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Angela Walch
St. Mary's University School of Law
2016
The Fiduciaries of Public Blockchains

This paper examines the governance of public blockchains by analyzing the de facto power exercised by core software developers and dominant transaction verifiers, and evaluates whether their roles resemble those of legal fiduciaries. It outlines arguments for and against treating these actors as fiduciaries, highlights governance risks revealed by recent blockchain disputes, and identifies unresolved questions around scope, accountability, and enforcement.