Abstract The current academic landscape is often shaped by political and financial influences, restricting access to education and compromising research independence. To address these challenges, we introduce “FreeUniversity.dao”, a university model grounded in the principles of a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). FreeUniversity.dao emphasizes academic freedom, openness, and equitable access to education, leveraging blockchain and DeFi technologies to establish a transparent and sustainable framework for global learning and research. It envisions a politically neutral and corruption-free governance model that prioritizes transparency, fairness, and accessibility. Decision-making processes are designed to be participatory, democratic, rewarding merits and contributions, and involving the community in all major decisions, including rule changes and further developments. For traditional university institutions FreeUniversity.dao offers a migration path to DAO-based structures. While this paper does not present a fully realized DAO design, it outlines the core concepts, coordination challenges, and foundational elements required to build such a system. It aims to be a starting point for further exploration and discussion about the future of academic governance. An example workflow illustrates how the DAO could work in practice and motivates how current processes can be improved to reduce interventions that could jeopardize the integrity of scientific research.
Pri razvoju decentraliziranih aplikacij (dApps) se tradicionalni razvojni procesi pogosto izkažejo za nezadostne. Tovrstne rešitve zahtevajo večji poudarek na tehničnih, varnostnih in uporabniških vidikih kakovosti aplikacij, kot smo jih sicervajeni pri razvoju klasičnih rešitev. Ker je spreminjanje pametnih pogodb po namestitvi v omrežje verig blokov zahtevno oziroma nemogoče, sta temeljito testiranje ter presoja programske kode ključnega pomena za uspešen razvoj tovrstnih rešitev. Optimizacija stroškov goriva, nujna za izvrševanje programov v javnih omrežjih, predstavlja enega ključnih razvojnih izzivov, ki ga je potrebnoustrezno obravnavati. Poleg tega specifično okolje omrežij veriženja blokov zahteva ustrezne ukrepe za obvladovanje tveganj povezanih z ranljivostmi aplikacij in morebitnimi povezanimi finančnimi izgubami. Nespremenljivost, stroški goriva in zagotavljanje varnosti so le nekateri izmed ključnih razvojnih izzivov, ki jih je treba uspešno nasloviti pri izgradnji kakovostnih in stabilnih decentraliziranih aplikacij. Prispevek obravnava izzive, sodobne pristope in strategije razvoja decentraliziranih aplikacij ter podaja priporočila za njihov zanesljivejši in učinkovitejši razvoj, s čimer naslavlja ključne izzive uvajanja tehnologij veriženja blokov v industrijska okolja ter razvoja pametnih pogodb. Poseben poudarek je namenjen pametnim pogodbam, ki temeljijo na omrežju Ethereum.
This paper examines the perceived risks and challenges associated with the adoption of cryptocurrencies. Using qualitative interviews with stakeholders across the fintech and blockchain sectors, the study identifies major deterrents including volatility, regulatory uncertainty, cybersecurity threats, and lack of consumer protection. The findings reveal how both emotional and cognitive perceptions of risk hinder broader public adoption. Many participants highlighted the influence of media sensationalism and anecdotal experiences, which amplify fears related to scams and technical complexity. Furthermore, perceptions varied significantly across user groups, with institutional investors focusing on legal ambiguity and operational risks, while retail users emphasized usability issues and fear of irreversible losses. Understanding these perceptions is critical to creating strategies for building user confidence, promoting safe practices, and ensuring sustainable growth in the cryptocurrency space. The study recommends the development of transparent regulatory guidelines, improved cybersecurity standards, and more user-friendly onboarding experiences. By addressing the psychological and structural barriers simultaneously, stakeholders can facilitate a more inclusive and secure environment for cryptocurrency adoption. This research contributes to the growing body of work examining behavioral finance in digital economies and underscores the importance of human-centric approaches in technology diffusion.
The fastest growing and most widespread payment and investment tool in the world is virtual assets, including cryptocurrencies. The concept of electronic money, Ecash, first emerged in 1983, and in 1989, the first electronic payment tool, DigiCash, began to be used for micropayments in the United States. Since then, the cryptocurrency Bitcoin has emerged, and in just over a decade, it has become a cryptocurrency with a market value of 1.8 trillion US dollars, accounting for more than 60% of the global cryptocurrency market. Therefore, we aimed to study how to assess the value of cryptocurrencies in this market, and currently, there are few provisions on valuation methods in the International Valuation Standards and other legal documents. According to our research and imagination, the researcher believes that it is appropriate to use different approaches to measure the value of the asset depending on its type.
