DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organisations) is a new organisational form that enables more democratic decision-making. What exactly is a DAO and are there any examples yet?
What are DAOs?
DAOs are organisations that are executed by rules that are coded as computer programs called smart contracts. A DAO’s financial transaction records and program rules are maintained on a blockchain. This makes them transparent and resistant to censorship and corruption, as they are based on the code, rather than being controlled by a single entity.
DAOs are decentralized and open-source organisations
The DAO
The first DAO, called The DAO, was created on the Ethereum blockchain in 2016 and raised more than $150 million in ether (Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency) from more than 11,000 investors, making it the largest crowdfunding campaign in history at the time. Shortly afthe it’s creation the organiation was hacked. Attackers stole more than $50 million worth of ether. This led to a hard fork of the Ethereum blockchain, which resulted in the creation of Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC). Since the inception of this first organisation, many other DAOs have been created, including MolochDAO, MetaCartel, and MakerDAO. DAOs offer a new way to organize and govern organisations and can potentially disrupt many traditional businesses and organisations.
DAOs are created through a process called a DAO token sale
A DAO token sale is a process of creating a decentralized autonomous organisation through the sale of tokens. This process allows the financing of decentralized projects and organisations without the need for a central authority. The sale of tokens also allows the distribution of ownership and control within the organisation. The process of a DAO token sale is as follows:
1. A project or organisation is created that is decentralised and autonomous.
2. A token shall be created that represents ownership within the organisation.
3. The token is sold to investors in a sale.
4. The funds raised from the sale shall be used to finance the project or organisation.
5. The tokens represent ownership and control within the organisation. The holders of the tokens can vote on decisions and the tokens can be traded on exchanges.
DAOs can be used to create new businesses and economies
A DAO is a decentralized autonomous organisation that works together according to transparent rules encoded on the Ethereum blockchain. By eliminating the need for a centralized, external organisation, DAOs offer a new way to run businesses and economies together. DAOs consist of a community of users who communicate with each other according to transparent rules written in code.
DAOs offer a number of advantages over traditional organisations.
- First, DAOs are more efficient because they eliminate the need for a centralized, external organisation.
- Second, DAOs are more transparent because the rules that govern them are written in code and stored on the Ethereum blockchain.
- Finally, DAOs are more resilient because they do not depend on a single individual or group of individuals.
Examples of DAOs
There are already a number of successful DAOs, such as the MakerDAO and Augur. These DAOs have shown that it is possible to run a business or economy together without the need for a centralized, external organisation. DAOs hold the promise of creating new businesses and economies that are more efficient, transparent and resilient.
Controversial
DAOs are controversial because they can be used to undermine the trust of centralized organisations.
This makes them attractive to individuals who are skeptical of centralized organisations, or who want to create an organisation that is not subject to the whims of a single authority. Moreover, because DAOs are still in their early stages of development, it is difficult to predict how they will evolve and what impact they will ultimately have on society.
What do we think?
It is not yet entirely clear to me what the implications are and how the exact business operations are guaranteed. Given the social developments, I am convinced that the ‘old’ company structures are under pressure. The labor market is subject to change anyway, as described in this blog.
In addition, you see that automation takes over the functions with repetitive work and many new functions are added, as described in this blog.
We do think that this form can help organisations to bind Generation Z a bit more to the organisation in order to be able to secure the longer term.