legislative experiences of other countries in this field have been examined. The findings indicate that, despite technical differences, smart contracts can be analyzed within the framework of general contract rules. The principle of party autonomy and Article 10 of the Civil Code provide the capacity to accept this type of contract, and the Electronic Commerce Law, by recognizing data messages and electronic signatures, has established a basis for the validity of digital transactions. However, challenges such as ascertaining the true intent of the parties, determining liability for technical errors, and the conflict between the immutability feature of blockchain and institutions such as rescission and mutual rescission persist. Accordingly, the formulation of supplementary regulations, the development of legal infrastructure, and the enhancement of specialized knowledge appear essential for the safe and effective utilization of this technology.

Faizah Alsulami

This study examines the current state of digital asset auditing and proposes a clearer future vision through a systematic review of relevant literature and prior studies. It highlights the fundamental differences between digital and traditional assets, explains the classification of digital assets and their close association with blockchain technology, and analyzes the existing accounting and auditing frameworks considering international standards and provides a brief overview of the status of Egyptian legislation. The study also discusses the evolving role of auditors and the main stages of the audit process in the digital environment. The findings indicate that rapid digital transformation requires the development of advanced auditing standards and methodologies, and that the adoption of data analytics, smart contracts, and continuous auditing, together with enhancing auditors’ technical and professional competencies, contributes to improving audit quality, transparency, and risk management related to digital assets.

Zeba Kousar, L Mallesha

Cryptocurrencies have emerged as a prominent asset class characterized by rapid price fluctuations, growing institutional participation, and continuing debate over whether their price movements are random or predictable. This study examines the randomness and weak-form market efficiency of the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization—Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, Binance Coin, XRP, USD Coin, Solana, TRON, Dogecoin, and Hype liquid—using daily closing price data from April 2016 to March 2026 (subject to data availability for each coin). Daily log returns were tested using Descriptive Statistics, the Jarque–Bera test of normality, the Wald–Wolfowitz Run Test, and the Autocorrelation Test. The results show that daily returns for all selected cryptocurrencies are non-normally distributed, exhibiting excess kurtosis and skewness. The Run Test results indicate that seven of the ten cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, Binance Coin, XRP, USD Coin, and Dogecoin—do not follow a random walk, while Solana, TRON, and Hype liquid exhibit randomness consistent with weak-form efficiency. However, the Autocorrelation Test reveals strong positive serial correlation across all ten cryptocurrencies, indicating that the market falls short of weak-form efficiency. The study concludes that the cryptocurrency market provides mixed and largely inefficient evidence with respect to the Random Walk Hypothesis, implying that historical price information may retain some predictive value for investors.

Craig Wright

Supplementary appendix to the article "Digital Cash and the Governance of Payment Finality." It contains material displaced from the main text for length, referenced at the corresponding points in the article, and forming no part of the manuscript word count. The appendix documents in full the evidence that claims for digital cash treat technical irreversibility as legal finality, with the passages and page references from Böhme, Christin, Edelman and Moore (2015), Cong and He (2018), De Filippi and Hassan (2016), Kiviat (2015), Atzori (2017) and Politou, Casino, Alepis and Patsakis (2019), together with the passages in which several of those authors qualify or abandon the claim. It further sets out the argument that append-only recording does not entail unrecoverable entitlement: the regulatory history of write-once, read-many electronic recordkeeping under SEC Rule 17a-4 and its 2022 amendment; the accounting mechanics by which a chargeback operates as a contra entry rather than an erasure; the equivalence between that mechanism and reversal by subsequent transaction on a distributed ledger; and two limits on the argument, being value irretrievable because no person holds the key, and records whose own existence is the wrong, as with personal data subject to an erasure right.