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Re:Ethereum programming for web developers by TheLegace on Thursday January 18, 2018 @02:09PM (#16180282)
I like your idea about using blockchains to represent assets. I have been thinking about something along those lines. But a whole set of interesting problem arises. That being the legal issues surrounding transferring ownership of assets globally. Not to mention issues of fraud and recourse when an agreement falls apart. I'd be curious to to have a chat with you about it. Send me an email.
Re:Ethereum programming for web developers by altern8tif on Friday January 19, 2018 @02:12AM (#16184636)
I've got a team exploring the idea of executing a smart contract that transfers assets (be it crypto-asset or real world assets) upon a specific real-world trigger event (via oracles).

But you're right, the legal issues are a dime and a dozen. It'll take some time for the law to catch up (eg. digital wills). The technology is ready for this, we just need to right confluence of factors to make this a reality.

Re:Ethereum programming for web developers by TheLegace on Friday January 19, 2018 @11:54AM (#16187661)
I think it is interesting if the technology did it, but I'd want to know what incentives people would have to use it, since it would just make things more complicated.

Maybe it lowers the cost of transferring assets, and there is the flexibility transferring to anyone on the planet. Maybe the use case is having funds in an escrow until both parties can verify that the transaction is cleared. I think there are trust companies that already do this. Maybe if people are motivated to deal with the legal(or private entities would exist to fill the need to simplify it) themselves it could work itself out.

It could be that through this method less lawyers are involved. If the transfer of assets can be standardized or at least abstracted away for all/most countries in one system I could see why people could be interested in it.

Also if your looking to sell an asset, or looking to buy an asset that you expect to increase in value, it might be interesting to have a global market to purchase/sell these assets with price signals for less risky or higher return assets.

Re:Ethereum programming for web developers by bpicolo on Thursday January 18, 2018 @04:13PM (#16181515)
You hit fun new issues like - how do you transfer assets when somebody is dead? No private keys, no hope.
Re:Ethereum programming for web developers by dfischer on Friday January 26, 2018 @10:28AM (#16239854)
Deadman switch?
Re:Ethereum programming for web developers by kang on Thursday January 18, 2018 @04:26PM (#16181619)
This looks like the start of slockit conversation proposing a DAO