Michael D. Norman, Simon Brown, Mallesh M. Pai, Laurence Smith
This paper presents a novel staking coopetition design aimed at incentivizing decentralization and continuous growth of economic security within a proof-of-stake system. Staking rewards follow a nonlinear mapping relative to stake size. This affords the highest effective yields to smaller operators, fueling network growth and giving users an incentive to delegate their stake to smaller operators. This prevents the preferential accrual and centralization of stake seen in popular blockchains such as Ethereum, where popular liquid staking protocols control large fractions of the total stake thereby having outsized potential impacts on the economic security of the protocol. The proposed system addresses key challenges such as Sybil attacks and offers a comprehensive framework for future research and implementation. We introduce innovative mechanisms and gamification elements, to enhance user engagement and provide transparency in emissions.
What happens to innovation when the founder never shows up? This study reframes one of the most romanticized elements of entrepreneurship—the visionary founder—as a potential bottleneck to resilience, accountability, and governance in digital-native organizations. Focusing on Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), we explore how startups can operate without a central leader, and what that means for the future of organizational design. Using a structured literature synthesis (n = 127 articles, PRISMA protocol) and multi-case comparative analysis of prominent DAO failures, we identify systemic governance vulnerabilities—ranging from role confusion and voting fatigue to social trust collapses. In response, we propose the Conflict-Proof DAO Model, a three-phase circular governance framework built around pre-crisis safeguards, active crisis protocols, and post-crisis institutionalization. Unlike prior models, this framework does not assume stability as the default—it assumes conflict. And it treats governance not as a bureaucratic add-on, but as a core infrastructure layer in founderless systems. Our findings suggest that resilience in decentralized startups is not a byproduct of automation or community goodwill, but a direct outcome of intentional design. This paper contributes to the emerging discourse on post-founder entrepreneurship, governance-as-code, and antifragile organizational models. For researchers, it offers a replicable framework for analyzing DAO failure patterns. For builders and policymakers, it presents a roadmap for surviving disruption—without waiting for a hero to fix things.
Blockchain technology establishes trust among participants through technical means. However, some malicious nodes may compromise this trust through short-range reorganization attacks for their interest. This paper develops an agent-based model to systematically analyze Proof-of-Stake short-range reorganization attacks, where three types of agents interact through distributed consensus mechanisms with ex-ante, fine-grained, and ex-post reorganization attack strategies. Through rigorous simulation of agent decision-making dynamics, we identify that: (1) Compared with ex-ante reorganization, the ratio of malicious nodes required for ex-post reorganization is much larger. (2) Increasing the node number increases the difficulty of ex-ante and ex-post reorganization. (3) The number of nodes affects ex-post reorganization attacks more significantly than ex-ante attacks. (4) Fine-grained reorganization significantly reduces attack difficulty
The design of Enterprise-Wide Financial Architectures (EWFA) is crucial for ensuring financial efficiency, regulatory compliance, risk management, and digital transformation in complex organizations.The paper explores theoretical frameworks, implementation strategies, real-world applications, and emerging innovations shaping modern financial architectures.Key theoretical models such as TOGAF, COSO, and Basel III provide foundational principles for structuring financial systems, while advancements in AI, blockchain, cloud computing, and cybersecurity are redefining financial operations.The paper presents case studies from the banking, manufacturing, and government sectors, demonstrating the impact of AI-driven risk management, blockchain-enabled financial transparency, and ERP-based financial integrations.Additionally, future trends indicate that AI-powered predictive analytics, blockchainbased decentralized finance (DeFi), and quantum-resistant cryptographic security will play a vital role in securing financial transactions and optimizing financial decision-making.Organizations that integrate these cutting-edge technologies into their financial architectures will enhance efficiency, security, and compliance while gaining a competitive edge.This study provides a comprehensive roadmap for the successful design, implementation, and optimization of enterprise-wide financial architectures in the rapidly evolving financial landscape.
