ABSTRACT
… The goal of this Article is to evaluate the degree to which cryptocurrencies and smart contracts can operate outside the reach of law and regulation. By some accounts, cryptocurrencies and smart contracts will revolutionize private law. Some argue they have the potential to displace contract and property law. For example, in a previous article, I argued that Bitcoin represents a system of private property that exists wholly outside of traditional legal structures. In this Article, I will argue that a complete revolution is not inexorable. Facing the technical and complicated nature of this subject, we should keep in mind a simple fact: cryptocurrencies and smart contracts are computer data and computer programs. To a large extent, they will have legal force only if given force by judges, regulators, and legislators. Part II describes Bitcoin and how it creates a system of property that exists outside of legal structures. Bitcoin is special because it controls no external assets (like securities, dollars, or gold). It is purely ‘notional’ property that exists only on a computer file. Part III describes Ethereum and how it builds upon the principles of Bitcoin. The primary innovation of Ethereum is smart contracts, which allow for variable and conditional transfers of cryptocurrency …
Eric D Chason, Smart Contracts and the Limits of Computerized Commerce, 99 Nebraska Law Review 330 (2020).
First posted 2021-01-15 07:00:48
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