Abstract
This article analyzes the prospects and risks that the introduction of blockchain technologies into the legal sphere entails. The authors address the legal aspects of the operation of a distributed ledger, smart contracts, and virtual assets, covering quite diverse areas of legal practice: from intellectual property issues to public administration and international trade relations. The key objective of the work is to find out in what ways blockchain can enter the legal system of Ukraine, what advantages it promises, and what legal risks will have to be reckoned with, given how similar processes occur abroad. The methodological basis of the study is an analysis of current legislation, primarily the Law of Ukraine “On Virtual Assets” and the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights”. This analysis is supported by statistics on the spread of blockchain solutions in the legal sphere for the period 2023–2026, as well as the work of domestic scientists. The study suggests that the global blockchain market in the legal sector has grown from $1.2 billion in 2023 to a projected $4.8 billion by 2026. The most promising applications include blockchain-based notarization, automatic fulfillment of contractual obligations through smart contracts, and copyright fixation using NFT tokens. However, serious obstacles should not be overlooked: regulatory uncertainty, difficulties in the field of personal data protection, technical difficulties in implementation, and considerable financial costs for implementation. In summary, we can state that for blockchain to truly become an organic part of the legal field, a consistent legislative course is needed, increased digital awareness among lawyers, and the creation of separate regulatory structures capable of supporting this process. The article also emphasizes that, in public administration, blockchain may strengthen administrative and legal mechanisms of good governance of central authorities through control, accountability, and transparency of administrative procedures.
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