DAO-as-a-service in Polkadot ecosystem.
Introduction
Over the last decade, blockchain technology has expanded dramatically, influencing human progress and the future of our society. Aside from financial use, blockchain technology has changed the perception of organizational structures, especially because decentralization is one of the blockchain basic concepts.
DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) have gained prominence as the primary form of governance for critical decision-making in the majority of blockchain initiatives, and with good reason. In a nutshell, they are represented by digital organizations with rules encoded to allow communal management. Because some decision-makers might act to the harm of others through poor decisions, centralized organizations have a low level of trust. But Decentralized Governance is completely different. It allows true agreement, guaranteeing that everyone has a vote, from top to bottom.
DAOs are receiving increasing public attention as they take off in areas such as DeFi and NFTs due to their capacity to be customized for various demands and scenarios. Over the past few years, significant progress has been made in the development of well-functioning Decentralized Governance systems, ranging from exciting theories to technologies for their implementation.
Detailed overview
Launching requirements
Before all of DAO’s capabilities can be completely deployed, the rules of operation must be defined. These criteria are included in a smart contract, which requires user confirmation and cannot be activated automatically. Following the deployment of a DAO, users can proceed to support it with funds. Furthermore, the financing procedure cannot be ignored as it provides tokens that let users interact with the system.
How it works
DAO systems that have received funding are fully operational and self-sufficient. These systems are always transparent, and their source code is available to the public. They operate independently of their developers or other authorities, making external influence on DAO operations impossible. Before any financial transactions are performed through a fully operating DAO, all stakeholders must come to an agreement. They are also in charge of selecting how a DAO will be used in subsequent transactions. Before offering ideas for using a DAO, stakeholders are normally requested to pay a deposit in order to minimize inconsistent submission of proposals.
Actions are only carried out if there is the majority of votes in favor of a transaction. DAO’s code also specifies the proportion that will be considered the majority. Because decision-making is slower throughout the voting process, the system is particularly susceptible. For example, if a bug in a DAO is found, it cannot be fixed until the entire voting procedure is finished in order to define an opinion of the majority. And hackers can take advantage of the lengthy procedure by exploiting bugs in a DAO.
While the DAO concept may be used for a variety of necessary, secure, and convenient functions, it should be highlighted that it cannot be used for tasks such as coding, program management or computer hardware creation.
Advantages
The DAO model presents a new and safe approach for modern businesses to conduct and manage transactions. It has demonstrated exceptional promise. Those who purchase tokens from a well structured DAO have the ability to better organize their investitions. Additionally, the absence of a rigid hierarchy has given all stockholders equal authority to submit ideas and decide how the system will be used. Every participant in the DAO system adheres to the same rules that govern activities and voting, which considerably reduces disagreements.
As we already know, before voting or submitting propositions, interested parties must contribute a certain amount of money. This requirement forces them to think again before acting, reducing time waste. All DAO members have access to a blockchain, which stores rules, records of financial transactions, and other essential data. The open approach allows all members to easily participate in the choice of how funds are spent, as well as in the monitoring of expenses on supported initiatives.
Disadvantages
Some projects indicate that they are not pleased with the fact that every stakeholder can participate in financial decision-making. Other opponents say that DAOs cannot potentially provide financial advantages. There are also concerns about the security measures to safeguard investors after hacking incidents. Every DAO operates on the principle of “indestructible coding”, which makes it difficult to prevent the theft of assets once the process has started. However, future assaults may be avoided by ensuring that the system is inspected to eliminate code defects.
There is also discussion of the hurdles in obtaining legal documents that allow projects to operate as DAOs and conduct transactions beyond the blockchain. Meanwhile, some experts are concerned about the protection of intellectual property and financial infrastructure involved in the concept.
Although it is anticipated that the future of organizations and governance will be decentralized, DAOs remain relatively unpopular, particularly among those who are not involved in blockchain/crypto activities. As a result, DAO solutions are scattered and incomplete, missing the tools needed to change the industry.
DAOs & Polkadot
Polkadot has a complex governance mechanism based on DAO principles. It provides network’s stakeholders with voting rights while abolishing the hierarchical structure. Moreover, Polkadot upgrades are authorized on-chain without the need of forking, and interested parties are permitted to participate in defining aspects of platform governance. Every chain built on Substrate has a governance pallet, endowing it with DAO functionality.
It was recently announced that Polkadot’s governance system will be updated to become even more decentralized. Currently developers are making changes to the DAO structure that already exist. This new model will allow users to submit an unlimited number of proposals. They will also be able to run several proposals at the same time. According to experts, the procedure will be as simple as performing a blockchain transaction.
