Blockchains: Fusing Platform Functionalities Under the CAP Tradeoff

Adopting a blockchain structure -- the process of tokenization -- is broadly applicable for digital platforms, but this technology adoption isn't universally beneficial. We argue that blockchains can be seen as representing a new category of digital platforms: they qualify as a novel organizational form that fuses the functionalities of conventional platform categories -- knowledge community, crowdsourcing, and crowdfunding -- onto a focal platform (i.e., a centralized virtual organization), which corresponds to integrating the organization of essential resources for business operations. Yet, blockchains and conventional platforms are subject to the same CAP (consistency, availability, and partition tolerance) tradeoff that constrains digital systems' functionalities. The implementation of blockchains thus inevitably entails costs, and tokenization is neither a panacea for platform upgrade nor recognizing one-size-fits-many strategies. We explain cases where blockchains can help resolve conventional platforms' limitations. Then, through the new lens on blockchains, we visit several classic tensions in organization research. In a case study, we apply the established perspective on blockchains to analyze the crypto carbon project Klima DAO which has drawn substantial recent attention. We last demonstrate applying the CAP functionality tradeoff in further discussions around digital platforms.