Blockchain/cryptocurrency

On blockchains and the General Data Protection Regulation

EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum

2018

Co-authors: Luis-Daniel Ibáñez, Elena Simperl

Themes: Blockchain/cryptocurrency, Data protection

Category: Open access, Peer reviewed, White paper/report

In this paper, we review the legal and technological state of play of the GDPR-Blockchain relationship. Next, we analyse three interaction scenarios between data subjects and blockchain systems, and propose possible ways of achieving GDPR compliance by using state of the art technologies. Finally we review current efforts in the use of blockchains to enforce GDPR principles, in particular ‘Data Protection by Design’.

Smart contracts – dumb idea

IEEE Internet Computing, 21(2), 97-101

2017

Themes: Blockchain/cryptocurrency

Category: Journal article, Open access, The Digital Citizen

Increasingly in e-commerce, smart contracts have relied on the code as the contract. But code can be hacked and fail, leaving multiple parties potentially exposed to legal gray areas, great financial loss, and little recourse. Here, Kieron O’Hara considers the ramifications of such contracts by exploring what happened when the Ethereum platform was hacked in the summer of 2016.

Authority printed upon emptiness

IEEE Internet Computing, 19(6), 72-76

2015

Themes: Blockchain/cryptocurrency

Category: Journal article, Open access, The Digital Citizen

In a time of economic volatility, what can cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin bring to the table? What new vulnerabilities would they introduce? And could they be minimized through consumer protection mechanisms?