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Regulating smart contracts: Legal revolution or simply evolution?

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  • Ferreira, Agata

Abstract

Blockchain-based smart contracts have triggered polarised discussions. They have been applauded as a significant technological achievement, but also criticised as a dumb idea. Their application is rapidly expanding in the financial sector, public sector, supply chain management, and the automobile, real estate, insurance, and health care industries. With the growing use of smart contracts and an increasing variety of smart contracts applications, the debate over the legal implications of this phenomenon has intensified and many legal issues related to smart contracts are being examined. Legal scholars have highlighted potential legal pitfalls, controversies and incompatibilities with existing legal frameworks. Blockchain technology and smart contracts have also been fuelling an interest of legislators, who have begun to recognise regulatory uncertainties and are making the first attempts to introduce legislative solutions to address them. This paper aims to highlight the fervour of the scholarly debate surrounding smart contracts and contrast it with a rather modest response from the legislators thus far. The paper reiterates that smart contracts represent the future. Even though they challenge practitioners, scholars, and legislators, current legislative initiatives indicate that under most legal systems there are no major obstacles for smart contracts and to accommodate smart contracts within the existing legal frameworks we should expect legal evolution rather than revolution.

Suggested Citation

  • Ferreira, Agata, 2021. "Regulating smart contracts: Legal revolution or simply evolution?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(2).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:45:y:2021:i:2:s0308596120301713
    DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2020.102081
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Grimmelmann, James & Library, Cornell, 2019. "All Smart Contracts Are Ambiguous," LawArXiv v37zd, Center for Open Science.
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    Cited by:

    1. Eduard Hartwich & Alexander Rieger & Johannes Sedlmeir & Dominik Jurek & Gilbert Fridgen, 2023. "Machine economies," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Zulhazmi Bin Yusof & Wan Amir Azlan Wan Haniff & Hartini Saripan & Sheela Jayabala Krishnan Jayabalan & Asma Hakimah Ab Halim, 2024. "Regulatory Framework on Smart Contracts: A Comparative Analysis," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 16(2), pages 221-230.

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