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.
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.
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.
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.
Electoral conflicts continue to pose a danger to the consolidation of democracy in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Efforts to resolve conflicts is often criticised as the use of conventional dispute resolution procedures are proving to be cumbersome, expensive, opaque and logistically challenging, all of which erode public confidence in election results. The study seeks to design and validate an integrated e-technology framework that enhances the speed, accessibility and credibility of electoral dispute resolution in SADC by aligning legal reforms with digital tools for filing, evidence management and adjudication. Six SADC member states were purposively selected: Zimbabwe, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and Mauritius. Selection was based on, firstly, electoral dispute history: all six have experienced post-election litigation 2018-2025, ensuring relevance; secondly, digital variance: South Africa and Mauritius represent high digital readiness per ITU ICT Development Index 2024, while Malawi and Mozambique represent low infrastructure contexts, strengthening transferability; and finally legal diversity in all six. This study used primary data collected through 150 structured surveys of IT experts and officials across the six countries, 75 key informant interviews (KIIs) with judges and national elections commissions (NECs)/electoral management bodies (EMBs) legal officers. Secondary data included electoral court judgments 2018-2025, observer reports, SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections 2021 and national electoral acts to map legal gaps. The results also show that an integrated e-technology framework can minimise the cost of pursuing electoral justice by 42% on average, improve access for rural litigants by enabling mobile filing, promote transparency through real-time case tracking and reduce median case resolution time from 112 days to 38 days in pilot simulations. The proposed framework integrates four interlocking components, namely blockchain[1]based evidence preservation, e-filing and case management portals, virtual hearings, online mediation platforms, and open data dashboards. The study concludes that while digitalising electoral fairness in SADC is both essential and feasible, institutional and political shortcomings cannot be addressed by technology alone.
The digital transformation of criminal justice systems is reshaping investigations, prosecutions and court proceedings by changing how evidence is generated, preserved, verified and evaluated. This structured review examines the admissibility of digital evidence and the prospects for integrating blockchain technologies into law enforcement practice through a methodologically transparent synthesis of legal, forensic, governance, and computer-science literature. The analysis covers electronic case management, digital evidence lifecycle controls, blockchain-enabled chain-of-custody systems, smart-contract-assisted workflows, privacy-preserving architectures and cross-border evidentiary recognition. The review develops a blockchain-enabled evidentiary governance framework that links digital evidence generation, chain-of-custody management, blockchain verification, legal admissibility, and judicial trust outcomes. It also distinguishes established findings, such as the operational value of electronic case management and cryptographic verification, from emerging pilot evidence and future hypotheses concerning automated enforcement, cross-jurisdictional ledgers and autonomous justice systems. The synthesis shows that blockchain can strengthen evidentiary integrity when deployed as a governed verification layer combining permissioned architecture, off-chain evidence storage, on-chain metadata, validated consensus rules and auditable institutional oversight. However, its implementation remains constrained by governance failures, smart contract vulnerabilities, oracle and data-quality risks, scalability limits, privacy conflicts, legal uncertainty, institutional resistance and cost-benefit trade-offs. The review concludes that criminal justice digitalisation requires socio-technical governance rather than technological substitution, with legal reform, professional capacity, interoperability standards and rights-preserving design forming the foundation for trustworthy digital proceedings.
In the context of information technology deeply embedded in social interactions and transactional activities, online chat records have become a representative and frequently used type of electronic evidence in civil litigation. However, such evidence relies on specific technical environments and is easily edited and tampered with, leading to long-standing issues of scattered standards and unclear paths in judicial practice regarding evidence collection, examination, and evaluation of probative value. The current system still shows deficiencies in notarization preservation, judicial authentication, platform assistance obligations, and technical assistance identification, making it difficult to match the highly technological development trend of electronic evidence. Accordingly, it is possible to achieve a structural reshaping of authenticity identification rules by optimizing notarization and authentication mechanisms, clarifying the scope of assistance and procedural obligations of chat software operators, and introducing trusted technical means such as blockchain.
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.
