PUBLICATIONS

EVENTS

MISC

• Blockchain Constitutionalism, Conference Organizations, News, Polycentrism, ReportsResearch Report – Blockchain Constitutionalism: The Role Of Legitimacy In Polycentric SystemsResearch Report – Blockchain Constitutionalism: The Role Of Legitimacy In Polycentric Systems Primavera de Filippi, Morshed Mannan, Kelsie Nabben, Jamilya Kamalova, Sofia Cossar, Tara Merk, Silke Noa, Marco Crepaldi, Joshua Dávila. Between 5 and 7 June 2023, BlockchainGov organized a conference on “Blockchain Constitutionalism: The Role of Legitimacy in Polycentric Systems” at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute in Florence, Italy.  Blockchain networks and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) have seen a surge in adoption in recent years. To fulfill their promise of widespread structural innovation and change meaningfully, they require governance that maintains legitimacy for internal and external stakeholders. As permissionless, globe-spanning technologies with significant effects on the general public, there has been a growing interest in viewing these blockchain-based systems in constitutional terms. Early analysis regarded the rules expressed through software code as a form of ‘on-chain constitution.’ At the same time, more recently, these have been supplemented with written documents that articulate additional rules and principles regarding the governance of the blockchain-based system (‘off-chain constitutions’). The common thread among the various examples of blockchain “constitutions” seems to be that they define aspects of a system’s decision-making process and make them relatively difficult to change. However, both blockchain practitioners and legal scholars do not agree on whether we should consider these as ‘constitutions’ or ‘constitutionalization’ processes in a strict sense, nor to what extent these efforts can render blockchain systems more legitimate. The EUI Conference brought together experts, academics, and practitioners to explore this intersection. You can read the full report here.  [...]

  October 26, 2023
• Conference Organizations, Events, PolycentrismDAO Harvard 2023DAO Harvard 2023 DAO Harvard took place on April 2-4, 2023 bringing together policymakers, blockchain experts and scholars to discuss and explore different aspects of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations. The conference was co-organized by Blockchain Gov alongside Harvard Kennedy School, Belfer Center, and the Safra Center for Ethics, as well as Metagov, COALA, and the DAO Research Collective. The event was organized in different tracks – Research Summit, Law Summit, and Summit on Equitable Ownership and Governance in the Online Economy. The Law Summit The Law Summit at DAO Harvard featured multiple working groups focused on legal aspects of DAOs. They discussed topics like incorporation benefits, liability, taxation, legal pathways, and regulatory compliance standards. BlockchainGov and COALA co-organized the event, building on the COALA DAO Model Law. This model law offers guidelines for regulatory frameworks to provide legal clarity for DAOs while considering their unique characteristics. This approach has gained momentum, as seen in the passage of the Utah DAO Bill. Each group included legal experts, academics, and practitioners, and their insights will contribute to a revised COALA DAO Model Law (V2) On Costitutionalism In the latter, Primavera De Filippi discussed the relationship between blockchains and constitutions, highlighting that decentralized technology doesn’t necessarily equate to decentralized power. Decentralization isn’t inherent; it must be intentionally designed, and it’s not always without costs. Blockchain systems incorporate both formal (on-chain protocols and smart contracts) and informal (off-chain rules) constitutions. Our friends at Belfer Center compiled a complete report at this link. [...]

