However, the security of a blockchain highly relies on a suitable technical set-up, especially with regard to the degree of distribution, the choice of the consensus protocol and the cryptographic tools used (Deloitte, 2017a, Berke, 2017). Firstly, the degree of distribution of network participants, or in other words, the concentration of mining resources in one economic or decision-making entity (e.g. company) can influence security. In theory, a company or state could own, operate or influence >51% of a given network’s nodes and dominate the proof-of-work consensus mechanism, thereby representing a security risk to the overall system.