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technologies has fundamentally transformed the normative foundations, authority structures, and legitimacy of contemporary legal systems. While these technologies are commonly portrayed as instruments for enhancing efficiency and legal certainty, their increasing integration into legal decision-making raises profound philosophical questions concerning the nature of law, justice, and human agency. This article critically examines how AI and blockchain reshape legal normativity through the lens of legal philosophy. Employing a normative juridical methodology supported by conceptual and philosophical approaches, the study analyzes the implications of algorithmic decision-making and decentralized technological infrastructures for the evolution of legal authority. The findings demonstrate a paradigmatic shift from human-centered normative reasoning toward computational rationality grounded in algorithmic logic. AI replaces interpretative legal reasoning with probabilistic prediction, privileging statistical inference over moral deliberation. Simultaneously, blockchain institutionalizes automated legal enforcement through smart contracts, thereby minimizing interpretative discretion and limiting the contextual flexibility traditionally required to achieve substantive justice. These developments contribute to the emergence of what this article conceptualizes as post-human legal normativity, in which legal authority increasingly resides within technological systems rather than human reasoning and institutional judgment. The study argues that this transformation generates significant challenges to justice, transparency, accountability, and democratic legitimacy. The growing reliance on algorithmic authority risks reducing law to a technical mechanism detached from its ethical and normative foundations. Consequently, the philosophy of law must be reconstructed to reaffirm the centrality of human agency in legal governance and to ensure that emerging technologies function as instruments serving legal values rather than autonomous sources of legal authority.
This article is devoted to the general legal characteristics of smart contracts as a means of disposing of digital assets. Smart contracts are a key mechanism for transferring digital assets, but their legal regime remains controversial and unexplored. The main goal. To make a general civil law qualification of smart contracts as a special form of concluding transactions by order of the Central Bank and to justify their recognition as full-fledged legal means of achieving a legal result. The problems under consideration are the differentiation of the IC from related legal phenomena: computer programs, methods of securing, executing and concluding a transaction. The methods used are: formal-legal, comparativelegal, historical-legal, systematic. Conclusions. The IC is a special digital form of the transaction, which has the highest degree of reliability and accuracy of recording the will of the parties in the presence of objective guarantees of its execution.
K.E. Otebaliyeva, Zh. T. Shaimukhanova, Z. A. Erzhanova, A. .K. Adibayeva
A smart contract is more than a technical phenomenon; it raises legal questions about intent, transaction form, and obligation performance in a digital environment. Kazakhstani law, including the Civil Code and the Law on Electronic Documents, provides a basis for digital tools in contracts, recognizing electronic forms and the principles of freedom of contract. AIFC law further validates automated systems. However, the lack of a conceptual definition in civil legislation creates challenges for public law. This article argues that smart contracts should not be viewed as standalone contract types but through a functional approach: as either a form of expressing intent or an automated performance mechanism. Special focus is placed on criminal proceedings. The authors demonstrate that the absence of a clear definition complicates distinguishing civil torts from cybercrimes and hinders the use of code as evidence or the seizure of digital assets. The core issue is the discrepancy between traditional civil law constructs, blockchain logic, and current procedural evidentiary standards in Kazakhstan.
Smart contracts, by enabling the automated and transparent execution of ag-reements through blockchain technology, promise to simplify complex cross-border transactions and reduce reliance on intermediaries, possessing trans-formative potential in international trade. However, significant legal uncerta-inties remain regarding their legal nature, contract validity, applicable law, jurisdiction, and liability. This study aims to examine the legal framework of blockchain-based smart contracts in international trade and to comparatively evaluate regulatory approaches in different legal systems. The research emp-loys a methodology that combines doctrinal legal analysis with comparative regulatory review, focusing particularly on legal recognition, regulatory inst-ruments used, general regulatory approaches, and emerging key legal issues. The findings of the international legal framework review and the comparative analysis conducted in the EU, United Kingdom, USA, some Asian countries, and Türkiye show that widespread adoption of smart contracts is still limited due to legal uncertainties and unresolved doctrinal questions, while regula-tory approaches are still evolving.
