Decentralized autonomous organizations

Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) a new form of social and economic organization enabled by blockchain technology, smart contracts, and cryptocurrencies.

How to start a DAO

There are multiple ways to start a decentralized autonomous organization. This is just one method of many; DAO’s are encouraged to experiment with their own ideas on how to create and organize themselves.

• Decide on a reason for a DAO and the functions that you want the DAO to serve.

• Decide on a method of making decisions and coming to consensus among members of the DAO. Will proposals passed by member vote make defacto changes, or simply guide a smaller team to make decisions?

• Declare on social media that you are starting a DAO for a particular purpose.

• Establish locations online and on social media where individuals can collaborate in the organization of the DAO. Many communities use Discord as their service of choice for community organizing.

• Establish a chief definite purpose for the DAO, such as a mission statement, community values, or any other ways you can think of to communicate why your DAO exists.

• Create definite plans of action to implement the goals of your DAO. Take decisive action to implement the plans.

• Plans change and evolve. Use your experience, creativity and available resources (such as fellow members, other DAO’s and published research) to think of new ideas. Make new plans of action and take steps to implement those changes. Often, constant iteration is necessary in order to fulfill the chief definitive purpose of the DAO.

Discussion questions

• What functions can DAOs potentially serve?
• What sort of DAOs might you like to see established?
• How can DAOs benefit society?
• How are DAOs different in form from other organizational structures? How are they similar?

Readings

Wikipedia

• Decentralized autonomous organization
• Decentralized finance (DeFi) - DeFi is one possible way to finance DAO's
• Decentralized application (dApp) - dApps are way one method collaborating for and within DAO's

See also

• Finance
• Cryptoeconomics
• Blockchain

External links

• Finance research publications at Harvard
• The good and bad of blockchain - article from Chicago booth Review
• Discuss cryptoeconomics on Reddit
• State Lawmaker Explains Wyoming’s Newly Passed DAO LLC Law