Definition ∞ Developer residency refers to the physical location or jurisdiction where a blockchain project’s core development team or individual contributors are situated. The geographic placement of developers can influence regulatory compliance, legal liability, and project governance. It affects how a decentralized protocol might be perceived by various international authorities. This factor is increasingly relevant for decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) seeking legal clarity.
Context ∞ Developer residency is a growing point of discussion in the evolving regulatory landscape for decentralized projects, particularly concerning jurisdictional oversight. A key debate involves whether a truly decentralized project can be tied to a specific legal residence. Future developments may include frameworks that address the distributed nature of global developer communities.