Legal risks for blockchain applications in the built environment: a legal perspective
Gavin P. Johnson · 2025
This chapter provides a detailed analysis of the legal and regulatory considerations surrounding blockchain applications, particularly within the built environment. It highlights the importance of understanding the legal frameworks governing these applications and the need to ensure their grounding in legal reality for long-term resilience. The chapter examines the legal implications of tokenisation, considering various types of tokens and their potential to represent property rights or financial instruments. It also investigates the legal aspects of smart contracts, highlighting the distinction between 'smart contracts' and 'smart legal contracts' and the potential legal risks associated with different types of smart contracts. The chapter exposes the complexities of tokenisation and fractionalisation, and the regulatory challenges of applying existing laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and financial regulations to blockchain-based systems. Practical examples, such as the risks of pseudonymity, asset entanglement and data immutability highlight the need for careful planning and strategic design to navigate these challenges. Based on an analysis of international regulatory approaches, the chapter provides a roadmap for stakeholders to adopt blockchain technology responsibly. The chapter stresses the importance of collaboration between legal experts, technologists and policymakers to address gaps and foster innovation while maintaining trust and accountability.