What is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) ?
A Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) is an organization governed by smart contracts vs a CEO or board.
A Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) is an organization governed by smart contracts vs a CEO or board.
"The Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) represents an innovation in the design of organizations, in its emphasis on computerized rules and contracts, but the DAO’s structures and functions also raise issues of governance. This discussion paper enumerates those issues, so as to encourage further research on DAOs and governance."
The Decentralized Autonomous Organization and Governance Issues (Usman W. Chohan 2017)
Examples of existing DAO's
MakerDAO is an open-source project on the Ethereum blockchain and a Decentralized Autonomous Organization1 created in 2014. The project is managed by people around the world who hold its governance token, MKR. Through a system of scientific governance involving Executive Voting and Governance Polling, MKR holders manage the Maker Protocol and the financial risks of Dai to ensure its stability, transparency, and efficiency. MKR voting weight is proportional to the amount of MKR a voter stakes in the voting contract, DSChief. In other words, the more MKR tokens locked in the contract, the greater the voter’s decision-making power.
MolochDAO is focused on funding Ethereum projects. They require a proposal for membership so the group can assess whether you have the necessary expertise and capital to make informed judgments about potential grantees. You can't just buy access to the DAO on the open market.