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 Presentations, EventsHow to Govern Decentralized Digital Public Goods? Blockchains Between Innovation and RegulationDe Filippi, P. “How to govern decentralized digital public goods? Blockchains between innovation and regulation” panel presentation at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2021, organised by the United Nations. 6 December 2021 (online). [...]

  December 6, 2021
• 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
• Events, Focus GroupsPlatform Cooperative Working GroupDe Filippi, P., Mannan, M., “Platform Cooperative Working Group” at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University [...]

  November 28, 2021
• Events, Focus GroupsTechnological Change & SocietyDe Filippi, P., Mannan, M., Research cluster on “Technological Change & Society” (EUI) [...]

  November 28, 2021
• Events, Focus GroupsAlternative Data Futures: Cooperative Principles, Data Trusts, and the Digital EconomyDe Filippi, P., Mannan, M., Research sprint on “Alternative Data Futures: Cooperative Principles, Data Trusts, and the Digital Economy” at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society (October-December 2021) During the fall of 2021, The New School’s Platform Cooperativism Consortium and BKC ran a Research Sprint with a cohort of early-career researchers, cooperative leaders, and activists from 8 countries across 4 continents. The “Alternative Data Futures: Cooperative Principles, Data Trusts, and the Digital Economy” Research Sprint brought together this group to explore new pathways for democratic governance of collective data.Archives and Recap Here. [...]

  November 28, 2021
• Conference Presentations, EventsBlockchain & the LawDe Filippi, P. “Blockchain & the Law”, presentation at the EUIPO Observatory “Impact of Technology” expert group workshop. 18 November 2021 (online) [...]

  November 18, 2021
• Conference Presentations, EventsDistributed Autonomous Organizations and CooperativesDe Filippi, P. “Distributed Autonomous Organizations and Cooperatives” presentation at the conference #TheNewCommonSense: Forging the Cooperative Digital Economy, organised by the Platform Cooperativism consortium. 17 November 2021 (online). Video archives and Recap on the official website page! [...]

  November 17, 2021
• Conference Presentations, EventsPersonhood, Blockchain & LegitimacyDe Filippi, P. “Personhood, Blockchain & Legitimacy” panel presentation for the RadicalXchange TV series. 16 November 2021 (online) [...]

  November 16, 2021
• Conference Presentations, EventsBlockchain, NFT and Metaverse in a Post-Pandemic WorldDe Filippi, P. “Blockchain, NFT and Metaverse in a Post-Pandemic World”, presentation for the Brand Week Istanbul conference organised by Kapital Media, 10 November 2021 (online) [...]

  November 10, 2021
• Conference Presentations, EventsBlockchain Technology as a Catalyst for Blockchain InnovationDe Filippi, P. “Blockchain Technology as a Catalyst for Blockchain Innovation”, presentation for the “New Models of Urban Governance: Experimenting with Technology” session at the “In The City” conference organised by Strelka in St. Petersburg, Russia. 30 October 2021 (online) [...]

  October 30, 2021
• Conference Presentations, EventsPublic Sector and Non-Profit Use Cases of Blockchain TechMannan, M. “Public Sector and Non-Profit Use Cases of Blockchain Tech”, panel presentation at e-Governance seminar of the International Blockchain Olympiad. Dhaka, Bangladesh, 9 October 2021 (online) [...]

  October 9, 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 Presentations, EventsTowards a Legal Framework for Platform CooperativesMannan, M. “Towards a Legal Framework for Platform Cooperatives”, panel presentation at the first Global Forum on Democratizing Work. 6 October 2021 (online) Replay available here [...]

  October 6, 2021
• Conference Presentations, EventsWho Owns the Metaverse? The Tokenization of EverythingDe Filippi, P. “Who Owns the Metaverse? The Tokenization of Everything”, talk at the King’s College London’s interdisciplinary seminar series on Blockchain Technology, 6 October 2021 (online) [...]

  October 6, 2021
• Conference Presentations, EventsWho Owns the Metaverse?De Filippi, P. “Who Owns the Metaverse?” talk presentation for the 8th Hackers Congress Paralelní Polis (#HCPP21) organized by the Institute of Cryptoanarchy. Prague, Czech Republic. 1 October 2021 [...]

