Designing Digital Sovereignty: A Framework for Digital Economies Based on Cryptoeconomic Systems

The concentration of market power among technology giants in digital economies has created unprecedented challenges for competition, innovation, and democratic governance, highlighting the necessity for digital sovereignty. This work addresses the fragmented understanding of foundational components required to build sovereign digital economies based on cryptoeconomic systems. We employ a systematic literature review, analyzing 40 high-quality publications to synthesize core building blocks for digital sovereignty in digital economies and validated our findings through semi-structured interviews. This work introduces a comprehensive conceptual framework that categorizes foundational building blocks into clearly defined layers and components, bridging technical, economic, regulatory, and governance aspects. By systematically identifying these building blocks and linking them to digital sovereignty principles, this work provides actionable insights for strategic decision-making and practical implementation challenges. This helps to advance the discourse on digital sovereignty by offering a structured approach to understanding and implementing cryptoeconomic systems as viable alternatives to current centralized digital infrastructures.