Ethereum’s smart contracts are full of holes

March 14, 2018 Jonathan Nessler

Ethereum’s smart contracts are full of holes

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/610392/ethereums-smart-contracts-are-full-of-holes/

This article, from the MIT Technology Review, discusses potential security concerns associated with the use of smart contracts.

It is very important for a lawyer or business person to understand basic concepts underlying the technology those individuals or businesses are implementing. This includes strengths and weaknesses the technologies might offer. This concept holds especially true when it comes to emerging technologies like smart contracts.

While these technologies might give the lawyer or business person an advantage over the competition, those same technologies might also contained hidden pitfalls that might outweigh the advantage they offer.

Learn more by following the link above.

Today, the most common conception of a smart contract is a computer program stored on a blockchain. A blockchain is essentially a shared accounting ledger that uses cryptography and a network of computers to track assets and secure the ledger from tampering. For Bitcoin, that gives two parties who don’t know each other an ironclad guarantee that an agreed upon transfer of funds will happen as expected—that is, no one will get cheated. Smart contracts are where things get interesting. Using a smart contract, two people could create a system that withdraws funds from one person’s account—a parent’s, let’s say—and deposits them into a child’s account if and when the child’s balance falls below a certain level. And that’s just the simplest example—in theory, smart contracts can be used to program all kinds of financial agreements, from derivatives contracts to auctions to blockchain-powered escrow accounts.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/610392/ethereums-smart-contracts-are-full-of-holes/

See this social icon list in the original post

Follow Attorney Nessler to receive recommended articles from leading industry publications and other legal tech blogs, because it is important to keep up to date on technology that is relevant to the practice of law.

See this content in the original post