From Corporate Governance to Crypto-Governance

Abstract

In this paper I examine governance from a corporate perspective and then apply some of those ideas to blockchain governance. There is no need to re-discover or reinvent governance. The principles of governance have been established and understood for a long time – what is new is blockchain technology. The technical innovation associated with blockchain masks some commonalities with the industrial economy. Organisations in need of governance are a nexus of contracts. Blockchain applications as organisations are a nexus of smart contracts. Once this perspective is adopted, it is very clear that blockchain governance cannot simply be a strategy to decentralise and then vote as a group on all decisions. I then explain why a hypothetical blockchain foundation would have concentrated control and would be a non-profit organisation.