TY - GEN
T1 - The Human Factor in Blockchain Governance
AU - Koning, Hans A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.
PY - 2026
Y1 - 2026
N2 - This paper examines the human factor in blockchain governance, inspired by the views of blockchain insiders and experts. This paper was motivated by the author’s drive to examine the role humans have in blockchain technology. Through a Delphi study, these experts were asked about the human factor in general and specifically in decision making and the role of the founder. After the interviews were completed, the responses were reviewed, coded, and analyzed, leading to a unique insight that would otherwise have been unavailable. This paper will show that there is a human factor in blockchain governance, which often manifests itself in a significant way, and off-chain. More importantly, the human factor is also necessary for the blockchain and its community to function. The human factor in decisions can also become problematic and needs to find a balance between presenting the right issues and having a fair representation. However, there is no standardized and uniform process for that. Becoming dependent on a specific group or person, such as a founder, can easily become problematic, trigger centralization, and should be avoided. However, respondents feel that if the blockchain is truly decentralized, then the human factor does not pose any problems.
AB - This paper examines the human factor in blockchain governance, inspired by the views of blockchain insiders and experts. This paper was motivated by the author’s drive to examine the role humans have in blockchain technology. Through a Delphi study, these experts were asked about the human factor in general and specifically in decision making and the role of the founder. After the interviews were completed, the responses were reviewed, coded, and analyzed, leading to a unique insight that would otherwise have been unavailable. This paper will show that there is a human factor in blockchain governance, which often manifests itself in a significant way, and off-chain. More importantly, the human factor is also necessary for the blockchain and its community to function. The human factor in decisions can also become problematic and needs to find a balance between presenting the right issues and having a fair representation. However, there is no standardized and uniform process for that. Becoming dependent on a specific group or person, such as a founder, can easily become problematic, trigger centralization, and should be avoided. However, respondents feel that if the blockchain is truly decentralized, then the human factor does not pose any problems.
KW - Blockchain
KW - Decentralization
KW - Delphi Study
KW - Fairness
KW - Governance
KW - Human Factor
KW - Participatory research
KW - Visionary paper
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105027158040
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=105027158040&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/978-3-032-05877-5_7
DO - 10.1007/978-3-032-05877-5_7
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:105027158040
SN - 9783032058768
T3 - Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems
SP - 69
EP - 78
BT - Blockchain and Applications, 7th International Congress
A2 - Pastor-Vargas, Rafael
A2 - Carrera, Albano
A2 - Molnár, Bálint
A2 - Lage, Óscar
A2 - Prieto, Javier
A2 - Nongaillard, Antoine
PB - Springer Nature Switzerland AG
T2 - 7th International Congress on Blockchain and Applications, BLOCKCHAIN 2025
Y2 - 25 July 2025 through 27 July 2025
ER -