Governance of Permissionless Blockchain Networks

Abstract

A permissionless blockchain network is a system of physically distributed computers running a copy of a shared ledger and using the same software rules that enable all network participants to “read, submit, and validate transactions” (Beck, Müller-Bloch, and King, 2018, p. 1022). A permissionless system’s accessibility stands in contrast to that of permissioned systems, in which a central authority pre-selects validators and potentially restricts viewing and submission rights (Krause, Natarajan, and Gradstein, 2017; Beck, Müller-Bloch, and King, 2018).