Decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs), operated on blockchains that strive for complete or almost full administrative autonomy, pose significant legal challenges. Covering a wide variety of topics and all fields of law, this volume's authors aim to contribute to the discussion that will shape any future DAO regulation.
The Lisbon Centre for Research in Private Law (CIDP)'s research project Lisbon DAO Observatory is on a mission to find answers to the questions regarding the legal challenges and the current legal state of decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) and similar arrangements that will help shape future legislative action. In April 2023, the project held an international conference on DAO regulation that gathered top-tier scholars, industry players and practitioners from all over the world to discuss how any prospective legislative intervention, recognition or regulation of DAOs should be crafted. This volume is the result of the knowledge shared and gained during this ground-breaking conference and includes discussions on the future form of regulation (direct legislative intervention, self-regulation or no regulation) as well as on major topics such as mandatory decentralisation, legal personality, governance structures, limited liability, plus crucial sectorial issues, including dispute resolution, civil liability, tax law and conflict of laws.
Table of contents:
Madalena Perestrelo de Oliveira/António Garcia Rolo Foreword: Clearing the Way for an Informed Discussion on the Future of DAO Regulation -
Madalena Perestrelo de Oliveira/Marta Boura DAOs and Mandatory Decentralisation: How to assess decentralisation when shaping regulation for DAOs -
Nathan Vandy Progressive Decentralization requires Progressive Regulation: Do DAOs require direct legislative intervention, self-regulation or no regulation? -
Henrik Axelsen/Johannes Rude Jensen/Omri Ross When is a DAO Decentralized? -
Florian Möslein/Daniel Ostrovski Legal personality of Decentralized Autonomous Organisations (DAOs): Privilege or Necessity? -
Biyan Mienert Limited Liability as Applied to DAOs -
Christopher Wray Organizational Structure and the Regulation of DAOs -
Florence Guillaume Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) Before State Courts. How can private international law keep up with global digital entities? -
Peder Østbye DAOs and Civil Liability. Some Policy Considerations -
João Serras de Sousa Decentralized autonomous organisations (DAOs) and knowledge attribution -
João Vieira dos Santos The Nature of the DAO: Transaction Costs, MiCA and a Specific Legal Framework -
Bianca Kremer/Kanye Ye Wang DeFi Attacks and the Role of DAOs -
António Rocha Mendes The Case for Taxing DAOs. Challenges, Methods and Impossibility -
Luís de Lima Pinheiro Laws Applicable to International Smart Contracts and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs)
