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Understanding Smart Contracts: Hype or Hope?

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  • Elizaveta Zinovyeva
  • Raphael C. G. Reule
  • Wolfgang Karl Hardle

Abstract

Smart Contracts are commonly considered to be an important component or even a key to many business solutions in an immense variety of sectors and promises to securely increase their individual efficiency in an ever more digitized environment. Introduced in the early 1990s, the technology has gained a lot of attention with its application to blockchain technology to an extent, that can be considered a veritable hype. Reflecting the growing institutional interest, this intertwined exploratory study between statistics, information technology, and law contrasts these idealistic stories with the data reality and provides a mandatory step of understanding the matter, before any further relevant applications are discussed as being "factually" able to replace traditional constructions. Besides fundamental flaws and applica-tion difficulties of currently employed Smart Contracts, the technological drive and enthusiasm backing it may however serve as a jump-off board for future developments thrusting well in the presently unshakeable traditional structures.

Suggested Citation

  • Elizaveta Zinovyeva & Raphael C. G. Reule & Wolfgang Karl Hardle, 2021. "Understanding Smart Contracts: Hype or Hope?," Papers 2103.08447, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2103.08447
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wolfgang Karl Härdle & Campbell R Harvey & Raphael C G Reule, 2020. "Understanding Cryptocurrencies," Journal of Financial Econometrics, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(2), pages 181-208.
    2. Alla A. Petukhina & Raphael C. G. Reule & Wolfgang Karl Härdle, 2021. "Rise of the machines? Intraday high-frequency trading patterns of cryptocurrencies," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(1-2), pages 8-30, January.
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    5. Xinwen Ni & Wolfgang Karl Hardle & Taojun Xie, 2020. "A Machine Learning Based Regulatory Risk Index for Cryptocurrencies," Papers 2009.12121, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2021.
    6. Wolfgang Karl Hardle & Campbell R. Harvey & Raphael C. G. Reule, 2020. "Editorial: Understanding Cryptocurrencies," Papers 2007.14702, arXiv.org.
    7. Hanna Halaburda, 2018. "Blockchain Revolution Without the Blockchain," Staff Analytical Notes 2018-5, Bank of Canada.
    8. Akyildirim, Erdinç & Corbet, Shaen & Cumming, Douglas & Lucey, Brian & Sensoy, Ahmet, 2020. "Riding the Wave of Crypto-Exuberance: The Potential Misusage of Corporate Blockchain Announcements," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    9. Robert Thorndike, 1953. "Who belongs in the family?," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 18(4), pages 267-276, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Konstantin Häusler & Hongyu Xia, 2022. "Indices on cryptocurrencies: an evaluation," Digital Finance, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 149-167, September.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G02 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Behavioral Finance: Underlying Principles
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors

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