DAO Governance: A New Form of Blockchain Technology Application

In the physical world we are familiar with, various forms of governance are usually determined by one or more centers, following a strict hierarchy. However, with the birth and development of Bitcoin, a series of new ecosystems have emerged, providing us with a completely new idea - a collaborative system that everyone can participate in.

The concept of DAO originated from the Ethereum network. About two years ago, during the ICO boom, people envisioned a new form of social organization from the Ethereum network. Through smart contracts, anyone can raise funds and issue tokens on the network. Participants holding tokens can participate in project governance without permission, on equal terms, based on code.

Although the governance idea of DAO is not mature at the beginning, after two years of exploration and practice, this new form of social organization has gradually received a more precise definition. DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) is a collaborative behavior of co-creation, co-construction, co-governance, and sharing formed spontaneously by a group that has reached a consensus, based on the core concept of Blockchain. It is the product of Blockchain solving the trust issues between people, representing a revolutionary advancement in the history of human collaboration.

DAOs require initial programming, but once the rules are established, they can operate automatically and fulfill their functions without external interference. An ideal DAO should have organizational goals, culture, and a set of rules that can reach consensus with strangers, with these rules placed on-chain through Blockchain technology. Additionally, a token mechanism that can create an interest connection with all participants is needed to achieve collective incentives.

In an ideal DAO system, management is coded, programmed, and automated. The organizational structure transforms from a pyramid to a distributed model, with power achieving decentralization, and the management model shifting from a hierarchical system to community autonomy. Each organizational node can effectively collaborate based on its own strengths and talents under the token incentive mechanism, generating powerful synergies.

However, DAO governance faces many challenges in reality. It is not just a simple voting system where the minority obeys the majority, but also involves complex human game theory, social structure games, and interest games. In reality, only a few core stakeholders often participate in decision-making, while most ordinary participants find it difficult to play a substantial role.

Currently, the exploration of DAO governance in the blockchain field has not yet found the best solution. Some governance tools provide a public and transparent governance space for DAOs, but there is still a long way to go.

In the face of the revolution brought by this new form of social organization, we must view this ideology from a developmental perspective in order to make more concrete refinements and deeper explorations. Although the reality is full of challenges, DAO governance, as a new form of blockchain technology application, still represents an important direction for future organizational governance.