BNP Paribas Sees Smart-Contracts in the Future of Legal Code

Business accelerators all over the world are always looking for the next big thing in technology and finance. It only makes sense to see these accelerators keeping an eye out for companies exploring blockchain technology. Or in the case of BNP Paribas, they are looking at one startup in particular – called CommonAccord – which aims to bring automated legal documents to the table by wielding the power of smart contracts.

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Blockchain Smart Contracts for Legal Code

If there is one particular topic of conversation in the world of digital currency and blockchain technology right now, it is smart contracts. Although a lot of people assumed this technology to be available only on the Ethereum blockchain, companies such as Rootstock want to bring the same concept to Bitcoin. Additionally, BitHalo enabled smart contracts for Bitcoin users quite some time ago.

But there is much more to smart contracts then just using it for financial purposes, and the L’Atelier BNP Paribas Fintech accelerator wants to see how this technology can be wielded in other industries. This explains why they decided to choose CommonAccord as one of the eight participants during this four-month program.

What makes this particular startup so appealing is how CommonAccord uses smart contract technology for the legal documents sector. The prospect of automating legal documents – ranging from permits to contracts and consents to organizational documents – is quite appealing, assuming international dealings will be supported. Based on the information provided on the CommonAccord website, the team is planning to create individual legal codes for each jurisdiction.

Making legal documents more transparent is one of the main objectives for this blockchain startup, and codifying every document is part of the process. This is done is by treating documents like software code, and all of the files are shared on GitHub. However, all of the files remain private and under the control of individual participants.

Becoming a part of this ecosystem is relatively easy, once members start synchronizing files with their partners. This synchronization process can be done in a variety of ways, including git, over the blockchain, or even via email. The primary goal is to convince as many users as possible to use the blockchain, as this technology would allow for the usage of smart contracts to automate route transaction functions.

L’Atelier BNP Paribas Takes Special Interest

Startups such as CommonAccord hold a great deal of promise for the evolution of blockchain technology and smart contracts, which makes them of particular interest to fintech accelerators. L’Atelier BNP Paribas has selected CommonAccord as an exclusive choice partner, and they will be guiding this blockchain startup throughout the coming four months.

CommonAccord has set out on a mission to grow into a Center for Collaborative Law over the coming years, and L’Atelier BNP Paribas wants to be a part of that process. This Center would serve as a trustee for global legal code, to which anyone in the world can contribute to. Interested parties can check out the GitHub page, or get in touch with the team via email.

What are your thoughts on CommonAccord being picked as an exclusive choice partner by L’Atelier BNP Paribas? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: BNP Paribas

Images courtesy of L’Atelier BNP Paribas, CommonAccord, Shutterstock