Legal Basis of Regulating Blockchain Technology and Smart Contracts in Malaysia

Abstract

There has been a widespread use of blockchain-based smart contracts in various financial and property sectors, gaining popularity in recent years. By greatly simplifying the economic turnover, the potential efficiency and profitability arises from the fact that smart contracts use software to perform certain tasks through automated processes, minimizing the involvement of intermediaries and, therefore, significantly reducing transaction costs. The wide spread of new technologies always gives rise to various problems, and legislation is often not adapted to the pace of socio-economic changes in the state. Despite the positive side of such technological development, the consequences may entail certain dangers for the participants of this kind of relationship. The absence of the very concept of smart contract in the legislation of most states gives rise to undoubted difficulties in determining their legal essence. The presented study examines the current state of smart contracts in Malaysia, examines the viability of the Malaysian legal framework in relation to the practice of using smart contracts and blockchain technology, and analyzes legislation and policy documents in force in Malaysia.