Sustainable Development Report: Blockchain, the Web3 & the SDGs

This is an output paper of the applied research that was conducted between July 2018 - October 2019 funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and conducted by the Research Institute for Cryptoeconomics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and RCE Vienna (Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development).Series: Working Paper Series / Institute for Cryptoeconomics / Interdisciplinary Researc

Sustainable Development Report: Blockchain, the Web3 & the SDGs

This is an output paper of the applied research that was conducted between July 2018 - October 2019 funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and conducted by the Research Institute for Cryptoeconomics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and RCE Vienna (Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development).Series: Working Paper Series / Institute for Cryptoeconomics / Interdisciplinary Researc

Watch the Gap: Making code more intelligible to users without sacrificing decentralization?

The potential for blockchain technology to eliminate the middleman and replace the top down hierarchical model of governance with a system of distributed cooperation has opened up many new opportunities, as well as dilemmas. Surpassing the level of acceptance by early tech adopters, the market of smart contracts is now moving towards wider acceptance from regular (non tech) users. For this to happen however, smart contract development will have to overcome certain technical and legal obstacles to bring the code and the user closer. Guided by notions from contract law and consumer protection we highlight the information gap that exists between users, legal bodies and the source code. We present a spectrum of low-code to no-code initiatives that aim at bridging this gap, promising the potential of higher regulatory acceptance. Nevertheless, this highlights the so called "Pitfall of the Trustless Dream", because arguably solutions to the information gap tend to make the system more centralized. In this article, we aim to make a practical contribution of relevance to the wide-spread adoption of smart contracts and their legal acceptance by analyzing the evolving practices that bring the user and the code closer

The Machine-to-Everything (M2X) Economy: Business Enactments, Collaborations and e-Governance

Nowadays, business enactments almost exclusively focus on human-to-human business transactions. However, the ubiquitousness of smart devices enables business enactments among autonomously acting machines, thereby providing the foundation for the machine-driven Machine-to-Everything (M2X) Economy. Human-to-human business is governed by enforceable contracts either in the form of oral, or written agreements. Still, a machine-driven ecosystem requires a digital equivalent that is accessible to all stakeholders. Additionally, an electronic contract platform enables fact-tracking, non-repudiation, auditability and tamper-resistant storage of information in a distributed multi-stakeholder setting. A suitable approach for M2X enactments are electronic smart contracts that allow to govern business transactions using a computerized transaction protocol such as a blockchain. In this position paper, we argue in favor of an open, decentralized and distributed smart contract-based M2X Economy that supports the corresponding multi-stakeholder ecosystem and facilitates M2X value exchange, collaborations, and business enactments. Finally, it allows for a distributed e-governance model that fosters open platforms and interoperability. Thus, serving as a foundation for the ubiquitous M2X Economy and its ecosystem

The Machine-to-Everything (M2X) economy: business enactments, collaborations, and e-governance

Nowadays, business enactments almost exclusively focus on human-to-human business transactions. However, the ubiquitousness of smart devices enables business enactments among autonomously acting machines, thereby providing the foundation for the machine-driven Machine-to-Everything (M2X) Economy. Human-to-human business is governed by enforceable contracts either in the form of oral, or written agreements. Still, a machine-driven ecosystem requires a digital equivalent that is accessible to all stakeholders. Additionally, an electronic contract platform enables fact-tracking, non-repudiation, auditability and tamper-resistant storage of information in a distributed multi-stakeholder setting. A suitable approach for M2X enactments are electronic smart contracts that allow to govern business transactions using a computerized transaction protocol such as a blockchain. In this position paper, we argue in favor of an open, decentralized and distributed smart contract-based M2X Economy that supports the corresponding multi-stakeholder ecosystem and facilitates M2X value exchange, collaborations, and business enactments. Finally, it allows for a distributed e-governance model that fosters open platforms and interoperability. Thus, serving as a foundation for the ubiquitous M2X Economy and its ecosystem

Mitigating the Legal Challenges Associated with Blockchain Smart Contracts: The Potential of Hybrid On-Chain/Off-Chain Contracts

Tantamount with the increasing application of blockchain technologies around the world, the use of blockchain-based smart contracts has rapidly risen. In a “smart contract,” computer protocols automatically facilitate, verify, and enforce arrangements made between parties on a blockchain. Such smart contracts offer a variety of commercial benefits, notably immutability and increased efficiency facilitated by removing the need for a trusted intermediary. However, as discussed in recent legal scholarship, it is difficult for smart contracts to uphold certain fundamental principles of contract law. Translating concepts of individual intention and responsibility into the decentralized space of blockchain is problematic. Aggregating such individual intention into the combined will and intention of the blockchain entity is at best challenging, and at worst unfeasible. Further, while traditional contracts accommodate change and allow for the amendment of terms in response to evolving circumstances, blockchain smart contracts do not. As the difficulties of blockchain smart contracts become apparent, attention is turning to hybrid smart contracts. “Hybrid” smart contracts are commonly described in legal discourse as arrangements that consist of both a traditional contract (natural language) and a blockchain-based smart contract (formal computer code) component. In comparison, computer science scholarship provides a more complex and nuanced articulation, framing hybrid smart contracts as arrangements that combine code running inside the blockchain (on-chain) with data and computations from outside the blockchain (off-chain). The link between these on-chain and off-chain operations is created through a decentralized oracle network. Such hybrid contracts maintain the immutability of blockchain, and the trustless contracting this facilitates, with the flexibility that comes from connecting to real-world, real-time data sources. In such a context, the objective of this Essay is to examine the nature and operation of hybrid smart contracts, integrating both legal and computer science discourse, and to critically analyze whether such arrangements have the potential to mitigate some of the legal challenges that have been identified with respect to fully on-chain smart contracts

Transaction design standards for the operationalisation of fairness and empowerment in proactive contracting

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