LIBERALISING BLOCKCHAIN: AN APPLICATION OF THE GATS DIGITAL TRADE FRAMEWORK

Blockchain technology and the World Trade Organization share the same principles of liberalisation and democratisation of trade. Relying on cross-border data flows and an open environment, blockchain platforms, such as Bitcoin and smart contracts, dispense with a central intermediary and distribute the function of validating transactions to a peer-to-peer network of participants, who maintain and update a record of all transactions in a transparent and immutable distributed ledger. The General Agreement on Trade in Services ('GATS') as the only multilateral treaty that creates binding international obligations on the treatment to be accorded to service suppliers, including online services provides a solid foundational framework for services supplied by participants on blockchain, even if, unsurprisingly, several grey areas exist. Applying GATS to blockchain means that many prohibitive regulations imposed by countries from banning mining to criminalising the possession of cryptocurrencies may be considered barriers to trade.