  September 26, 2023
• Conference Organizations, EventsConference Organizations Update 2022-23Conference Organizations Update 2022-23 We organized conferences, seminars and workshops as part of our research activity all over the world. Conferences 2023: Organizer of the conference on “Blockchain Constitutionalism: the Role of Legitimacy in Polycentric Systems” at European University Institute, 6-7 June 2023 Organizer of the Conference “Overthrowing the Network States with Coordi-Nations“ organized in collaboration with Zuzalu. Lustica Bay, Montenegro. May 16-18 2023 Co-organiser of the DAO Harvard Conference, organized in collaboration with the Harvard Kennedy School, Belfer Center, and the Safra Center for Ethics, as well as Metagov, COALA, and the DAO Research Collective. Harvard University. April 2-3-4, 2023. 2022: Co-organiser of the conference “What’s Governing Web3? Advancing research on blockchain-enabled Web3 governance” organized in collaboration with RMIT at Melbourne University. 12-15 December 2022. Melbourne, Australia“ 2021: Co-organiser of the conference “La blockchain : enjeux juridiques, économiques, de sécurité et de coûts énergétiques” organised by CERSA and LITEM, in collaboration with CREIS-Terminal. 26 March 2021 (online). Promoter and co-organiser of the conference “Blockchain, Imaginaires religieux et Théologie”, organized by le Collège des Bernardins. March 17 & 31, 2021 (online) Workshops 2023: Organizer of a workshop on “Blockchain Constitutionalism: the Role of Legitimacy in Polycentric Systems” at European University Institute, 5 June 2023 Co-organizer of “The Emergence of Platform Cooperatives. Values, Governance and Design” in collaboration with Scuola Normale Superiore. Florence, 16 May 2023.  Organizer of the “Overthrowing the Network State with Coordi-Nations” in collaboration with Zuzalu. Lustica Bay, Montenegro, 9-13 May 2023. Organizer of the 9th Meeting of European Research Council BlockchainGov Project, March 6th, 2023, CERSA – Paris, France  2022: Co-organiser of “What’s Governing Web3? Internal workshop” organized in collaboration with RMIT. 16-19 December. Paradise Trust, New Zealand. Organizer of the 9th Meeting of European Research Council BlockchainGov Project, Oct 14-15-16, 2022, CERSA – Paris, France  Organiser of the Extitutions & Blockchain / Web3 Research Workshop. 13-16 September 2022. Berkman-Klein Center at Harvard Law School. Organizer of the ERC BlockchainGov Public Workshop. Sept 11, 2022. CERSA, Paris, France. Organizer of the 8th Meeting of European Research Council BlockchainGov Project, Sept 10, 2022, CERSA – Paris, France  Co-Organizer of the Stanford DAO Workshop during the Science of Blockchain Conference. Sept 1 2022. Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center at Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA. Co-Organizer of the Open Questions in DAO Science Workshop during the Researching Web3 Workshop, organized in collaboration with SCRF. July 13-14 2022. Online. Organizer of the 7th Meeting of European Research Council BlockchainGov Project, July 18, 2022, CERSA – Paris, France  Co-organiser of the COALA Blockchain Workshop, organized in collaboration with the European Crypto-Initiative (EUCI) and the BlockchainGov project of the European Research Council (ERC). July 17-18 2022. Paris. France. Organizer of the 6th Meeting of European Research Council BlockchainGov Project, May 31, 2022, CERSA – Paris, France   Organizer of BlockchainGov Research Workshop: Legitimacy, Confidence and Trust in Blockchain Governance. European University Institute. May 17 2022. Florence, Italy Organizer of the 5th Meeting of European Research Council BlockchainGov Project, May 2, 2022, CERSA – Paris, France   Co-organizer of the Open Problems in DAO Science Workshop, organized in collaboration with the Metagovernance Project, the European Crypto-Initiative (EUCI), the Smart Contracts Research Forum (SCRF) and the DAO Research Collective. April 18, at Tobacco Theater, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Co-organiser of the COALA Blockchain Workshop, organized in collaboration with the European Crypto-Initiative (EUCI) and the BlockchainGov project of the European Research Council (ERC). April 19-20, at Creative Point, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Organizer of the 4th Meeting of European Research Council BlockchainGov Project, March 28, 2022, CERSA – Paris, France   Organizer of the 3rd Meeting of European Research Council BlockchainGov Project, February 28, 2022, CERSA – Paris, France   Organizer of the 2nd Meeting of European Research Council BlockchainGov Project, January 31, 2022, CERSA – Paris, France  [...]

