Blockchain governance and governance via blockchain: decentralized utopia or centralized dystopia?

Abstract Is blockchain the technological blueprint of a utopian decentralized future or a dystopian centralized one? In search of an answer to this question, this article juxtaposes blockchain governance and the state’s utilization of blockchain to govern citizens. This juxtaposition reveals that whilst being a disruptive general-purpose technology emerging from mistrust of centralized institutions, blockchain could also be the vehicle delivering centralized state surveillance and behavioral control. This juxtaposition further reveals that in contrast to the expectations of blockchain enthusiasts, states’ approach to blockchain does not appear to be entirely antagonistic but it consists of a tripartite strategy of appropriation, regulation and rejection depending on which satisfies the state interests in a given context. As most constructs of governance via blockchain are still at an embryonic stage, it is difficult to reach definitive conclusions about what the future holds for blockchain’s impact on citizenship. Nevertheless, this article argues that it is necessary to follow blockchain-based governance critically to identify whether there will be a further divergence between the two worlds of blockchain.