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- Title
LIBERALISING BLOCKCHAIN: AN APPLICATION OF THE GATS DIGITAL TRADE FRAMEWORK.
- Authors
RAZON, ARVIN KRISTOPHER
- Abstract
Blockchain technology and the World Trade Organization share the same principles of liberalisation and democratisation of trade. Relying on cross-border data flows and an open environment, blockchain platforms, such as Bitcoin and smart contracts, dispense with a central intermediary and distribute the function of validating transactions to a peer-to-peer network of participants, who maintain and update a record of all transactions in a transparent and immutable distributed ledger. The General Agreement on Trade in Services ('GATS') -- as the only multilateral treaty that creates binding international obligations on the treatment to be accorded to service suppliers, including online services -- provides a solid foundational framework for services supplied by participants on blockchain, even if, unsurprisingly, several grey areas exist. Applying GATS to blockchain means that many prohibitive regulations imposed by countries -- from banning mining to criminalising the possession of cryptocurrencies -- may be considered barriers to trade.
- Subjects
BLOCKCHAINS; GENERAL Agreement on Trade in Services (Organization); WORLD Trade Organization; FINANCIAL liberalization; DEMOCRATIZATION
- Publication
Melbourne Journal of International Law, 2019, Vol 20, Issue 1, p125
- ISSN
1444-8602
- Publication type
Article