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Life Cycle of Smart Contracts in Blockchain Ecosystems

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  • Blockchain
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Abstract

This paper discusses the life cycle of decentralized smart contracts, i.e. digital and executable representations of rights and obligations in a multi-party environment. The life cycle relies on blockchain technology, i.e. a distributed digital ledger, to ensure proper implementation and integrity of the smart contracts. The life cycle consists of four subsequent phases: Creation, freezing, execution, and finalization. For each phase actors and technological services are identified and explained in detail. With the life cycle at hand, risks and limitations of smart contracts and the underlying blockchain technology are briefly discussed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Innsbruck, Österreich

    Christian Sillaber

  2. München, Deutschland

    Bernhard Waltl

Authors
  1. Christian Sillaber
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  2. Bernhard Waltl
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christian Sillaber.

Additional information

Dr. Christian Sillaber ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Institut für Informatik an der Leopold Franzens Universität Innsbruck.

Bernhard Waltl ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter an der Fakultät für Informatik der Technischen Universität München.

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Sillaber, C., Waltl, B. Life Cycle of Smart Contracts in Blockchain Ecosystems. Datenschutz Datensich 41, 497–500 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11623-017-0819-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11623-017-0819-7

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