Getting Crypto Regulation Right: Why Decentralisation Matters

ASIC’s latest Consultation Paper 381 on changes to its policy guidance raises important questions about how digital assets should be regulated in Australia, especially as to Non-Cash Payment Facilities (NCPFs). But instead of providing clarity, it highlights a key challenge: how do we apply traditional financial laws to decentralised systems? Right now, the approach seemsContinue reading “Getting Crypto Regulation Right: Why Decentralisation Matters”

Deshittification Through Decentralisation: How Evernode Could End Internet Platform Decay

We’ve uploaded a new article that explores how RoadRush, a new decentralised rideshare dApp, shows how decentralised Progressive Web Applications built on Evernode can defeat what Cory Doctorow has called the Enshittification of the Internet. The combination of Evernode’s infrastructure and applications like RoadRush points to a possible future where internet platforms don’t inevitably decay.Continue reading “Deshittification Through Decentralisation: How Evernode Could End Internet Platform Decay”

AI Juries on Evernode

We’d like to introduce our latest project: an innovative approach to automated dispute resolution and moderation for decentralized online communities using AI agents on Evernode. A more substantive paper and video demo of our working toy is included here. The Core Problem and Solution Decentralized online communities (like DAOs and dApps) need effective moderation andContinue reading “AI Juries on Evernode”

Putting First Nations Artists First

Can NFTs and Smart Contracts Allow First Nations Artists to Better Protect and Monetise Their Work? Our next Lex Automagica project is “Putting First Nations Artists First” a collaboration between the ANU School of Law and the ANU First Nations Innovation Hub. It aims to determine whether NFTs and Smart Contracts can be a viableContinue reading “Putting First Nations Artists First”

The Tulip Trading Timebomb: The Quest for $4bn in Lost Bitcoin that Could Destroy Crypto

The UK Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Tulip Trading Limited v Van Der Laan & Ors [2023] EWCA Civ 83 is a first, dangerous step towards answering one of the major unresolved legal problems facing blockchain ecosystems: what is a blockchain and what legal rights and obligations exist between its various participants? To participateContinue reading “The Tulip Trading Timebomb: The Quest for $4bn in Lost Bitcoin that Could Destroy Crypto”

Self-Replicating “Nomad” Smart Contract

Recently, our Evernode project reached a wee milestone: a stable 20 node global cluster running a self-replicating “nomad” contract. Here’s a 10-minute demo… The left hand panel shows the 20 node global cluster and all the Hook activity. The right hand panel shows the replicator contract growing from 0 nodes to 20 nodes, after whichContinue reading “Self-Replicating “Nomad” Smart Contract”

Australian Senate Serious About Digital Assets

On 27 August, I gave evidence before the Australian Senate’s Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre (transcript here). In concert, blockchain, digital assets and smart contracts can deliver guaranteed outcomes participants can live with, instead of perfected rights no one can enforce. These benefits best come – if at all –Continue reading “Australian Senate Serious About Digital Assets”

US Infrastructure Bill a Case Study In Hub-and-Spoke vs P2P

According to reports, the US government is proposing a law as part of its Infrastructure Bill that would expand the definition of a “broker” to include “any person who (for consideration) is responsible for and regularly provides any service effectuating transfers of digital assets.” Brokers Must Spy on Their Clients In the US, brokers areContinue reading “US Infrastructure Bill a Case Study In Hub-and-Spoke vs P2P”

Why We Chose XRP Ledger for Evernode

The way HotPocket plus its daemon, Sashimono, is designed, Evernode could be a stand-alone chain or “nailed” to any layer 1 chain with sufficient smart contract capabilities to issue tokens and function as a message board. However, we think Evernode could be best launched as a layer 2 solution composed via the XRP Ledger becauseContinue reading “Why We Chose XRP Ledger for Evernode”

Evernode: Layer 2 Smart Contracts for the XRP Ledger

Introducing Evernode Today we published our White Paper for Evernode, a project to bring “layer 2” smart contracts to the XRP Ledger. It combines our HotPocket protocol with the proposed Hooks amendment – small pieces of code that allow XRP Ledger Accounts to function as “lite smart contracts” – to create a global, permissionless, decentralisedContinue reading “Evernode: Layer 2 Smart Contracts for the XRP Ledger”