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With the constant development of blockchain technology and the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies, the idea of decentralization has embarked on a new journey. In the Web3 era, algorithms have the ability to manage computing systems with such an impressive speed, smart contracts automate and execute various operations and transactions, making “smart” a simple agreement, thanks to a few lines of code, which can also be consulted by any user on a blockchain. The concept of an ownerless structure, therefore decentralized, free from a deus ex machina: it’s a new way of conceiving the definition of community.
DAO
In 2016, the rise and fall of The Dao project increased the attention and popularity towards the concept of DAOs. DAO is the acronym for Decentralized Autonomous Organization. DAOs are communities managed mainly by smart contracts and do not have a leader at the top. The organization chart is not vertical but horizontal, therefore this type of organization expands the concept of decentralization, heading it towards new shores. The organization’s members generally own a digital asset, such as a cryptocurrency or an NFT, which allows them to propose changes regarding any aspect of the DAO through voting (governance proposals). These proposals are stored on a blockchain, making every decision immutable. Entrusting the management of your business or company to a DAO model is not yet a popular solution to the public. However, there are already some interesting cases.
Wagmi United
Crypto, NFT and professional football is the mixture behind Wagmi United. Wagmi (acronym for “We Are Gonna Make It”) is a DAO who has chosen to enter the world of sport. In April 2022, Crawley Town FC was acquired by Wagmi United. The historic English football team, founded in 1896, is the first professional sports club to be managed by a DAO. Every club decision will be made by the club's NFT holders, which are effectively representing a percentage of the club's total share. Buying or selling players, signing contracts, manage salaries, everything is proposed through a blockchain. It is an experiment that has indeed attracted the interest of the football world and important brands. Recently, Adidas announced a partnership with Crawley Town FC to produce the team's official jerseys for the 2022/23 season. It is the first time ever that Adidas signs a deal with a League Two team.
MetaBrewSociety
We depart from competitive sport and move to retail business. MetaBrew is a brewery that has chosen to entrust its business management to a DAO, the MetaBrewSociety. All NFT owners will have privileges and benefits, such as discounts, merchandise and… free beers! Yes, MetaBrew will send an annual supply of beer cans, between 160 and 240, based on the number and rarity of non-fungible tokens held. Obviously, for all beer enthusiasts, the fun part will not just be taking part in the decisions to open new breweries anywhere in the world but, above all, choosing which types of beer will be produced by MetaBrew. A fascinating adventure that, according to the plan presented by the founders, will bring the brewery also into the metaverse, through the creation of a digital counterpart, 100% faithful to the brewery built in the real world.
TheCafeDao
It all started almost as a joke on Reddit: “What if we made a decentralized Starbucks?”.
From there to reality it took little time. TheCafeDao is a Seattle bar - opened near the Seattle NFT Museum - run by a DAO. At the moment it is just an experiment, the business does not yet have its own walls but only a pop-up stand. However, the idea is to grow the community and provide benefits to token holders. The ultimate goal of opening the first brick-and-mortar bar run by a DAO. As the founders say, it will be “the cafe everyone owns”. The project is still in alpha stage and the tokens earned by customers are not yet publicly available on a blockchain. Most of the decisions and choices for the future are currently made through a DIscord group and, thanks to the ever-growing community,some interesting ideas around tokenomics have come up: the token value has a $5 fixed price, equivalent to the price of a 12-ounce cup of coffee. Each time a coffee is purchased, a new token is created. 2/3 of the token will be burned, the rest distributed to employees, customers and the DAO treasury. Each token corresponds to a governance vote. It will be interesting to follow the development of this new and fascinating adventure in the coming months.
Why you should learn blockchain?
DeFi, Agrifood, IoT, Sharing Economy, Insurance, Art, Gaming, Law. Blockchain’s use cases are endless, and understanding the way to make this technology even more efficient is just the beginning. One of the most relevant field of application is the industrial sector, where countless jobs of the future could theoretically be replaced by smart contracts, oracles and AI.
Blockchain’s skills are increasingly in demand. It is not too late to start your career now: blockchain is just becoming everyday life. However, the learning curve is still steep: many companies still cannot fully understand the difference between an usual database and a blockchain, so when they turn to business advisors, their use cases are often not suitable for the technology they want to use.
Sources:
https://www.metabrewsociety.com/
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/05/06/web-3-irl-seattles-cafedao-tests-brick-and-mortar-dao-model/
https://wagmiunited.com/press/wagmi-united-x-adidas