ABSTRACT
Blockchain technology is not just about digital currencies but even more about group coordination via software. Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) are a broad organizational form for decentralized, blockchain-based coordination towards shared objectives. The concept of DAOs is driven by an ideology of self-governance through technological infrastructure. Drawing on the Science & Technology Studies conception of “vulnerability,” this chapter offers an analytical approach to identifying DAO vulnerabilities across multiple dimensions termed “DAO Vulnerability Mapping.” Vulnerability mapping is not only for analytical purposes but also to identify, prioritize, and address vulnerabilities towards improving resilience. DAO vulnerabilities can occur along social, technical, legal, economic, and environmental dimensions, and can emerge from inside a DAO (endogenously), or from outside a DAO (exogenously). This approach is pertinent in socio-technical contexts, such as blockchain-based organization, where social and technical dynamics are inextricably linked. In this chapter, these multidisciplinary dimensions of DAO vulnerabilities are explored in practice via a qualitative case study of a “liquid staking” DAO called Lido DAO. DAO vulnerability mapping is both a conceptual analytical tool and a methodological approach for studying and understanding digitally mediated organizations, as well as the novel practices of those engaging in Decentralized Autonomous Organizations.
