Blockchain governance

Abstract

Blockchain is probably best known as a technology that underpins bitcoin cryptocurrency, taking records (e.g., confirmed financial transactions) and placing them into 'blocks', which are linked to prior blocks - forming a chronological 'chain' of blocks. However, bitcoin blockchain is only one instantiation of blockchain technology and there exist a few qualitative analyses addressing instantiations of blockchain technology. The aim of this study was two-fold: 1) to understand the difference between bitcoin and blockchain; 2) to delineate the need (and role) of governance in blockchain technology. First, fundamental relationships (and differences) between bitcoin and blockchain are presented. Second, drawing on societal blockchain technology concerns, a key element (i.e., governance) and its role in shaping blockchain technology is suggested. This research concludes with possible areas of research (and research questions) that can enable realisation of blockchain governance along the areas philosophical, theoretical, axiological, methodological, axiomatic, method and application dimensions.