ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author discusses how smart contracts can be used for securities transactions on the DLT network. First, the author discusses the legal nature of tokenised securities (crypto-assets) encoded into smart contracts and argues that the legal basis of the underlying assets will continue to govern the rights of the holders. Transfers of tokenised securities also have contract law implications. There are several legal risks involved in such transfers, and there can be systematic failures if these risks are not mitigated. The author proposes to introduce a central counterparty (CCP) system to mitigate these risks. Second, the author discusses how conflict of law issues can affect market safety on the platform and also affect regulatory oversight. The author discusses the difficulties for market surveillance and enforcement proceedings involved in this cross-border securities trading platform. Third, the author discusses how this platform will affect current market practices such as securities lending and proxy voting. Despite any difficulties, there are also positive effects for individual investors.
Keywords: smart contract, DLT, blockchain, crypto-assets, securities trading, tokenisation