The Dotsama ecosystem has seen the birth of several DAO management platforms, each with its own set of tools and capabilities. But they all have one thing in common: the search for solutions to overcome the difficulties of implementing decentralized governance into the ecosystem. Let us take a closer look at some of them.
SubDAO is a multi-chain DAO protocol that allows chains to swiftly implement DAO functionality and enables them to conduct different decision-related transactions. It seeks to develop a universal and widely adaptable DAO technology to revolutionize the venture capital industry.
SubDAO templates are designed to enable a wider decentralized decision-making system by guaranteeing that DAO decision-making is not restricted to simple voting. A voting mechanism often has two options: “Yes” or “No”, “Agree” or “Disagree”. However, this reduces an organization’s decision-making alternatives and limits its opportunities. As a result, in order to improve current DAOs, the SubDAO system has developed a voting system that implements decentralized decisions, so that decisions are no longer binary.
The project has received multi-million dollar funding from several institutions, including Hypersphere, Huobi Ventures, OKEx Blockdream Fund, and Messari creator Ryan Selkis.
SpiderDAO advances the DAO approach by presenting a dual-governance architecture that combines hardware and software tools with on-chain features, resulting in the “Whale-Resistant” governance system.
The main goal of the project is to integrate this newly developed DAO mechanism with Spider’s existing VPN service, providing the first line of services in the SpiderDAO ecosystem. Furthermore, the team is adding a slew of additional features, all of which will be backed by the SPDR token (that serves as a primary support of all interactions among network participants and DAO operators).
Imbue Network functions as a Polkadot-based decentralized crowdfunding DAO. It represents a universal idea incubator that allows everyone, regardless of position or activity, to submit and vote for funding-worthy ideas. The platform aims to encourage the execution of user’s proposals, therefore disproving the widely held belief that Web 3.0 lacks functionality.
Imbue assists entrepreneurs and innovators in raising funds for their activities from community members that support them and believe in their vision. Initiators can submit proposals with an estimate of how much funds they will need and stay connected to keep contributors up to date on their progress. Because the platform is decentralized, anyone has a possibility to raise concerns and put them to a vote. If a project fails to meet the specified milestones, remaining funds can be returned by voting.
MANTRA employs the wisdom of the collective mind to build a community-governed, transparent, and decentralized web 3.0 environment. Built on Substrate-based RioChain for the Polkadot ecosystem, it aims to return financial power to the people who want to store and increase income together. The project team is working on creating a community-governed DAO framework for DeFi products: staking, lending, and governance are the primary areas of interest. With its native OM token, MANTRA DAO will provide enhanced interest for users, as well as governance rights.
The project has recently been reorganized into the all-encompassing MANTRA ecosystem, also known as OMniverse. It features various stacks showcasing the extensive range of products and services that MANTRA will offer to both retail and institutional investors around the world.
Dora Factory is a Substrate-based programmable DAO-as-a-Service open infrastructure. Important techniques such as quadratic voting, bonding curve fundraising, and other fascinating on-chain governance features may be created on this infrastructure as pallets. Then developers can be rewarded in a SaaS format, but only after DAOs created on Dora Factory deploy new elements. The concept is inspired by DoraHacks, a global hacker community and Hackathon organizer.
Dora Factory is made up of three different parts: a Polkadot factory, an Ethereum factory, and a virtual bridge. Every DAO has a vault where its funds are stored. Stakeholders are able to deposit, withdraw, and manage DAO assets.
Institutional investors in Dora Factory include Binance Labs, The LAO, Dora Ventures, and others. Its infrastructure is also being used by over 70 DAOs and multi-chain ecosystems to build incentives and governance.
GameDAO is a decentralized autonomous community that promotes long-term funding of video games, entertainment content, digital arts, electronic sports, and gaming as a lifestyle. It offers crowd-funding and matchmaking tools, connecting and empowering passionate players, developers, distributors or sponsors.
The use case of gaming is the distinguishing characteristic of how the project contributes to specialization within the Polkadot ecosystem. GameDAO is a chain-agonistic layer 3 protocol designed as a user application for gaming on the ZERO network. ZERO, which is also built on Substrate, intends to become a parachain and, with it, the Polkadot ecosystem’s specific parachain for video games.
According to GameDAO’s vision, other parachains or non-substrate blockchains linked to Polkadot using BTP (Blockchain Transmission Protocol) technology can have access to gaming-related features, such as fundraising campaigns or game development, setting the community as an important
