Introduction

Abstract This Introduction outlines the rise of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), highlighting how blockchains, smart contracts, and digital assets enable new forms of collective action beyond traditional corporate structures. It traces DAOs’ evolution from early experiments to today’s diverse applications, from finance to social initiatives, while emphasizing unresolved legal and governance challenges. The volume responds to the need for rigorous scholarship by uniting corporate law and technology law perspectives. With contributions spanning regulation, governance, dispute resolution, and theory, it provides an interdisciplinary foundation for academics, policymakers, and practitioners engaging with DAOs as programmable, transnational, and rapidly evolving organizational forms.