Permissionlessness" is a term often used in association with public blockchains. In this glossary entry, we explore the origins, evolution, and coexisting uses and meanings of the term "permissionless" to contextualise it. We argue that a technosocial system is deemed permissionless if it is...

There is no one set definition for the phrase "ad hoc networks". The term refers to the ability for members of a network to establish a network connection between devices. Ad hoc networks are relevant both in technical terms of certain network infrastructures, as well as in terms of the social,...

Metaverse investor and writer Matthew Ball estimates the metaverse could be worth up to $30 trillion in the next decade (Knight, 2021). How “the Metaverse” is built and governed will determine societal outcomes in the near future and for generations to come. The Metaverse describes virtual...

Accountability refers to a relationship of responsibility, answerability, and enforceability between individuals and groups. In contrast to traditional institutions that rely on enforcement of accountability through traditional legal frameworks, blockchain systems rely on the "rule of code",...

Describing the attributes and characteristics has an important place in the ethnographic study of information infrastructure. Yet, decentralised information infrastructure does not have a clearly defined “ethnography”, by which to describe its unique attributes. This piece draws on...

Privacy is a quality relating to human data that is typically governed by legal principles or guidelines for how private entities should conduct in relation to user data. The idea in blockchain systems is that privacy principles can be established and enforced data through software code, to...

In an age where online systems are more important than ever, mis-application of digital infrastructures by governments erodes public trust and undermines legitimacy. This paper seeks to investigate the question of how governments can cooperate with civil society to build trust in the online...

The ultimate resilience is immortality. Blockchain communities have long-standing links with transhumanism through the cryptographers, cypherpunks, and extropians. Now, blockchain communities are actively embracing and funding life extension technologies. This embodiment of self-enhancing...

Between 5 and 7 June 2023, the BlockchainGov ERC Project (Grant No. 865856) organized a conference on "Blockchain Constitutionalism: The Role of Legitimacy in Polycentric Systems" at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute in Florence, Italy. Blockchain...

This report synthesizes the insights explored within the ERC BlockchainGov reading group on "Legitimacy in Blockchain," taking place bi-weekly from July 2021 until June 2022. The report investigates the role of legitimacy in blockchain systems from descriptive, conceptual, and normative...