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"Introduction" [2019] ELECD 825; in Kraus, Daniel; Obrist, Thierry; Hari, Olivier (eds), "Blockchains, Smart Contracts, Decentralised Autonomous Organisations and the Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019) x

Book Title: Blockchains, Smart Contracts, Decentralised Autonomous Organisations and the Law

Editor(s): Kraus, Daniel; Obrist, Thierry; Hari, Olivier

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section Title: Introduction

Number of pages: 3

Extract:

Introduction
Cryptocurrencies have been the subject of much attention in recent history.
Most of the public became acquainted quite recently, as values of cryptocur-
rencies, from bitcoin to Ether, including hundreds of more or less eccentric
currencies, saw their valuation sky-rocket ­ and then lose much of it. More
recently, initial coin offerings (ICOs) have emerged as alternatives to classic
ways of financing projects and companies such as initial public offerings
(IPOs). Those ICOs have particularly marked the public opinion as extremely
high amounts were raised at a speed never reached before.
There is, however, much more to cryptocurrencies than their mere valuation
or ICOs. As Vincent Mignon puts it in the first contribution of this book, `the
linking of cryptocurrencies to blockchains allows for storage and transmission
of information through the Internet in a secure manner without the need to rely
on a trusted third-party'. More than just databases on the Internet, blockchains,
as decentralised, secure ledgers in combination with the incitation that consti-
tutes cryptocurrencies are becoming real alternatives to third party entrusted
ledgers. These features, which actually seem quite simple, represent rather an
evolution than a revolution; however, they present tremendous perspectives as
classic business models such as those of financial institutions and classic ways
of exercising State sovereignty are being questioned and face re-modelling.
Blockchains offer the possibility to avoid recourse to third party intermedi-
aries, hence giving access to more direct and democratic decision-making
processes and reducing costs. This may be seen ...