Why blockchain and smart contracts need semantic descriptions

TL;DR

This paper emphasizes the importance of developing formal semantic descriptions for blockchain and smart contracts to improve their design, auditing, and legal control by providing a structured understanding of their underlying reality.

Contribution

It introduces a hierarchical framework for semantic descriptions of blockchain and smart contracts, advocating for formal tools and standards to enhance their deployment and oversight.

Findings

Proposes a hierarchy of semantic levels for blockchain systems

Highlights the need for formal descriptions to improve system control

Suggests that research in formal semantics can enhance blockchain reliability

Abstract

We argue that there is a hierarchy of levels describing to that particular level relevant features of reality behind the content and behavior of blockchain and smart contracts in their realistic deployment. Choice, design, audit and legal control of these systems could be more informed, easier and raised to a higher level, if research on foundations of these descriptions develops and sets the formalisms, tools and standards for such descriptions.