United States of America: Issued ruling in civil lawsuit on liability for decentralized autonomous organizations (Sarcuni v. bZx DAO)

On 27 March 2023, a US federal district court in California issued a ruling finding that decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) may be considered general partnerships if certain criteria are met, potentially making all DAO members jointly and severally liable for any claims against a DAO. The case was originally brought by parties affected by a cybersecurity breach leading to the theft of cryptocurrencies stored on the defendant DAO's blockchain protocol. In this case, the DAO was comprised by holders of a specific cryptocurrency issued by the DAO.