Decentralized Autonomous Organizations as Legal Persons : Evaluating the Legal Personhood of DAOs in Light of the Bundle Theory

Abstract

The proliferation of blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies has led to widespread experimentation with modes of operation that are predicated on decentralization. Among these innovations are so-called Decentralized Autonomous Organizations—essentially blockchain-native organizations whose operations are predicated on a high level of automation and whose functions are managed by a human collectivity leveraging some sort of decentralized governance model. These entities are steeped in novelty, for example with regard to their technological makeup, the context in which they operate, as well as the method of forming an intention based on which to operate. As such, they constitute a very unique, decidedly digital type of entity, whose ontology is quite vague. This thesis, then, aims to examine DAOs as novel entities that engage in legally relevant behaviour, focusing specifically on the question of whether or not they can be considered legal persons. This question is approached in light of Visa Kurki’s Bundle Theory of Legal Personhood, which provides quite a nuanced framework through which to examine the concept. Indeed, his theory brings this thesis to the conclusion that DAOs can, in fact, be considered legal persons, although there is still room for more nuance in the discussion, as there remains ambiguity in a term as wide as ‘DAO’ , as well as in the whole concept of legal personhood as applied to entities that tread the vague line between traditional