4 ms·

Contracts (smart or not) cannot override the law. I'm not a lawyer but I would be very surprised if courts in most countries would buy this argument. Spelling

Contracts (smart or not) cannot override the law. I'm not a lawyer but I would be very surprised if courts in most countries would buy this argument. Spelling or grammatical mistakes usually don't invalidate contracts in the real world and robbing a poorly secured vault is still illegal. The thief was obviously trying to get other people's money without their consent.

wnevets 4y ago
If that is true then this decentralized utopia I heard so much about sure does require a lot of centralization.
- johnebgd 4y ago
  You can’t bring rational thoughts and facts into an emotional conversation.
- renewiltord 4y ago
  There are advantages to centralization. One may reasonably ask if trad-fi centralization is at the optimal level. This is just one way to spend money to see if the optimal level is below that. Lobbying for regulation is a mechanism to spend money to see if the optimal level is above that.
koolba 4y ago
The only agreed upon contract here is the one on the chain. I’d love for this type of thing to be tested in court. I’d invest in popcorn futures ahead of that trial.
- arlcode 4y ago
  Contracts are invalidated all the time. If they do that and if they get hold of the individual (or their assets) the court can force compliance in the usual ways. "I can't access it and never will be able to" is not a believable excuse unless you can prove it.
  - lottin 4y ago
    A "smart contract" isn't a contract in any sense of the word, so I'm not sure what you're trying to argue here.
- verdverm 4y ago
  Make sure you do it with a defi flash loan
ugh123 4y ago
"Intent is 3/4 of the law" https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/mens_rea#:~:text=The%20mens%20rea%20requirement%20is,be%20guilty%20of%20a%20crime https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/mens_rea#:~:text=The%20mens%....
kansface 4y ago
> Contracts (smart or not) cannot override the law. The Law allows people to agree to stupid things, no?
- arlcode 4y ago
  Yes but the argument would (perhaps) be that they didn't actually agree to the implementation (including bugs) but rather to the intended/advertised functionality
parkingrift 4y ago
Sounds like you want to solve the oracle problem with a... central authority? It's so poetic.
- stdsTho8 4y ago
ineptech 4y ago
How is one supposed to know who can and cannot take money from the smart contract, if not by consulting the contract? If my sign says "Apples $0.00" and you take an apple, can I sue you (or have you arrested) on the grounds that you should've known the sign was wrong and the apples weren't free?
- pornel 4y ago
  Yes. Systems in the real world are supposed to have common sense. That's why we have judges to decide if it was clearly an error, and people taking advantage of $0.00 should have known this, and therefore acted with malice. Only cryptocurrencies are trying to have it both ways. They boast that big bad governments can't touch their money scheme, until someone finds a loophole in the code-is-law. Then suddenly law is law again.
robocat 4y ago
Grammatical mistakes cause vulnerabilities in contracts that are then pwned: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20180723-the-commas-that-cost-companies-millions https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20180723-the-commas-tha...

wnevets 4y ago

If that is true then this decentralized utopia I heard so much about sure does require a lot of centralization.

johnebgd 4y ago
You can’t bring rational thoughts and facts into an emotional conversation.
renewiltord 4y ago
There are advantages to centralization. One may reasonably ask if trad-fi centralization is at the optimal level. This is just one way to spend money to see if the optimal level is below that. Lobbying for regulation is a mechanism to spend money to see if the optimal level is above that.

koolba 4y ago

The only agreed upon contract here is the one on the chain. I’d love for this type of thing to be tested in court. I’d invest in popcorn futures ahead of that trial.

arlcode 4y ago
Contracts are invalidated all the time. If they do that and if they get hold of the individual (or their assets) the court can force compliance in the usual ways. "I can't access it and never will be able to" is not a believable excuse unless you can prove it.
- lottin 4y ago
  A "smart contract" isn't a contract in any sense of the word, so I'm not sure what you're trying to argue here.
verdverm 4y ago
Make sure you do it with a defi flash loan

ugh123 4y ago

"Intent is 3/4 of the law" https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/mens_rea#:~:text=The%20mens%20rea%20requirement%20is,be%20guilty%20of%20a%20crime https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/mens_rea#:~:text=The%20mens%....

kansface 4y ago

> Contracts (smart or not) cannot override the law. The Law allows people to agree to stupid things, no?

arlcode 4y ago
Yes but the argument would (perhaps) be that they didn't actually agree to the implementation (including bugs) but rather to the intended/advertised functionality

parkingrift 4y ago

Sounds like you want to solve the oracle problem with a... central authority? It's so poetic.

stdsTho8 4y ago

ineptech 4y ago

How is one supposed to know who can and cannot take money from the smart contract, if not by consulting the contract? If my sign says "Apples $0.00" and you take an apple, can I sue you (or have you arrested) on the grounds that you should've known the sign was wrong and the apples weren't free?

pornel 4y ago
Yes. Systems in the real world are supposed to have common sense. That's why we have judges to decide if it was clearly an error, and people taking advantage of $0.00 should have known this, and therefore acted with malice. Only cryptocurrencies are trying to have it both ways. They boast that big bad governments can't touch their money scheme, until someone finds a loophole in the code-is-law. Then suddenly law is law again.

robocat 4y ago

Grammatical mistakes cause vulnerabilities in contracts that are then pwned: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20180723-the-commas-that-cost-companies-millions https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20180723-the-commas-tha...