smart contracts

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The concept of the “metaverse” has garnered much press coverage of late, addressing such topics as the new appetite for metaverse investment opportunities, a recent virtual land boom, or just the promise of it all, where “crypto, gaming and capitalism collide.”  The term “metaverse,” which comes from Neal Stephenson’s 1992 science fiction novel “Snow Crash,” is generally used to refer to the development of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies, featuring a mashup of massive multiplayer gaming, virtual worlds, virtual workspaces, and remote education to create a decentralized wonderland and collaborative space. The grand concept is that the metaverse will be the next iteration of the mobile internet and a major part of both digital and real life.

Don’t feel like going out tonight in the real world? Why not stay “in” and catch a show or meet people/avatars/smart bots in the metaverse?

As currently conceived, the metaverse, “Web 3.0,” would feature a synchronous environment giving users a seamless experience across different realms, even if such discrete areas of the virtual world are operated by different developers. It would boast its own economy where users and their avatars interact socially and use digital assets based in both virtual and actual reality, a place where commerce would presumably be heavily based in decentralized finance, DeFi. No single company or platform would operate the metaverse, but rather, it would be administered by many entities in a decentralized manner (presumably on some open source metaverse OS) and work across multiple computing platforms. At the outset, the metaverse would look like a virtual world featuring enhanced experiences interfaced via VR headsets, mobile devices, gaming consoles and haptic gear that makes you “feel” virtual things. Later, the contours of the metaverse would be shaped by user preferences, monetary opportunities and incremental innovations by developers building on what came before.

In short, the vision is that multiple companies, developers and creators will come together to create one metaverse (as opposed to proprietary, closed platforms) and have it evolve into an embodied mobile internet, one that is open and interoperable and would include many facets of life (i.e., work, social interactions, entertainment) in one hybrid space.

In order for the metaverse to become a reality – that is, successfully link current gaming and communications platforms with other new technologies into a massive new online destination – many obstacles will have to be overcome, even beyond the hardware, software and integration issues. The legal issues stand out, front and center. Indeed, the concept of the metaverse presents a law school final exam’s worth of legal questions to sort out.  Meanwhile, we are still trying to resolve the myriad of legal issues presented by “Web 2.0,” the Internet we know it today. Adding the metaverse to the picture will certainly make things even more complicated.

The blockchain or “distributed ledger network” was originally conceived as the peer-to-peer technology platform that allows for the transfer of Bitcoin without the need for a trusted intermediary.  However, the blockchain protocol is being implemented across many industries and in many applications beyond digital currencies. Of course, there are questions about the enforceability of blockchain-based transactions and related, self-executing “smart contracts.”

Late last month, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed HB 2417 into law. This law clarifies some of the enforceability issues associated with the use of blockchain and smart contracts under Arizona law, in particular with respect to transactions relating to the sale of goods, leases, and documents of title governed respectively under UCC Articles 2, 2A and 7.

The blockchain protocol (a form of a ‘distributed ledger system’) was originally designed as a platform to process Bitcoin transactions.  The protocol enables peer-to-peer transactions and eliminates the need for a trusted intermediary to verify and process the transactions.

The blockchain protocol as a platform is actually independent of Bitcoin, and is therefore transferable to other applications. Naturally, because blockchain was conceived of as supporting a specific digital payment system, the initial and most obvious use of the blockchain outside of Bitcoin is “fintech” – technology-based payment and financial transaction systems.  The goal of recent experimentation and development in fintech is to reduce inefficiencies in the existing payments, clearance and settlement systems. Conceivably, many of these functions could be conducted through a “smart contract” – a completely automated process, executed via a software application that runs “on chain.”  In pursuit of these goals, many in the financial services area have made significant investments in research, development, and pilot programs, in many cases through coalitions or in partnership with large technology companies as well as with blockchain-focused startup companies.

Beyond fintech, however, blockchain offers many other opportunities. The digital values that are tracked and processed through a blockchain implementation can represent any other type of information or assets.  This capability has evoked the early development of new applications and technological developments involving many industries beyond financial services.