| Title: |
A workers' inquiry in Decentralised Autonomous Organisations: Insights and policies to align blockchain-based work with the solidarity economy |
| Authors: |
Merk, Tara; Lotti, Laura; Houde, Nick; Mannan, Morshed |
| Contributors: |
Centre d'Études et de Recherches de Sciences Administratives et Politiques (CERSA); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Cujas; Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas-Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas; Independent Researcher; The University of Edinburgh; European Project: 865856,ERC-2019-COG,ERC-2019-COG,BlockchainGov(2021) |
| Source: |
ISSN: 2197-6775 ; Internet Policy Review ; https://hal.science/hal-05498231 ; Internet Policy Review, 2026, ⟨10.14763/2026.1.2053⟩. |
| Publisher Information: |
CCSD; Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society |
| Publication Year: |
2026 |
| Subject Terms: |
Solidarity economy; Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs); Labour; Blockchain technology; Workers' inquiry Issue; [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Description: |
International audience ; Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs) are blockchain-based entities that enable decentralised coordination through self-executing code. Although often associated with financial speculation and crypto-libertarianism, DAOs have also been imagined as democratic, community-owned infrastructures aligned with the solidarity economy. This article explores whether DAOs can be considered solidarity economy organisations in practice by evaluating the type of working conditions they produce. Based on ethnographic research with 38 DAO contributors, rooted in workers' inquiry, we examine the extent to which DAOs produce working conditions consistent with solidarity economy values, such as decent and stable employment. Our findings show that while many DAO contributors aspire for DAOs to be solidarity economy vehicles akin to cooperatives and mutualist organisations, in practice, DAO labour falls short of this vision. We identify key areas -psychosocial security, financial predictability, and regulatory clarity -that must be addressed for DAOs to realise their solidarity economy potential. Several proposals, generated through research activities with participants, are outlined to improve key issues. This article contributes to ongoing debates on the potential of DAOs and provides the first comprehensive empirical study into working conditions in DAOs. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement//865856/EU/In Blockchain We Trust(Less): The Future of Distributed Governance/BlockchainGov |
| DOI: |
10.14763/2026.1.2053 |
| Availability: |
https://hal.science/hal-05498231; https://hal.science/hal-05498231v1/document; https://hal.science/hal-05498231v1/file/policyreview-2026-1-2053.pdf; https://doi.org/10.14763/2026.1.2053 |
| Rights: |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ; info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.10C7F1FF |
| Database: |
BASE |