Crypto Transaction Dispute Resolution

Abstract

The rapid evolution of anonymous, autonomous, and distributed blockchain-based smart contracting creates friction and enforceability issues with existing legal and jurisdictional principles, calling the future governance of blockchain technology into question. The effective governance of blockchain technology and smart contracting is essential to ensuring its continuing evolution. Based on the mathematical principles underlying the disposition of blockchains, we propose and evaluate an alternative approach to the existing legal exercise of jurisdiction that is inherent in blockchain technology itself. We call this distributed jurisdiction.

This contribution is not merely theoretical. Several Ethereum smart contracting crypto startups demonstrate that anonymity can be perpetuated in blockchain technology, despite blockchains’ eternal storage of information and its growing size working against anonymity. Startup applications highlight that the technology itself offers means of internal controls that help ensure effective governance in the continuing evolution of the technology.

Based on the concept of distributed jurisdiction, we suggest an open source platform ecosystem for smart contracting dispute resolution that allows users to opt into a conflict resolution mechanism that enables more nuanced crypto solutions and produces greater certainty in the process. Anonymized arbiter expertise via rankings in combination with a representation option for crypto disputes provide a resolution mechanism for legacy businesses that desire to participate in the growth of crypto business opportunities, hope to avoid legacy system intermediation and the associated transaction costs, but require legal legacy system assurances and crypto dispute resolution equivalence.

Keywords: Blockchain, Distributed Ledger Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Innovation, Entrepreneur, Start-up, Big Data, Smart Contract, Jurisdiction, Governance, Ties Network, Aragon, OpenBazaar, Ethereum, Platform, Ecosystem, Dispute Resolution, Arbitration

JEL Classification: K20, K23, K32, L43, L5, O31, O32