Smart Contracts

Smart Contracts were first proposed in the early 1990s by Nick Szabo, who coined the term to refer to "a set of promises, specified in digital form, including protocols within which the parties perform on these promises". They are seen as having the ability to disrupt traditional contracting practices by combining protocols with user interfaces to formalize and secure relationships over computer networks. Smart contracts are automatable and enforceable agreements, with objectives and principles derived from legal principles, economic theory, and theories of reliable and secure protocols.