Assessing the potential of decentralised autonomous organisations in Lithuania

Problem

Context

Decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) are blockchain-based organisational structures whose rules of governance, decision-making and/or execution are fully or partly written in software code. Decisions are made by DAO members voting online, and once a decision is adopted (e.g. to transfer funds from the common treasury), the code executes it automatically – without a manager, bank or other intermediary. At EU level, the DAO is not a legally defined concept and is not used in EU legislation, although it was discussed in 2022 during the preparation of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in the European Parliament ECON Committee’s report.

Organisations behind digital products, blockchain protocols and digital infrastructure account for the largest economic scale in the DAO ecosystem. Of the 202 DAOs analysed in this project, 96 fall into this category. Their treasuries amounted to approximately USD 10.6 billion in 2025, and users paid the 25 DAOs with the largest treasuries approximately USD 6.1 billion in service fees.

These DAOs establish their legal structures mostly outside the EU: 30% in the Cayman Islands, 17% in Switzerland and 14% in the United States. Only 3% are established in EU Member States, and none in Lithuania.

Challenge

The place where a DAO is registered does not necessarily coincide with the place where value is created for the state. Jobs, taxes and expertise often arise not in the DAO itself, but in its affiliated operating companies and service providers. For example, the revenue of Aave, one of the largest DAOs, reached approximately USD 152 million in 2025, yet taxes are paid only by its operating company in the United Kingdom.

Lithuania has not yet assessed what opportunities DAOs could offer the country and what risks they could pose:

• whether DAO activity can create real economic and reputational benefits for the country;
• what risks DAO activity could pose (e.g. money laundering or damage to the country’s reputation) and how to manage them;
• whether and under what conditions DAOs can operate in Lithuania, and why DAO founders choose foreign jurisdictions;
• whether changes to the legal, tax and regulatory environment are needed to realise these benefits and manage the risks, and which of them are possible within the limits set by EU law (MiCA, AMLR, DAC8).

Goal

The goal of the project is to assess what benefits and risks for-profit DAOs could create for Lithuania – both directly (e.g. jobs, taxes) and indirectly (e.g. expertise, the country’s reputation) – and, where needed, to provide recommendations for improving the legal framework.

Participants

2026/27

Giedrė Gižaitė

2026/27

Jokūbas Meidus