Antitrust law and blockchain(s): a roadmap

The chapter sets the scene for the correct application of competition law to blockchain technologies. In particular, it provides an antitrust-based roadmap to be applied – on a case-by-case basis – to blockchain scenarios. To this end, the chapter first lays the foundations, providing the reader with an oriented definition of the blockchain and framing the categories of antitrust law functional to understand its dynamics. Building on these definitions, the possible interactions between the blockchain technology and competition law are analysed, with the aim of understanding the potential relevance of such a technology from an antitrust perspective and to provide the reader with a toolkit to address current blockchain scenarios through the lens of competition law. In particular, the chapter develops on two lines of reasoning: the first that considers the blockchain as a technology, i.e. a technological output. The second that frames blockchain as a tool, i.e. as a place (or places) where other products and services can be distributed. The analysis carried out in the chapter allows to conclude that current competition law is already well equipped to deal with the blockchain – and for competition authorities to be effective, the burden should fall more on the technical tools at their disposal than on increasing their prerogatives.