This article analyses the impact of smart contracts on family law, specifically examining how these digital contracts can simplify and improve the drafting, implementation and enforcement of family agreements. The analysis examines the advantages, examples of application, challenges and limitations of smart contracts in family law, explains their ability to enhance efficiency and transparency in relevant cases, and considers ethical aspects and potential risks. The article notes that most legal systems have not yet adapted to blockchain technology. The legal validity of smart contracts, particularly in the context of personal relationships, is the subject of lively debate in practice. Family law is complex and often requires human judgement, which smart contracts currently lack. Family law varies significantly across different jurisdictions, making it difficult to create a universally recognised marriage contract on the blockchain. Both parties to the marriage contract must understand the functionality of smart contracts, including potential risks such as coding errors. Despite the transparency, storing highly sensitive data on a public blockchain may raise privacy concerns for some couples. Ultimately, smart contracts have the potential to transform family law by offering families a more efficient and secure way to manage legal transactions in today’s world. The transparent nature of blockchain records poses risks to the confidentiality of spouses’ property and financial information. The immutable characteristics of smart contracts hinder their adaptability to changing circumstances, such as the birth of children or fluctuations in income, whilst judicial oversight of their enforcement is largely absent. From a pragmatic point of view, smart contracts can be effectively used in various aspects of regulating property relations within marriage. A marriage contract utilising a smart contract can clearly define the procedure for the distribution of digital assets – in particular cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens or tokenised real estate – in the event of divorce, ensuring the automatic execution of this distribution following the legally recognised event of divorce, thereby eliminating protracted legal disputes over these assets. Furthermore, a smart contract can be integrated with the couple’s joint digital wallet, ensuring the automatic deduction of a set share from each partner’s income and the subsequent automatic payment of joint obligations – such as rent, utility bills, etc. – thereby minimising the risk of conflicts regarding the management of joint finances. Smart contracts currently function most effectively in the field of decentralised finance and digital assets, serving as a complement to traditional legal instruments rather than a complete replacement for them.
This article analyses the impact of smart contracts on family law, specifically examining how these digital contracts can simplify and improve the drafting, implementation and enforcement of family agreements. The analysis examines the advantages, examples of application, challenges and limitations of smart contracts in family law, explains their ability to enhance efficiency and transparency in relevant cases, and considers ethical aspects and potential risks. The article notes that most legal systems have not yet adapted to blockchain technology. The legal validity of smart contracts, particularly in the context of personal relationships, is the subject of lively debate in practice. Family law is complex and often requires human judgement, which smart contracts currently lack. Family law varies significantly across different jurisdictions, making it difficult to create a universally recognised marriage contract on the blockchain. Both parties to the marriage contract must understand the functionality of smart contracts, including potential risks such as coding errors. Despite the transparency, storing highly sensitive data on a public blockchain may raise privacy concerns for some couples. Ultimately, smart contracts have the potential to transform family law by offering families a more efficient and secure way to manage legal transactions in today’s world. The transparent nature of blockchain records poses risks to the confidentiality of spouses’ property and financial information. The immutable characteristics of smart contracts hinder their adaptability to changing circumstances, such as the birth of children or fluctuations in income, whilst judicial oversight of their enforcement is largely absent. From a pragmatic point of view, smart contracts can be effectively used in various aspects of regulating property relations within marriage. A marriage contract utilising a smart contract can clearly define the procedure for the distribution of digital assets – in particular cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens or tokenised real estate – in the event of divorce, ensuring the automatic execution of this distribution following the legally recognised event of divorce, thereby eliminating protracted legal disputes over these assets. Furthermore, a smart contract can be integrated with the couple’s joint digital wallet, ensuring the automatic deduction of a set share from each partner’s income and the subsequent automatic payment of joint obligations – such as rent, utility bills, etc. – thereby minimising the risk of conflicts regarding the management of joint finances. Smart contracts currently function most effectively in the field of decentralised finance and digital assets, serving as a complement to traditional legal instruments rather than a complete replacement for them.
Este artículo analiza la naturaleza jurídica y la eficacia obligacional de los smart legal contracts (slc) en el ámbito del derecho comercial internacional. Ante la ausencia de un marco regulatorio específico, el estudio examina si los instrumentos vigentes —tales como los marcos normativos europeos (Reglamento Roma I), el sistema interamericano (Convención de México) y la Convención de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Contratos de Compraventa Internacional de Mercaderías (cvcim)— ofrecen criterios idóneos para resolver los conflictos de leyes derivados de la tecnología blockchain. A través de una metodología cualitativa con enfoque analítico y teórico-jurídico, se aborda la distinción doctrinal entre Smart Code Contracts y Smart Legal Contracts, contrastando la inmutabilidad del código con la exigibilidad del acuerdo legal. La investigación concluye que, pese a los desafíos técnicos, la validez y ejecutabilidad de los slc pueden sustentarse en los principios generales del derecho internacional privado, particularmente mediante el ejercicio de la autonomía de la voluntad conflictual. El artículo sistematiza los criterios esenciales para dotar de seguridad jurídica a esta modalidad de contratación en el escenario transfronterizo.
