You're reading State of the DAOs, the high-signal low-noise newsletter for understanding DAOs.
This past year we have witnessed a Cambrian explosion in the DAO landscape, with many different types of DAOs coming into existence. This week we provide a general overview of the DAO landscape and begin to explore how various DAOs interact with each other within that ecosystem. We identify some of the major categories that DAOs tend to fall within, as well as the core components or tools that enable DAOs to function effectively.
Next, we share the TL;DR on the best ecosystem takes and thought pieces published in the past few weeks, making it easy for you to cut through the noise and stay up to date on the world of DAOs.
Authors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (purrplecat.eth, Adi G, Alvo von A, hirokennelly.eth, Jake and Stake, scottyk, siddhearta)
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As value continues to accrue among and throughout web3, it's often argued that hierarchical bureaucratic systems enforced through laws and rules will be replaced by a strengthened trust in algocratic systems enforced by code and blockchains.
Within an algocratic framework, the goal is for authority to be embedded in technology itself, specifically in the underlying code. As opposed to private, structured management styles enforced through traditional companies and organizations, algocratic systems of governance are not only becoming increasingly automated, but are also more democratized through aspects like open community voting.
Although the transition towards these trustless, transparent platforms is far from perfect and in many ways just beginning, we are starting to see these very notions emerge through the accelerated growth of various DAOs over the past year. With this in mind, while it's important to recognize the emergence of specialized or niche organizations like curator DAOs or guilds crafted around existing social media platforms (like Discord) - not all of these governance systems are created equal in purpose or function.