DAO Ecosystem

Note: Data in this section last updated July 3rd, 2022

The DAO landscape is flourishing – there are currently almost 5K DAOs representing nearly $8B in capital and 3.7 million members. DAOs have been created for a variety of purposes including the management of companies, investment funds, collector groups, charities, media studios, talent agencies and social clubs.

One DAO even tried to buy the US constitution and almost did it!

A Small Sample of the DAO Landscape

Source: Coopahtroopa

The core argument for DAOs is that they present a better way to for human beings to organize. As such, they may soon begin to replace some of our longest standing institutions. Notable types of DAO include:

• Protocol DAOs: “For-profit” DAOs that operate a business (could replace traditional corporations)

• Investment DAO: DAOs that focus on pooling and investing capital (might disrupt VCs, PE shops and Hedge Funds)

• Charity DAOs: Provide grants to charitable organizations and projects (may become an online version of the United Way or Salvation Army)

• Collector DAOs: Focus on pooling capital and investing in digital assets such as NFTs (might undermine the current gallery and museum set)

• Media DAOs: Creator-owned DAOs that produce entertainment products (could subvert film studios, publishers, news organizations, record labels and game developers)

• Service DAOs: Member-owned freelancer networks (have the potential to supersede unions, consulting firms and talent agencies)

• Social DAOs: Virtual social clubs (may replace country clubs and member’s clubs like Soho House)

Let’s take a deeper dive into each of these categories below… 👉