Humanity’s notion of trust is shaped by new platforms operating in the emerging sharing economy, acting as intermediate matchmaker for ride sharing, housing facilities or freelance labour, effectively creating an environment where strangers trust each other. While millions of people worldwide rely on online sharing activities, such services are often facilitated by a few predatory companies, managing trust relations. This centralization of responsibility raises questions about ethical and political issues like regulatory compliance, data portability and monopolistic behaviour. Recently, blockchain technology has gathered a significant amount of support and adoption, due to its inherent decentralized and tamper-proof structure. We present a blockchain-powered blueprint for a shared and public programmable economy . The focus of our architecture is on four essential primitives: digital identities, blockchain-based trust, programmable money and marketplaces. Trust is established using only historical interactions between strangers to estimate trustworthiness. Every component of our proposed technology stack is designed according to the defining principles of the Internet itself: self-governance, autonomy and shared ownership. Real-world viability of each component is demonstrated with a functional prototype or running code. Our vision is that the highlighted technology stack devises trust, new acts, principles and rules beyond the possibilities in current economic, legal and political systems.

December 7, 2017

Blockchain’s incompatibility for use as a land registry: issues of definition, feasibility and risk

Rod Thomas

Page range: 361-390

December 7, 2017

Evaluating the Use of Blockchain in Land Transactions: An Archival Science Perspective

Victoria L. Lemieux

Page range: 392-440

December 7, 2017

Real estate publicity in a blockchain world: a critical assessment

Benjamin Verheye

Page range: 441-476

December 7, 2017

Ongoing Development of Land Administration Standards

Blockchain in Transaction Management

Christiaan Lemmen, Jacques Vos, Bert Beentjes

Page range: 478-502

About this journal

The European Property Law Journal (EPLJ) focuses on both private and public law aspects of land, movables, claims and so-called new objects of property law, such as "virtual" property. Articles are based upon comparative legal analysis and examine property law from a European perspective. This includes not only the multidisciplinary study of property law and the effects of the EU internal market on the national property law systems, but also the philosophical and ideological aspects of property law.