Decentralised digital security (book): Pre-order now!
As I have shared, my first solo-authored book is coming out in late April 2026, sharing critical insights on the blockchain security landscape, actors, and dynamics.
The book is now available for pre-order at Open Access rates, meaning heavily discounted for hardcover and free e-book, thanks to a generous grant from Ethereum Foundation’s ETH Rangers security program. (NOTE: hard copies can be pre-ordered in Europe. US/Canada is slated for 28 March. Australia E-book should be out April 28).
It is narrative style, including tales from behind the code of blockchain security, making it accessible to a wide audience.
Abstract:
Security underpins digital life. Yet in decentralised systems, it has no central operator.
This book enters the uneasy world of blockchain security: war rooms assembled across time zones, anonymous white hat (’for good’) hackers racing to patch vulnerabilities before funds vanish, protocol developers debating whether intervention betrays the very principles their systems were built to protect. Born from public key cryptography and libertarian aspirations, blockchain infrastructures promise trustless coordination. In practice, they endure through paranoia, vigilance, improvisation, and cooperation.
Drawing on immersive digital ethnography, the book traces how security is organised where authority is fluid and legitimacy contested. Persistent insecurity becomes not an exception but a governing condition, shaping alliances between hackers, exchanges, investigators, and nation-state authorities. From volunteer responders tracing stolen funds to North Korean state-sponsored exploits, securing blockchain systems reveals an ecosystem where code, grassroots security coalitions, and geopolitics converge.
What emerges is a model of security coordination forged in infrastructures designed to resist centralised control. At a time when cyber insecurity is structural, the book advances an account of how decentralised systems are reshaping the architecture of security governance.
What some of my heroes from academia and blockchain security are saying:
‘Nabben reveals the secrets of keeping decentralised technologies like cryptocurrencies secure against widespread and fast-changing threats -- and what all of us can learn from their victories and failures. Smart, clear and rich in detail and insider knowledge, this is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand digital security now.’
‘It has been a privilege to welcome Dr Kelsie Nabben as a member of the BlockchainGov research team during her Max Weber Fellowship at the European University Institute. Kelsie’s book is a timely and important contribution to the study of blockchain governance. Drawing from conversations on the legitimacy, polycentricity, and resilience of blockchain networks, she employs ethnographic methods to investigate how security is actually produced in these networks. Her book illustrates how blockchain governance is a product of informal norms, structured coalitions, and negotiated interventions that sit at the intersection of technical architecture and social organisation. This book is an essential read for scholars, practitioners, and regulators seeking to understand the evolving architecture of digital trust.’
“The security of the Ethereum ecosystem does not rely on a single authority, but rather vast distributed expertise. This book provides an account of how decentralized communities in the Ethereum ecosystem coordinate, respond to crises, and improve security practices. I am proud to have been part of supporting its publication which helps broaden understanding of these efforts and shape the next generation of security experts.”
- Fredrik Svantes, Protocol Security Lead, Ethereum Foundation
There are so many other people to thank (as I do in the book) - including, but not limited to, Professor Ellie Rennie, Jeanne, the Security Alliance, Professor Jeffrey Yost, Dr Ben Carver, European University Institute Max Weber Fellowship program, and BlockchainGov/CNRS. Research for this paper was funded by the Australian Research Council-funded Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (“The Use of Automated Knowledge in Society” project).