A decentralized autonomous organization is exactly what the name says; a group of people who come together without a central leader or company dictating any of the decisions. They are built on a blockchain using smart contracts (digital one-of-one agreements). Members of DAOs often buy their way in, most of the time purchasing a governance token specifically for the DAO that gives them the ability to vote on decisions that are made around how the pool of money is spent and managed. These groups can be made up of people from around the world, who often communicate on Discord channels.

Each DAO has a different mission, whether it is single-purpose or part of a larger project, and can be associated with any number of industries.Some of them are based on personal interests, such as the ConstitutionDAO, which banded together in the hope of buying one of the original copies of the U.S. Constitution from Sotheby’s last year. The group ultimately found out it was not the highest bidder and ended up losing the auction, but members who received the Token received over 10x a return on their investment.The co-founder of Constitution DAO has joined ElonDAO to tackle a grander experiment with far more planning, tech, and funding.