Author Archives: scottrchamberlain

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 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”

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”

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”

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”

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”

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”

Today we published the White Paper that accompanies our iXRPL demo. iXRPL has the following components: The User Mobile App: The User uploads their identity documents and XRPL account information via the mobile app to get verified by iXRPL. The app also maintains the rolling encryption keys for the User’s personal documents. When the UserContinue reading “iXRPL White Paper”

It can be difficult, bordering on impossible, for peer-to-peer blockchain projects to comply with laws drafted on the assumption of a hub-and-spoke world where middlemen exist that can be regulated and deputised police their clients. This post is going to explore one such example: managed investment schemes under Australian law, what Americans call investment contracts.Continue reading “Digital Assets Down Under: Is Your Blockchain a Managed Investment Scheme?”

Yesterday I filed my submission “Digital Assets Down Under. Making Australia a Destination Jurisdiction for Digital Asset and Cryptocurrency Projects, Investment, and Skills” with the Australian Senate Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre. Here are what I think are the inherent challenges involved in any nation being a “destination jurisdiction”.  Challenge 1: Blockchains (ideally)Continue reading “Digital Assets Down Under: Making Australia A Destination Jurisdiction for Digital Asset Projects”