BLOCKCHAIN AND SMART CONTRACTS BETWEEN MARKET EFFICIENCY AND CONSUMER’S PROTECTION

Back to Page Authors: Cinzia Marseglia

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Keywords: Blockchain, smart contract, consumer protection, market efficiency

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Abstract: In an economic context characterized by a significant evolution in the use of the technological tools for the execution of online transactions, the Blockchain seems to represent a new paradigm, aimed at massively transform the economic and social system. More advanced platforms were born, renamed Platforms 3.0 (e.g. of Ripple, Colu, Omni, and Ethereum), which also include agreements, through which it is possible to automatically execute contractual clauses. These agreements are called Smart Contracts (“Intelligent Contracts”). Considering the economic analysis of law, the Blockchain technology and the Smart Contracts have clear advantages as the possibility of radically reducing the costs of the transaction. If a smart contract can certainly be affordable for a company, it may not always be certain and safe with regard to the contractually weak subject (e.g. the consumer). If we consider the characteristics of a smart contract, the way it is formed and performed or its non-modifiable or no resolution feature, we need to ask ourselves if a c.d. the intelligent contract guarantees effective protection of consumer needs. The issues above are just some of the problems that the legal operator has to face. In this perspective, focusing attention on the Business to Consumer (B2C) contracts and examining their characteristics, the present work aims at examining whether and how the smart contract can also be applied to a consumer and how consumers can protect themselves when they conclude smart contracts.

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