The Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) asset fund created to sponsor Ethereum-based ventures has raised over $17.5 million USD in its crowdsale. At the time of this writing, 190.5 million DAO tokens have been sold for Ethereum. One Ether will purchase 100 DAO at the current rate with 22 days left of the sale and eight days until the price changes.
The very foundation of DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) is a governance platform that is structured by the token holders. Its values are based on transparency, democracy, decentralization, voluntary participation, non-exclusion, privacy and the right to anonymity, and non-aggression. The DAO architecture is a Slock.It side project and is audited by Deja Vu Security. Stephan Tual, the founder of Slock.it, announced four days ago that the DAO sale was underway, which has attracted many Ether tokens since.
The DAO framework can be researched by reading the whitepaper and manifesto. The code is also open for viewing to the public and the Slock.it team says anyone can develop off its source. It has also received help from Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin, Christian Reitwießner (Solidity), and Gavin Wood (ETH co-founder). Slock.it produced the project but the power is in the hands of investors. Slock.it says:
Slock.it UG is a Blockchain + IoT solutions company. However Slock.it UG (future GmbH) is not a DAO itself — we are a for-profit company registered in Germany. We are creating what we hope will be the future infrastructure of the Service Economy. We believe that Decentralized autonomous organizations (“DAOs”) will play an important role in that infrastructure. The DAO framework is an open source project and everyone is encouraged to participate in any way they can.
The manifesto claims the project will be revolutionary to businesses by “blazing a new path in business organization for the betterment of its members.” Voting and the fund’s focus will be approved by the governance of all shareholders of the decentralized platform. The concentration will be startups working on Ethereum-based projects that coincide with the foundations related to the sharing economy, Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain projects that benefit the decentralized landscape. All of this the developers say will, “exist simultaneously nowhere and everywhere and operating solely with the steadfast iron will of immutable code.”
Token holders also vote for “curators,” which is a task force of individuals who protect its decentralized aspects. Curators make sure projects are in lockstep with the DAO’s attributes and check to see if they are legitimate and authentic. DAO curators are made up of 11 members consisting of Ethereum Foundation members, developers, and dedicated innovators. Slock.it has already proposed the German team’s Ethereum computer into the platform and other developing teams will submit their designs and projects as well for funding.
Overall the organization is meant to provide a return on investment and curate the entire architecture of an implemented decentralized Ethereum-based system. DAO’s website states that it “will strive toward decentralization and autonomy whenever and wherever it is reasonably possible and beneficial.”
Its model is meant to be self-governing, immutable, and operate without the influence of third party interference. Authority itself, the developers say, is guided by voluntary behavior and “ultimately, network effects.”