Blockchain Documents of Title – Negotiable Electronic Bills of Lading Under German Law

Blockchain technology is about to revolutionize all areas of daily life. According to proponents of the technology, there is no conceivable application that could not be realized using a blockchain. This raises the question of whether transport-related applications can also be represented and digitized by a blockchain enabled application. Against the background of the digital opening clauses of §§ 443 III; 475c IV and 516 II of the German Commercial Code (HGB), this article examines whether traditional negotiable documents of title, such as the bill of lading can be replaced by blockchain-based tokens