Research Report
A Smart Contract is based on the block-chain technology which means a distributed ledger system. Analysing the concept of a smart contract proposed diversely by many scholars and specialists, it can be defined as a computer program guarantied by automatic implementing the contract based on a block-chain technology. The DAO, an example of a smart contract, is a creature of block-chain 2.0 stage which is using not only a cryptocurrency as a digital payment tool but also a token as an object of a digital asset exchanged with the digital payment tool. That means the smart contract can create a digital asset without relating to real world.
The smart contract has influenced on many sectors such as financial industry, specialist industry, commodity and service market and public or IoT sectors. The researches and discussions on a smart contract are on a very starting point and the focus of those are on a block-chain technology or a cryptocurrency which is represented as Bitcoin or Ether. A notable legislation in US is that of Arizona, which encompasses the articles of definition of a smart contract besides the blockchain technology. But as a smart contract has many merits like saving money and troubles in credit risk of counter party, it would be an important mechanism of entering into contract.
The legal nature of a smart contract is not a solicitation of offer but an offer of contract and it can be concluded into a contract in case of meeting an acceptance which means an implementation of a condition or term of a smart contract. Though the consideration of a smart contract is not a real asset but a digital asset, those can be exchanged legitimately and the token in a smart contact is a creature of cyber space without any relations with real world. And a merit of a smart contract is getting rid of the risk of counter party but the token being used in a smart contract is exposed to the credit risk of the developer of the smart contract and the token thereof.
The legal nature of a cryptocurrency used in a smart contract is controversial to regulating bodies of respective countries. In this research we concluded it as a digital payment tool with the nature of financial investment goods but it is not included in a category of the electronic cash in Electronic Financial Transaction Act. The emergence of a smart contract cast to us lots of tasks of amendment of acts relating to electronic technology such as Basic Electronic Transaction Act, Electronic Signature Act, Electronic Financial Transaction Act and some electronic or corporation part of Commercial Act. This paper is just opening a research on a smart contract and much more discussion is needed to absorb a smart contract into our legal system and regulate it.