  October 1, 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 Presentations, EventsBlockchain GovernanceMannan, M. “Blockchain Governance”, talk presentation for the Max Weber Programme at the European University Institute. Fiesole, Italy. 29 September 2021 [...]

  September 29, 2021
• Conference Presentations, EventsCreative NFTs: Using Blockchain Technology and NFTs to Support Creative CommonsDe Filippi, P. “Creative NFTs: Using Blockchain Technology and NFTs to Support Creative Commons”, talk presentation at the Creative Commons Global Summit 2021. 23 September 2021 (online) [...]

  September 23, 2021
• Conference Presentations, EventsWill the Revolution be Tokenized? Assessing Blockchain’s Promise and Progress in the Public SphereDe Filippi, P. “Will the Revolution be Tokenized? Assessing Blockchain’s Promise and Progress in the Public Sphere”, panel presentation at the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum 2021. 15 September 2021 (online) Decentralised technologies are emerging as an important feature in the next evolution of the digital economy, and the foundation on which many beneficial new products, services and markets could be built, from new forms of finance to novel governance models and means for social connection. At the same time, successive waves of blockchain innovation have demonstrated the need to fully reflect the legal rights and responsibilities of participants – and the expectations of wider society – in these networks, the activities they support and the governance structures that have sprung up around them. The lack of geographic boundaries in decentralised systems, and the global nature of digital markets more broadly, have made cooperation between countries crucial. Establishing approaches, practices and frameworks to guide blockchain towards responsible and trustworthy innovation is an imperative for business and a priority for governments – and an important precondition to widespread use in the future. The fifth edition of the OECD’s annual Global Blockchain Policy Forum brought together policy makers, innovators and thought leaders to address key challenges and promote action towards this goal, including with the launch the OECD Recommendation on Blockchain and Other DLT – the world’s first government-endorsed policy standard on blockchain technology. [...]

  September 15, 2021
• Conference Presentations, EventsTeaching and Training in Data EthicsReijers, W. “Teaching and Training in Data Ethics” presented at Teaching Data Science for Non-Data Scientists and Data Ethics for Non-Ethicists at the Hertie School, Berlin. 19-20 August 2021 This workshop, which is sponsored by APSIA, the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs, brings together academic instructors from data science and philosophy to address neglected issues on both sides of the data science curriculum. The workshop facilitates a knowledge exchange and aims to thereby improve teaching strategies, develop teaching materials and reflect on the topical priorities. All participants in the workshop teach their subject to outsiders of their field. But all are united in the belief that to train the next generation of data science practitioners and researchers, we need to develop ways of teaching data science and data ethics that integrate “the other side of the picture”. Over two afternoons, we will discuss how to teach applied ethics for non-ethicists and data science for non-data-scientists. We will focus on key materials and topics for both areas, scenarios, and case studies. Recap of the Workshop [...]

  August 20, 2021
• Conference Presentations, EventsLegal Challenges of NFTs as Applied to the Art WorldDe Filippi, P. “Legal Challenges of NFTs as Applied to the Art World” presented at EthCC 4 (Ethereum Community Conference). 22 July 2021 (Paris) [...]

  July 22, 2021
• Conference Presentations, EventsBlockchain is a Platypus: A New Theory of Rapid Technological EvolutionDe Filippi, P., Lane, A., Potts, J. “Blockchain is a Platypus: A New Theory of Rapid Technological Evolution” presented at the 18th ISS Conference organised by the International Joseph Schumpeter Society on “Schumpeterian perspective on Radical Change: Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Broad Societal Transformations”. 8-10 July 2021. [...]

  July 10, 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 Presentations, EventsThe Promises and Pitfalls of Platform Cooperative Governance: A Qualitative StudyMannan, M. (with Pek, S.) “The Promises and Pitfalls of Platform Cooperative Governance: A Qualitative Study”, paper presentation for International Co-operative Governance Symposium, Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Canada. 18 June 2021 (online) The 2021 International Co-operative Governance Symposium was an online gathering attended by over 100 delegates, including over 60 presenters from a dozen countries. The symposium discussed pressing issues in co-operative governance, with presentations on various co-operative models and practices from around the world. The symposium emphasized the co-op difference and alternatives to standard corporate governance approaches. The event also included debates on co-op professionalization, governance innovations, and ideal legislative and regulatory regimes. Recap here! [...]

  June 18, 2021