Violable Contracts and Governance for Blockchain Applications

TL;DR

This paper proposes a sociotechnical approach to blockchain governance through violable, declarative contracts, offering flexible governance, correctness verification, and trust without the limitations of traditional smart contracts.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of violable, declarative contracts as an alternative to smart contracts for improved governance and organizational formalization in blockchain applications.

Findings

Declarative, violable contracts enable flexible governance.

Verification of correctness without restricting autonomy.

Provides a meaningful basis for trust in blockchain systems.

Abstract

We examine blockchain technologies, especially smart contracts, as a platform for decentralized applications. By providing a basis for consensus, blockchain promises to upend business models that presuppose a central authority. However, blockchain suffers from major shortcomings arising from an over-regimented way of organizing computation that limits its prospects. We propose a sociotechnical, yet computational, perspective that avoids those shortcomings. A centerpiece of our vision is the notion of a declarative, violable contract in contradistinction to smart contracts. This new way of thinking enables flexible governance, by formalizing organizational structures; verification of correctness without obstructing autonomy; and a meaningful basis for trust.