Navigating Organisational Paradoxes in Blockchain Communities

While many blockchain projects, and their associated cryptocurrencies, rise to prominence quickly, few manage to sustain long-term resilience. Despite blockchain protocol’s participatory nature, the community features required for ongoing group engagement have been largely overlooked so far. By exploring underlying community-related tensions, the study aims to shed light on how competing organisational demands may shape the longevity and cohesion of blockchain communities. Applying the organisational paradox lens, and using 26 semi-structured interviews, we explore the organisational features that shape users’ engagement in their blockchain group. We identified the coexistence of conflicting organisational values rooted in community growth, governance structure, and communication features. Maintaining a careful balance, rather than attempting to resolve these organisational tensions, supports user retention, whereas leaning too heavily toward either extreme may hinder engagement. This study is the first to offer a user-centred exploration of organisational paradoxes in blockchain community building.