Decentralized finance systems manage vast assets without central authority, creating a borderless economy that defies traditional legal boundaries. While fostering innovation, this independence invites global criminal activities, as perpetrators exploit automated, anonymous smart contracts to evade detection. Current international legal frameworks remain ill-equipped to address the complexities of cross-border digital fraud or assign liability within immutable, machine-run protocols. This research examines the jurisdictional conflicts and attribution challenges inherent in decentralized financial systems. Utilizing a qualitative doctrinal analysis of recent legislative initiatives and international legal standards, this article evaluates the viability of a functional equivalence model for assigning criminal responsibility. The findings suggest that harmonizing global regulatory requirements is essential to bridge the gap between technical execution and legal accountability. This study proposes a framework that integrates human-led dispute resolution with automated transparency to ensure stability, protect market participants, and foster long-term confidence in the global digital economy.
Blockchain technology and smart contracts are profoundly reshaping contract law by partially replacing traditional legal rules with algorithmic norms based on automation and self-execution. By embedding the parties' agreement into computer code deployed on a distributed ledger, these technologies promise enhanced security, certainty of performance, and the reduction of traditional intermediaries. However, this emerging algorithmic normativity confronts fundamental requirements of contract law, particularly those relating to validity, flexibility in the face of unforeseen events, and the protection of contracting parties. While automatic execution strengthens technical efficiency, it also exposes significant legal limitations, including the rigidity of code, the absence of interpretative mechanisms, and the difficulty of integrating traditional corrective tools. This article therefore highlights the need for an appropriate legal framework capable of reconciling legal norms with algorithmic rules, ensuring that technological innovation contributes to, rather than undermines, legal certainty in contractual relations.
The study aims to examine dispute resolution using blockchain arbitration based on artificial intelligence and smart contracts to determine the terms, conditions, and procedures related to the dispute. When a dispute arises between the parties, the details of the dispute are recorded on the blockchain. Under smart contracts, the parties involved in the arbitration and the rules governing the proceedings can be specified. The advantage of blockchain arbitration is its transparency and the permanent and secure documentation of all details on the blockchain, making it difficult for parties to manipulate the record or falsify information. This helps to resolve disputes fairly through arbitration. The study concludes that, although blockchain arbitration is a promising technology, it is still in the development stages, and its success depends on the recognition of the process by the parties involved and the arbitrators. It is also important to consider local legislation and regulations that may affect the application of blockchain arbitration in various national and international laws.
The integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain introduces new possibilities of verifiably authenticated content created by AI, secure tracking of ownership, and smart contract automation. The objective of this chapter is to talk about the fundamental concepts of the two technologies, demonstrate feasible integration strategies, and propose optimization strategies of consensus mechanisms with the assistance of AI. Practical examples entail simulation in Proof of Stake validator selection with the assistance of Python and generation of Solidity smart contracts with GPT-4. Challenges such as scalability, power consumption, model bias for AI, and regulatory considerations are discussed with the assistance of case examples (Ocean Protocol, SingularityNET, and Verisart) and technical schematics. This comprehensive chapter conducts a thorough analysis of blockchain technology and generative AI, examining their separate origins, prospects for integration, and the critical role that consensus mechanisms play in the safe, decentralized digital environment. Blockchain provides a safe way to record transactions without relying on a single authority and guarantees transparency, immutability, and decentralization.
In the digital revolution driven by blockchain technology, smart contracts emerge as a paradigm-shifting tool, poised to redefine traditional business practices across multiple domains. smart contracts stand as a cornerstone of innovation, promising to revolutionize the way we engage in business trustlessly. Driven by the pioneering spirit of exploration, this research delves into the expansive realm of smart contract use cases and applications, seeking to unveil the transformative potential they hold. Through meticulous analysis and case studies, this research illuminates the diverse array of scenarios where smart contracts can revolutionize processes, enhance accountability, and streamline operations in sectors such as finance, supply chain management, healthcare, and government services. By fostering collaboration and innovation, we seek to unlock the full potential of smart contracts, ushering in a new era of efficiency, integrity, and trust in the digital age while illuminating the path towards unlocking the untapped opportunities presented by smart contracts, reshaping the future of digital economies and organizational paradigms. Areas of application like decentralized Finance (DeFi), Non-Fungible Token (NFT), Regenerative Finance (ReFi) and many more where all discussed extensively.
