<![CDATA[Peer-to-peer (P2P) payments facilitate rapid direct transactions but are frequently compromised by trust asymmetry, leading to substantial risks of non-delivery or non-payment. This study addresses these vulnerabilities by introducing a lightweight, deterministic escrow mechanism based on Ethereum smart contracts, specifically designed to bridge the regulatory gap in consumer protection. Unlike conventional escrow systems that rely on costly human intermediaries or complex decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) structures, the proposed "FairPay" model advances the state-of-the-art by offering a streamlined five-state lifecycle architecture comprising Created, Funded, WorkSubmitted, Released, and Refunded stages. The research prioritizes an analytical problem-solution flow, focusing on a state-machine design that enforces automated role-based restrictions. Methodological evaluation conducted on the Ethereum Sepolia testnet demonstrates a 100% functional success rate across all unit test scenarios. Furthermore, gas cost analysis reveals that the system is economically viable for granular transactions, with core operational functions maintaining a low execution overhead. Beyond operational success, the primary scholarly contribution lies in the design insight of balancing high cryptographic security with granular transaction accessibility, providing a scalable framework for the modern digital economy. However, the system currently assumes binary participant decisions for work verification, representing a transparency-oriented limitation in handling highly subjective service deliverables. Ultimately, this study demonstrates that algorithmic trust, mediated through a simplified state-machine, offers a more efficient and transparent alternative to existing high-complexity blockchain models, effectively resolving the tension between decentralized security and practical usability in P2P digital interactions.]]>
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