Prospects of Blockchain in Contract and Property

Abstract

Recurrent difficulties are delaying what for the time being are still modest applications of blockchain. This paper identifies what value this new technology adds to the contractual and property processes, exploring its potential and analyzing the main difficulties it is facing. Paying particular attention to the distinction between contract (personal or in personam) rights and property (real or in rem) rights, it first examines the difficulties for trading contract rights through blockchain-based applications, mainly those to complete contracts ex ante without relying on third-party enforcers. Second, it explores the difficulties faced by blockchain to enable trade in property rights.

Keywords: Property Rights, Enforcement, Transaction Costs, Impersonal Exchange, Blockchain, Distributed Ledgers, Smart Contracts, Registries

JEL Classification: D23, K11, K12, L85, G38, H41, O17, P48