A Deep Dive on DAOs
It’s the norm in crypto for certain topics to capture the whole community’s attention at once and that is the case for DAOs right now. There’s a lot of hype to sift through but that doesn't mean there’s not a huge amount of innovation going on as well.
In fact, DAOs could be the vehicle through which all capital and labor are coordinated in a Web 3.0 world. So, let’s dig a little deeper into this important trend.
What is a DAO?
As mentioned previously in The Newbies Guide to Web 3.0, DAOs are a Web 3.0 amalgamation of communities, corporations and cooperatives.
More specifically, the acronym stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organization which, as it sounds, is a group that coordinates its activities in a peer-to-peer manner without any need for a central authority.
DAOs exist on blockchain networks and are coordinated via smart contracts. They are made up of crypto natives who have chosen to use the decentralized structure of a DAO, rather than a traditional structure like a Limited Liability Company (LLC).
The benefits of DAOs
Each DAO has its own goals, but there are some common benefits across all of them.
Global collaboration
Just as blockchain networks allow anyone to participate in a new financial system that is open and permissionless, DAOs allow you to collaborate with anyone around the world without limits.
Capital coordination
DAOs usually have a common treasury, which is spent to meet its aims and objectives. In this way, they enable participants to pool their capital with others in order to have a greater impact.
Flat structure
DAOs lack the hierarchical design of traditional organizations. Instead, DAOs usually have a flat structure, are coordinated using smart contracts and stick to the principle of ‘code is law’.
The DAO Landscape
At present, some of the most common areas that DAOs focus on are investing, collectibles, culture and media, with a few examples described below.
FWB
FWB or Friends With Benefits describes itself as ‘the ultimate cultural membership’ and has been designed as a community in which Web3 creators can come together.
SeedClub
SeedClub is an investment DAO that supports tokenized communities. It includes an accelerator and studio for launching and scaling promising social token projects.
JUMP
JUMP is a media-related DAO for those working in advertising, branding and the Web 3.0 creator economy. Benefits include meetups, events and access to Web 3.0 leaders.
How Do I Join a DAO?
The first thing to do is understand the DAO landscape and assess whether there’s one that matches your goals and ambitions. If you find one, you have a couple of options.
If you’re a developer, you’ll be in high demand. There’s a lot to do, from orchestrating smart contracts to meet the goals of the DAO to automating operational systems and processes.
If you don’t have any coding skills, don’t be put off. There’s plenty of demand for writers, designers and creatives who can help to promote and grow these crypto-native communities.
We’re really excited to see how DAOs progress and would love to write more explainers about any DAO-related topics you want to find out about. So, do let us know!