In this paper, we propose a comparison of fair exchange and secure multiparty computation. Despite their apparent similarity, these two problems arise respectively from the elds of distributed systems and of modern cryptography. The wide di erences of description and approach in these research elds render hazardous a straightforward comparison of the various results and solutions. By introducing a common speci cation framework for the two problems, we examine the di erences regarding their generality and properties, which then leads us to specify a new problem, named the generalized fair computation. This third problem helps understanding the relations between secure multiparty computation and fair exchange, by bridging the gap between them. We conclude with a discussion on the possible origins of the confusion surrounding certain results.