The purpose of this article is to explore the key aspects of cryptocurrency exchange systems, including their role in storage, exchange, and token staking. By examining the characteristics and features of these exchanges, cryptocurrency users can make informed decisions about how to allocate and store their funds effectively.There are two main types of cryptocurrency exchanges: centralized exchanges (CEX) and decentralized exchanges (DEX). Centralized exchanges are governed by a central authority that manages user funds, providing a more streamlined and user-friendly experience. However, this centralization creates security risks, as users must trust the exchange with their assets. If the platform is compromised or experiences technical failures, users may suffer significant losses. Moreover, centralized exchanges often require identity verification and other regulatory procedures, which can be a barrier for those who prioritize privacy or anonymity in their transactions. On the other hand, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) operate without a central governing body, allowing users to retain control over their funds and trade directly with each other using smart contracts on a blockchain. This decentralization reduces reliance on intermediaries and enhances privacy, but it also presents challenges. DEXs tend to be more complex to use and may require greater technical expertise.Future research should examine how various groups – ranging from individual investors to large financial institutions – are incorporating cryptocurrency exchanges into their financial strategies.
Abstract Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) are attracting interest from various disciplines, particularly business and economics, and computer science. However, much like the parable of the blind men and the elephant, where each observer sees only part of the phenomenon, DAO research has largely remained fragmented across disciplines, limiting a comprehensive understanding of the potential of DAOs. This paper investigates to which extent DAO scholarship has achieved meaningful interdisciplinary integration. We address this question through an analysis of knowledge flows between Business and Economics and Computer Science, using citation network analysis, topic modelling, and outlet analysis. We find that while DAOs generate vibrant interdisciplinary discourse, the interactions remain predominantly applied and case-driven, with limited theoretical integration. By mapping interdisciplinary exchanges, we highlight key gaps and opportunities for greater synthesis across fields. We argue that strengthening the alignment between organizational and technical insights is crucial for advancing DAO research and fostering a more cohesive interdisciplinary framework.
Abstract This study examines Pakistani citizens’ behavioral intentions toward the adoption of cryptocurrency as a digital currency. Cryptocurrency refers to a form of currency that exists in digital or virtual form and relies on cryptography to ensure the security of transactions and regulate the generation of additional units. Cryptocurrencies have the potential to disrupt the global financial system. Cryptocurrency is a viable option for decentralized and secure transactions, offering enhanced transparency and lowering dependence on conventional financial institutions. The authors collected data from potential cryptocurrency customers or investors. Data were collected from Karachi (Pakistan). The study was conducted with the help of the diffusion of innovation theory (DOI), employing all its components (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability). The DOI model statements were modified and adapted to satisfy the requirements of this study. This empirical research report concludes that relative advantage (financial incentives, technology advancement, global accessibility, privacy and security, and P2P nature), compatibility (User-friendliness, Integration with existing systems, compatibility with digital lifestyles), and complexity (ease of use and mass adoption) contribute to the adoption. Trailability (lack of familiarity and risk aversion) and observability (limited exposure, lack of social proof, and negative stigma) are unrelated to customer behavior toward cryptocurrencies. In all these contexts, cryptocurrency adoption can enhance value co-creation. Finally, this study provides valuable insights for stakeholders.
Florian Spychiger, Michael Lustenberger, Lukas Küng
This chapter provides insights about Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) and their role as a self-governing and transparent form of organization based on blockchain technology while discussing the most recent developments and research of decision-making within DAOs. After an introduction to DAOs, describing basic elements and designs, the second part of this chapter will focus on governance aspects and describe how decision-making is implemented from the proposal process to voting and execution in DAOs. By discussing some issues and challenges of these decision-making processes that can be observed in practice, this chapter gives an overview on different voting mechanisms in DAOs that try to tackle some of these issues and challenges with different technical implementations. Overall, the chapter provides a better understanding for DAOs and summarizes main insights and key aspects for future research and practice.
The cryptocurrency market experiences frequent price changes since it is held mostly as a speculative asset by holders. Terms like cryptocurrency spring, winter, or summer are used to describe a relatively longer persistent period of price movement with a clear overall trend in the cryptocurrency market. This paper examines the business cycle duration of the cryptocurrency market by applying simple linear detrending approaches to 14 major cryptocurrencies. It is observed that most coins have two complete business cycles and a single complete business cycle duration ranges from 38 to 1667 days. The mean and median duration of a full business cycle are approximately 866 and 926 days respectively.