  September 11, 2023
• Conference Organizations, EventsEuropean Crypto-Initiative (EUCI) WorkshopCo-organiser of the first European Crypto-Initiative (EUCI) Workshop, organised in collaboration with COALA and the BlockchainGov project of the European Research Council (ERC). December 2-3, Citizen Corner Brussels, Belgium. [...]

  December 2, 2021
• Conference Organizations, Events1st Meeting of ERC BlockchainGov ProjectOrganiser of the 1st Meeting of European Research Council BlockchainGov Project, December 4-5, 2021, CERSA – Paris, France  [...]

  December 2, 2021
• Conference Organizations, EventsCryptogovernance WorkshopCo-organiser of the Cryptogovernance Workshop, organized by Wharton’s Blockchain & Digital Asset Project at University of Pennsylvania. 30 November 2021 (online) [...]

  November 30, 2021
• Conference Organizations, Events, Focus GroupsLegitimacy in the Metaverse: The Case of DecentralandDe Filippi, P., Mannan, M., Promoter and organizer of two Focus Groups on “Legitimacy in the Metaverse: The Case of Decentraland” as part of the ERC Blockchain Gov project. 10 September & 7 October 2021 (online). [...]

  October 7, 2021
• Conference Organizations, Events, Reading GroupsBlockchain & LegitimacyPromoter and co-organiser of the seminar series on “Blockchain & Legitimacy” as part of the ERC Blockchain Gov project (bi-weekly reading group, running from July to Sept 2021). [...]

  September 30, 2021
• Conference Organizations, Events, Reading GroupsBlockchain, Trust, and ConfidencePromoter and co-organiser of the seminar series on “Blockchain, Trust, and Confidence” as part of the ERC Blockchain Gov project (bi-weekly reading group, running from Jan to June 2021). [...]

  June 30, 2021
• Conference Organizations, Events, Reading GroupsExtitutional TheoryPromoter and co-organiser of the working group on “Extitutional Theory” at the Berkman-Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, as part of the ERC Blockchain Gov project (weekly reading group, running weekly from Jan to June 2021). [...]

  June 30, 2021
• Conference Organizations, EventsBlockchain Perspectives Joint Research Initiative Interdisciplinary WorkshopPromoter and co-organizer of the “Blockchain Perspectives Joint Research Initiative Interdisciplinary Workshop“, organized by CNAM and CERSA. May 18-19, 2021 (Château du Fey, France). [...]

  May 19, 2021
• Conference Organizations, EventsExtitutional Theory and PracticePromoter and organiser of the seminar “Extitutional Theory and Practice” organized as part of the ERC Blockchain Gov project, in collaboration with COALA. April 19th – 23rd, 2021 (Château du Fey, France). [...]

  April 23, 2021
• Conference Organizations, EventsLegitimacy & NFTsPromoter and organiser of the Blockchain Workshop “Legitimacy & NFTs” organized as part of the BPJRI and ERC Blockchain Gov project, in collaboration with CNAM, CNRS and COALA. April 19th – 23rd, 2021 (Château du Fey, France). [...]

  April 23, 2021
• Conference Organizations, EventsBlockchain, Imaginaires religieux et ThéologiePromoter and co-organiser of “Blockchain, Imaginaires religieux et Théologie”, organized by le Collège des Bernardins. March 17 & 31, 2021 (online). [...]

  March 31, 2021
• Conference Organizations, EventsLa blockchain : enjeux juridiques, économiques, de sécurité et de coûts énergétiquesCo-organiser of a workshop on “La blockchain : enjeux juridiques, économiques, de sécurité et de coûts énergétiques” organised by CERSA and LITEM, in collaboration with CREIS-Terminal. 26 March 2021 (online). [...]

  March 26, 2021
• Conference Organizations, EventsTheorizing Extitutions : Faites Rhizome et pas Racine!Promoter and organiser of the seminar “Theorizing Extitutions : Faites Rhizome et pas Racine!” organized as part of the ERC Blockchain Gov project, in collaboration with COALA. Feb 15th – 20th, 2021. (Château du Fey, France). [...]

  February 20, 2021