# Irreversibility

`kaal:entity:irreversibility`

**Status.** derived

This node is assembled mechanically from the 4 claims that carry the concept tag `irreversibility`. It is a roster of what the corpus says under this term. It is **not** an adjudicated definition: no single statement here has been ruled canonical, and no first-appearance call has been made. Read the claims and judge for yourself.

## Every claim under this term

4 claims across 4 works, 2018 to 2022.

**2018**

- [3227933-021](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3227933-021) [failure/argued] *(failure mode)* -- In a truly decentralized system where code is law, any mistake such as a stolen or lost password or a programming bug is permanent and irrevocable, because there is no authority able to reverse it.
  > Remember that in a truly decentralized system, the code is law. This means that any mistakes (stolen/lost passwords, programming bugs, etc.) are permanent and irrevocable.
  Mark Fenwick, Wulf A. Kaal, Erik P.M. Vermeulen, Why 'Blockchain' Will Disrupt Corporate Organizations (2018). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3227933
- [3227967-034](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3227967-034) [failure/asserted] *(failure mode)* -- In a truly decentralized system any mistake, such as a stolen or lost password or a programming bug, is permanent and irrevocable.
  > Remember that in a truly decentralized system, any mistakes (stolen/lost passwords, programming bugs, etc.) are permanent and irrevocable.
  Mark Fenwick, Wulf A. Kaal, Erik P.M. Vermeulen, Legal Education in a Digital Age Why 'Coding for Lawyers' Matters (2018). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3227967

**2021**

- [3936876-010](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3936876-010) [failure/argued] *(failure mode)* -- A private key differs from a password in that it is immutable and cannot be reset, so if the key is lost or stolen access to the digital asset may be permanently lost.
  > However, private keys are distinguishable from a password in that a private key is immutable – it cannot be reset.82 If a user loses their private key or if the private key is stolen, access to the digital asset may be lost.
  Wulf A. Kaal, Hayley Howe, Custody of Digital Assets (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3936876

**2022**

- [4067783-020](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/4067783-020) [mechanism/argued] *(failure mode)* -- Smart contracts that govern fungible currency exchanges are engineered for irreversible, unreviewable, programmed self execution, and that design makes the business structure of web3 more rigid.
  > Yet, smart contracts involving fungible currency exchanges are designed to guarantee irreversible, unreviewable, programmed self execution. As such, they create a more rigid structure for business in web3.
  Wulf A. Kaal, DAO Fallacies (2022). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4067783

## Verify

Every claim above resolves to a record carrying a verbatim source quote, the sha256 of the source PDF, and a preformatted citation. Nothing here asks to be taken on trust.

    curl -s https://wulfkaal.github.io/entities/irreversibility.md | sha256sum

**Canonical form.** This markdown file is the canonical hashed representation of this entity node. Its sha256 is the content hash.