Commoning with blockchain. The Ğ1 / Duniter case

authors

  • Malafosse Maxime
  • Pascal Amandine
  • Amabile Serge

keywords

  • Commons-Based Peer Production CBPP
  • Commons
  • Blockchain
  • Ostrom
  • Money
  • Création monétaire
  • Governance
  • DLT
  • Distributed ledger technology

document type

ART

abstract

The rise of the internet and peer-to-peer networks have fostered the formation of communities around new collective projects that bring Ostrom’s (1990) work on the commons back to the forefront. From this perspective, a new field of specific research suggests that blockchain technology can support commons governance. Studies are still rare and remain very theoretical. The objective of this article is to study the actual use of this technology in the process of commoning. To do so, this paper relies on the case study of the Ğ1, a French free/libre cryptocurrency. Our results detail the governance arrangements of a new type of commons developed by members of the Ğ1 libre currency; the socio-technical system of money creation. In doing so, this case highlights the attributes of the Duniter blockchain specifically developed for the needs of the Ğ1 ecosystem. It also outlines the role of the blockchain in supporting self-organization and the bundles of rights that members have put in place to allocate the universal dividend.

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