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 traditiona
