Crypto Assets, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations and Uncertainties of Distributed Ledger Technologies

The properties of the blockchain allow the creation of new organizational forms which, as we will see, mark the passage from goals centralized and top-down logic to so-called distributed networks, in which the participants (defined nodes) are in an equal relationship. To better understand the changes in the organizational design and in decision-making, which are close to the introduction of the blockchain, the article proposes to carry out an examination of the more complex and specific elements of organizational design in financial organizations, thanks to which we will be able to quickly understand the evolution of the different organization design approaches. The national and EU sector authorities are showing great interest in the phenomenon of crypto assets, making a significant contribution to the analysis that international institutions and scholars in the field have been undertaking for some time now to prevent dystonic forms of their use. Significant, in this regard, is the affirmation of a guideline that proposes its collocation among the modes of use of information technology in the banking and financial intermediation sectors: from credit to payment services, to advisory services. Cryptocurrencies - based, as mentioned above, on the decentralised validation of transactions (Blockchain or Distributed Ledger Technology) - are part of this regulating and operational context, which is why some judges have included them in the category of financial instruments, as their essence, according to administrative jurisprudence, can be traced back to «means of exchange for the purchase of goods and services or for investment purposes». The authors in the article also describe the role of organizational design and the importance of the Decentralized Autonomous Organization, considering advantages, disadvantages, and the effective impact for human resource management practices. After that also several aspects of the Blockchain, crypto assets and strategic choices in financial organizations, by a detailed analysis of the role of the national sector authorities and of the Distributed Ledger Technologies in the field of financial services. The article at the end tries to make the point on new challenges and opportunities for the business contexts