Abstract This chapter examines decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) through two theoretical lenses: the theory of the firm and Elinor Ostrom’s institutional analysis framework. It argues that DAOs’ diverse organizational structures preclude broad generalizations about their economic and institutional nature. Some DAOs implement hierarchical arrangements characteristic of firms, others adopt different organizational models. The use of smart contracts does not definitively determine whether DAOs should be classified as contractual, firm-like, or as hybrid arrangements. The chapter critically examines the concepts of autonomy and decentralization in DAOs, revealing them as aspirational rather than fully realized characteristics. This analysis contributes to the legal scholarly discourse by providing a nuanced understanding of DAOs’ organizational nature and challenging simplistic categorizations of these emerging entities. It also assists practitioners in analyzing and developing the structure of particular DAOs.
Designing automated market makers (AMMs) for prediction markets on combinatorial securities over large outcome spaces poses significant computational challenges. Prior research has primarily focused on combinatorial prediction markets within specific set systems (e.g., intervals, permutations). We introduce a framework for designing AMMs on arbitrary set systems by building a novel connection to the range query problem in computational geometry. This connection enables the analysis of computational complexity and the design of efficient AMMs. We first demonstrate the equivalence between price queries and trade updates under the popular combinatorial logarithmic market scoring rule market and the range query and range update problem. Building on this equivalence, we construct sublinear time algorithms when the VC dimension of the set system is bounded and show the non-existence of such algorithms for unbounded VC dimension cases. We then extend this approach to AMMs for combinatorial prediction markets with quadratic and power scoring rules. Finally, we show that the multi-resolution market design can be naturally integrated into the partition-tree scheme. Additionally, we introduce the combinatorial swap operation problem for automated market makers in decentralized finance and show that it can be efficiently reduced to range update problems.
This study examines the determinants impacting the adoption of cryptocurrencies for exchange. Through a quantitative approach, data from 104 respondents were gathered via an internet-based survey. Employing a Likert scale, the study examined the relationship between financial literacy, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and willingness to adopt cryptocurrencies. Results revealed that financial literacy did not directly correlate with the willingness to adopt cryptocurrencies, while perceived usefulness and ease of use exhibited a positive association with adoption. Notably, the present study highlighted the reliance on perceived financial literacy rather than actual levels. It emphasized the necessity of improving the accessibility and applicability of cryptocurrencies to encourage their adoption. The implications of this study are pertinent to policymakers and businesses venturing into cryptocurrency integration. Understanding the influencers of cryptocurrency adoption, especially perceived utility and ease of use, can inform strategic approaches to foster adoption of cryptocurrencies.
Objetivo do estudo: Investigar as redes sociais formadas e a produção científica do tema Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) divulgada nos periódicos científicos indexados na base de dados EBSCO.Metodologia/Abordagem: Utilizou-se as técnicas de Análise de Redes Sociais e da Revisão Sistemática da Literatura em 11 estudos encontrados.Originalidade/Relevância: Investigar o tema Decentralized Autonomous Organization, que ainda é nascente na literatura científica global.Principais resultados: Estudo sobre DAO ainda embrionário na academia; Alex Norta foi o autor mais profícuo; ACM Computing Surveys foi a revista científica que conseguiu agregar mais autores; as instituições: EDHEC Business School, Jiaotong University, University of New Mexico e Soochow University ficaram em relevo; os países: EUA, China, Taiwan e França ficaram em evidência; blockchain, governance, smart contracts, decentralized finance, investment, cryptocurrencies e distributed ledger technology foram as palavras-chave mais relevantes; os temas mais abordados foram: blockchain e governança.Contribuições teóricas/Metodológicas: Conclui-se de maneira geral uma visão panorâmica do tema DAO na literatura científica internacional, emergindo sua produção científica por meio da formação das redes de colaboração e, mediante uma revisão sistemática de literatura, contribuindo assim para gerar dados, informações e conhecimentos contemporâneos sobre a DAO, podendo com isso auxiliar no surgimento de novos estudos similares a este, e, ou sobretudo, na criação de insights para o alargamento da produção de pesquisas científicas sobre a DAO e seus temas correlatos, possibilitando com isso no seu crescimento como assunto hot-topic na literatura científica global, como também, no meio empresarial.
Abstract Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) promise to be an incubator for a regenerative, mutualist, and democratic economy. But if business is no longer done in firms and workers are neither employed nor managed – what else? This paper argues that a new production architecture inevitably involves an uncomfortable look at the idea of “business” itself, requiring us to reconsider deeply ingrained ideas of scale, ownership, and control. Here, you will find three provocations to institutionally reimagine DAOs for a planetary-conscious future. Bear with me.