
Most read
Pros and cons: Working in the gig economy...
Pros and cons: Working in the gig economy...

Latest Podcast
Is the market overheating; should ETFs take your fancy, and what’s happening t...
Is the market overheating; should ETFs take your fancy, and what’s happening t...

Resources
There is $17.5 billion in lost and unclaimed super across ...
There is $17.5 billion in lost and unclaimed super across ...
Invest
Can we make the blockchain liable?
If the blockchain or other distributed ledger technologies facilitate crime, there may be a case for introducing liability, a third-party liability expert has said.

Can we make the blockchain liable?
If the blockchain or other distributed ledger technologies facilitate crime, there may be a case for introducing liability, a third-party liability expert has said.

Speaking to Nest Egg, Dr Philippa Ryan, a lecturer on commercial equity and disruptive technologies and the law at the University of Technology Sydney, said that the European Union is currently exploring the potential of personhood for robots and autonomous vehicles.
There are also researchers considering how personhood would work for financial networks like blockchains.
“The idea would be, register that blockchain network and make sure that it also is an entity in its own right, and then it either has provisioning for losses or it has insurance in place,” she explained.
“I think that's the level of sophistication that's going to exist in due course.”
The question of liability and regulation in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sphere has come to the fore following January’s CoinCheck hack. The hack, in which about $660 million was stolen, was the largest cryptocurrency hack in history.
Dr Ryan continued: “There are some people working on self-sovereignty and identity, around the [United] States.”
According to global law firm DLA Piper, the blockchain poses a number of risks by nature of its technology.
In an insight published earlier this month, DLA Piper partners John McKinlay, Duncan Pithouse and Jessica Sanders said, “One of the main issues affecting public blockchain is the inability to control and stop its functioning.
“In case of a private blockchain, the lack of control on the functioning of the platform does not apply but whether or not this would be sufficient to trigger a liability of the company managing the platform has not yet been tested.”
They argued that the way risk and liability is attributed and allocated in the case of a malfunctioning blockchain service needs to be considered carefully at both the vendor-customer level and for all related participants, like counter-parties in a trade that are affected by any issues.
Irish business law firm, Mason Hayes & Curran’s Mark Adair agreed that control and regulation of blockchain technology is critical in the technology’s uptake, and acknowledged that the most significant challenge in actually introducing regulation that holds parties to de-centralised systems accountable.
“Nevertheless, to gain customer confidence to use the system, certain types of blockchain solutions implemented in certain industries will have to be appropriately regulated,” he said.
“Blockchain is currently not subject to specific laws or regulations. Existing law is usually applied to new technologies as they emerge and it is rare that a new law is introduced immediately in response to an emerging technology.”
He noted that lawmakers in Europe are holding off on legislating until more is understood about the technology, and said that this was a sensible approach.
“Implementing rules prematurely may prevent the growth of the industry,” Mr Adair said. “Accordingly, a contract involving blockchain technology should assign responsibility to parties with regards to monitoring for changes in laws and regulations, as well as associated costs from implementing resultant changes to the contract.”
To Michael Lynch, the chief strategy officer at mobile-first authentication and fraud prevention service InAuth, the question about liability in blockchain-facilitated transactions comes down to meeting consumer expectations.
In an insight piece for HelpNet Security, he said, “In order to be widely accepted and used by consumers, it must offer assurances and protections akin to what consumers expect with current forms of electronic currency.
“Blockchain’s future is inextricably tied to its ability to offer all parties involved in the payments ecosystem benefits beyond what can be ascertained in the current intermediary-driven financial system.”

Stock market
Ethical investing tipped to drive ETF market
Following a volatile 2020 where investors poured into ETFs, shareholders are tipped to focus on ethical investing and technology as the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic continues, an industry expe...Read more

Stock market
‘The concept of collective investing is here to stay’
The phenomenon of retail investors acting as a collective, led by social media and celebrity investors, is here to stay, says one expert. ...Read more

Stock market
What is short selling and should you do it?
Short selling stocks may sound like a good investment strategy when you’re after quick and big returns, but is it worth the risk? Here’s a rundown of why shorting stocks may not be a sound stock t...Read more

Stock market
How much insider trading really happens?
There are at least four times as many people who get away with insider trading than the number of those caught by prosecutors, new research has revealed. ...Read more

Stock market
Why you should be wary of the tech stock bandwagon
After a strong year of tech stock gains, tech shares have been on a decline in recent weeks as increasing bond yields rattle equity markets. ...Read more

Stock market
GameStop set to release first earnings since Reddit stock market rally
The video game retailer at the centre of the WallStreetBets saga is set to post its first quarterly market update since the fiasco began, with social-media investors heavily tipped to continue backing...Read more

Stock market
What is thematic investing and why it could be a fad
Long-term investors are being urged to ignore market fads and instead focus on identifying major socioeconomic, environmental and technological themes, an industry expert has explained. ...Read more

Stock market
ASX 300 companies cash in on JobKeeper scheme
Most of Australia’s ASX 300 companies that received JobKeeper payments did not need the subsidy as they recorded increases in profits throughout the calendar year, according to a study. ...Read more

Is the market overheating; should ETFs take your fancy, and what’s happening to the low and middle income tax offset?
Listen now

Home values up 30% (or are they); NFTs taking the world by storm, and why Keating thinks Aussies will be ‘poor’ in retirement
Listen now

Raging floods, the tech stock bubble and the ongoing SG debate
Listen now

Meet the Manager with Trilogy’s Philip Ryan: RBA rates and property price growth
Listen now

Stock market
Ethical investing tipped to drive ETF market
Following a volatile 2020 where investors poured into ETFs, shareholders are tipped to focus on ethical investing and technology as the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic continues, an industry expe...Read more

Stock market
‘The concept of collective investing is here to stay’
The phenomenon of retail investors acting as a collective, led by social media and celebrity investors, is here to stay, says one expert. ...Read more

Stock market
What is short selling and should you do it?
Short selling stocks may sound like a good investment strategy when you’re after quick and big returns, but is it worth the risk? Here’s a rundown of why shorting stocks may not be a sound stock t...Read more

Stock market
How much insider trading really happens?
There are at least four times as many people who get away with insider trading than the number of those caught by prosecutors, new research has revealed. ...Read more

Stock market
Why you should be wary of the tech stock bandwagon
After a strong year of tech stock gains, tech shares have been on a decline in recent weeks as increasing bond yields rattle equity markets. ...Read more

Stock market
GameStop set to release first earnings since Reddit stock market rally
The video game retailer at the centre of the WallStreetBets saga is set to post its first quarterly market update since the fiasco began, with social-media investors heavily tipped to continue backing...Read more

Stock market
What is thematic investing and why it could be a fad
Long-term investors are being urged to ignore market fads and instead focus on identifying major socioeconomic, environmental and technological themes, an industry expert has explained. ...Read more

Stock market
ASX 300 companies cash in on JobKeeper scheme
Most of Australia’s ASX 300 companies that received JobKeeper payments did not need the subsidy as they recorded increases in profits throughout the calendar year, according to a study. ...Read more