The rapid expansion of the digital financial assets (DFA) market in Russia offers new opportunities for market participants while simultaneously creating fresh challenges and risks of financial crimes. The author examines the economic and legal nature of digital rights within the context of Federal Law No. 259-FZ and assesses the effectiveness of current regulations. An analysis of recent judicial and market practices reveals specific predicate and direct risks to the anti-money laundering system, including “controlled defaults” by issuers, fraud, and the emergence of Ponzi schemes. The article also highlights the lack of standardized smart contracts in this market, which complicates the verification of distributed ledger algorithms. Current threats associated with the use of generative artificial intelligence for creating “money mules” and synthetic identity fraud are identified. Based on a comparison of Russian experience with the regulatory approaches of the USA and Thailand, the necessity of forming a proactive legal environment is justified. Recommendations include the need to align regulatory regimes for traditional and digital financial assets and to enhance the professional qualifications of the judiciary.
ABSTRACT In the rapidly evolving field of information technology (IT), blockchain‐based smart contracts have emerged as a transformative force, redefining the mechanisms of digital agreements and transactions. These self‐executing contracts, with terms directly written into code on a blockchain, promise to enhance the automation, transparency and security of business processes. The integration of smart contracts into IT businesses stands as a critical innovation, aiming to streamline operations and foster trust in digital interactions. This paper aims to identify and prioritize the key variables influencing the adoption of blockchain‐based smart contracts within IT businesses. To achieve the stated objective, initially, a systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to identify the variables of blockchain‐based smart contracts in IT businesses. Secondly, questionnaire‐based survey was conducted with IT professionals and experts, to get the experts perceptions on identified variables. The study further applied the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to evaluate and prioritize the identified variables based on their significance and impact on the adoption process. The research successfully identified 16 critical variables that significantly influence the adoption of blockchain‐based smart contracts in IT businesses. These variables were categorized and analyzed to understand their roles and interdependencies in the adoption process. The fuzzy AHP results revealed a hierarchical ranking of these variables, highlighting those with the most substantial impact on successful adoption, such as “security and privacy concerns,” “technical complexity,” and “regulatory and legal challenges.” The integration of blockchain‐based smart contracts presents both opportunities and challenges for IT businesses. The identified variables and their prioritization offer a roadmap for organizations to navigate the complexities of adopting this technology.
본 연구는 블록체인 기반 스마트계약의 국제물품매매계약에 관한 유엔협약(CISG)의 적용가능성과 적용상 주요 쟁점을 분석하는 데 목적이 있다. 스마트계약은 무역거래의 비용·시간·불이행 위험을 줄일 수 있는 장점이 있으나, 법적·제도적 기반의 미비로 인해 활용이 제한되고 있다. 이에 본 연구는 스마트계약의 개념과 유형을 검토하고, CISG의 장소적·인적·거래유형 및 물적 적용범위 측면에서 스마트계약의 적용가능성을 분석하였다. 또한 자연어 계약과 프로그램 코드 간 충돌 문제 및 암호화폐 지급의 법적 성격 등을 중심으로 CISG 적용상 쟁점을 검토하였다. 연구 결과, 스마트계약은 CISG의 유연한 해석을 통해 규율 범위 내에 포함될 수 있으며, 계약 해석에 있어 당사자의 의사와 전문성이 중요한 기준이 됨을 확인하였다. 나아가 스마트계약의 활성화를 위해서는 국제적 통일해석과 실무적 가이드라인의 정비가 필요함을 시사한다.
The evolution of the state’s role in digital finance from a passive observer to an active regulator and a full participant in the digital market has been studied. With the rapid tokenization of assets, the traditional financial system is facing unprecedented challenges caused by decentralization, anonymity of operations, large-scale regulatory arbitration, and the threat of laundering illegal income in the new digital environment. A comprehensive analysis of the digital financial instruments structure has been provided, and the potential of their impact on the global and national economies has been assessed. Particular attention has been paid to the risks of decentralized finance, including threats to monetary sovereignty and the challenges of using smart contracts. The paper examines the foreign and Russian experience of the crypto industry regulation, demonstrating a global trend away from strict prohibitions towards creating comprehensive legal regimes. The practical cases of various states have been analyzed, reflecting their strategies of adaptation to new digital technologies. The trend towards involving central banks in the digitalization process by developing their own digital currencies as a legitimate alternative to private crypto assets has been highlighted. It has been concluded that it is necessary to find a sound balance between stimulating technological in novation and ensuring national economic security