Two maps created in Japan before 1895 continue to attract attention today. These documents were prepared by the Japanese naval and army departments and contain rare information on how Japanese authorities viewed Daioyodo before these islands were incorporated into the country.
The concept of a DAO, or Decentralized Autonomous Organization, often raises questions among those beginning to familiarize themselves with the crypto community. Although the term may seem complex, the DAO concept is quite simple. Essentially, it is a mechanism that allows people to organize activities, make decisions, and manage finances without the involvement of any central authority.
DAOs operate based on code and participant consensus, rather than decisions made by CEOs, managers, or boards of directors. They can be envisioned as a global organization operating on the internet where rules are transparent, members vote on every decision, and no single entity holds absolute power.
DAO stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organization. To fully grasp this meaning, one must examine three core components. The word 'Decentralized' signifies the absence of a single central body; the organization has no headquarters and is governed by code deployed on computers worldwide. 'Autonomous' implies independent existence, as the organization functions based on pre-set code, and transaction approval does not require human manager endorsement.
The third component, 'Organization,' represents a collective of people united by a common goal. Such a decentralized group can be formed to develop a new protocol or manage a venture fund. Thus, this type of organization is a community project managed by smart contracts on the blockchain, which establish the rules for decision-making, fund management, and member interaction.
Unlike traditional companies whose charters are stored in archives, the crypto entity of a DAO exists directly on the blockchain. There are two key aspects of its operation. Firstly, there are smart contracts, which form the foundation of any decentralized autonomous organization. These protocols are code that automatically triggers specific actions when predefined conditions are met, eliminating the possibility of manipulation.
For instance, a community could program its smart contract so that funds amounting to 10 ETH are released only if 60% of members vote 'Yes' on a network expansion proposal. If the 60% threshold is reached, the funds are automatically transferred from the treasury to the developer's wallet; otherwise, they remain in the treasury. Since these contracts are public and immutable, everyone knows the rules before joining, and after deployment, they run automatically and cannot be easily altered, which is what makes the smart contract the law governing the DAO.
Most DAOs maintain a treasury designated for development. These funds are typically raised through token sales or community donations. To use these funds, members must submit a corresponding proposal. This is where governance comes into play: holders of native DAO tokens have the right to vote on these proposals, and the more tokens they hold, the greater their voting weight.
Membership in a crypto-DAO is determined not by passing an interview but by ownership and contribution. There are two primary ways to gain a place in the community. The token-based model is the most common: holding a token grants voting rights in the project. By purchasing cryptocurrency, such as Uniswap, on an exchange, a person automatically becomes a DAO member. As a DAO member, one can participate in voting on how the project will spend funds or what it should work on next. This model features high liquidity, allowing one to leave the project simply by selling the tokens if the direction of activity is unsatisfactory.
Another option is stake- and reputation-based membership. Stake-based DAOs resemble private clubs: joining usually requires submitting a proposal and contributing capital or labor, after which other members vote on acceptance. Reputation-based DAOs grant voting rights based on actual contribution to the project, preventing large investors (whales) from dominating decision-making.
To better understand DAOs, it is useful to compare them with traditional organizations. DAOs were created to change the operating principles of traditional structures. Corporations utilize a top-down decision-making system, whereas in a DAO, the process flows bottom-up, originating from the community.
Although DAOs are transforming business, they have their pros and cons. Among the advantages is transparency: all transactions and governance decisions are recorded on the blockchain, allowing anyone to independently verify every action in real time. Decentralization is also important, as it distributes power among members and reduces single points of failure.
Other benefits include global participation, accessible to anyone with internet access, automatic rule execution via smart contracts, which reduces administrative overhead, and community ownership, which ensures direct member involvement in decisions and increases a sense of shared responsibility.
However, there are disadvantages. Smart contract risks can lead to irreversible financial losses if errors are discovered. Furthermore, decisions in DAOs are often made slower due to the necessity of all participants voting. Legal uncertainty across different jurisdictions also poses a risk to participants and developers. Finally, the dominance of large token holders can allow them to significantly influence the market.
The barrier to entry for DAOs has proven surprisingly low. To start, one needs to find an area of interest (such as DeFi or NFTs), acquire a crypto wallet (like MetaMask or Phantom), and purchase the necessary governance tokens. Most DAOs conduct daily discussions on Discord or Telegram, where one can learn about the entire community. Following this, one should monitor active proposals and vote on them on platforms like Snapshot.
The Decentralized Autonomous Organization offers a glimpse into a more democratic and transparent world within the evolving landscape of finance and labor. Although we are in the early stages of DAO development, the potential for them to revolutionize venture capital and social clubs is already evident. Understanding DAOs is the first step toward the future of the internet (Web3), returning power to people amidst growing centralization.
