A Handpicked List of DAOs - 15 Best DAOs to Join, Stake and Invest In

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Hamza Khattabi
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13 min read

Table of contents

Introduction

2022 is the year of DAOs. Among the list of Web3 technologies, they DAOs are the le known. But I believe DAOs are the most important and influential.

First, buying, trading, and selling cryptocurrencies have become mainstream. Then, it's the Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) that gained popularity, last year, especially with the exposure they got thanks to pop artists and Hollywood actors. Having a CryptoPunk or a Bored Ape is a new way of being trendy.

The third major part of the Web3 space is the DAOs. Let's have an in-depth knowledge of what is a DAO. And if you want to join, stake, or invest in a DAO, I have gathered the best list of DAOs for you

What is a DAO?

A DAO means Decentralized Autonomous Organization. To have a better understanding let's see each word apart:

  • Decentralized: Lack of central authority. Interactions and Data aren't controlled by one single power.

  • Autonomous: The freedom to govern itself or control its own affairs.

  • Organization: It can be either an association, a company, or a team. A group of people gathered that shares the same values and mission.

In simple words, a DAO is an online community with no rigid hierarchy or central leader. This group of people (community) works towards a mutual goal.

How does a DAO Work?

What really makes the difference between a DAO and other online organizations is its decentralized structure.

The interactions are operated on the Web3 space using Blockchain. The blockchain is by definition a decentralized database.

So the community is connected through rules defined in a smart contract which is the code written on the blockchain network. This open code guarantees transparency, ownership, and security.

Let's keep in mind this list of 4 characteristics that define every DAO:

  • DAOs must have a purpose (mission)

  • DAOs must have a set of rules (smart contract)

  • DAOs usually have a shared bank account (treasury)

  • DAOs must have collaborative decision-making (voting)

List of best DAOs

The Web3 space is all about communities. This is why DAOs are so important. Today, you can easily find a DAO that meets your interests and expectations. You can join a DAO to contribute to their mission or to stake and invest in their tokens.

1. DeFiAllianceDAO

Huge incubator of crypto platforms

AllianceDAO.PNG

The DefiAlliance started as a usual Venture Capital firm (VC) specialized in crypto, back in 2020. Their goal was to be the start-up incubator of top DeFi projects and protocols. We can see/ it is like a crypto-oriented YCombinator.

The VC changed its structure in January 2022. They become a DAO with a global Web3 scope. So they changed the name to AllianceDAO and raised $50 million from new members.

And the list of the contributors is truly mind-blowing. It includes Web2 founders and top managers (Twitch, Stripe, Gumroad, RiotGames, etc), Web3 CEOs (Coinbase, BlockFi, Crypto(dot)com, OpenSea), and also Jake Paul. Yep! the influencer and now boxer.

With such a team, AllianceDAO wants to support 25 Web3 startups for each batch. From areas like gaming and NFTs to DeFi.

2. CityDAO

CityDAO.PNG Decentralized asset ownership - lands as NFT

  • What's their mission: Build the future of real estate ownership using blockchain

CityDAO’s initiative began with the collective governance of a parcel of land in Wyoming. But, on-chain.

Each parcel of land is an NFT. This NFT can be owned by individuals or with the shared treasury of the DAO.

CityDAO represents a relevant case study of on-chain ownership. Using NFTs helps simplify legal and administrative paperwork. The transfer of lands is reduced to a simple wallet-to-wallet transaction. Of course, all these transactions are transparent and open because they are recorded within smart contracts.

So far, only the state of Wyoming (USA) has recognized the DAO as a legal LLC and approved the concept. But the DAO aims to expand its activity and welcome new members.

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum has already bought a CityDAO citizenship NFT.

3. Maker

MakerDAO.PNG Investing and staking

  • What's their mission: Build a global price-stable currency

Maker is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization on the Ethereum blockchain seeking to minimize the price volatility of its own stable token — the Dai.

Dai is a cryptocurrency that is almost always equal to 1 USD. It’s the oldest DeFi project on the Ethereum network, it has the second-largest total value, and is also the most decentralized.

Since July 2021, the CEO of MakerDAO Foundation announced the dissolution of the organization he founded and changed its structure to purely decentralized business units.

Anyone can buy the MKR token and then participate in the governance of the Dai. The members of this DAO fired the content team after a vote. They also offered a record $10m in a new bug bounty program to reduce the vulnerability of Dai’s ecosystem.

4. KlimaDAO

KlimaDAO.PNG Reward climate activism

  • What's their mission: Fight climate change and earn rewards

KlimaDAO wants to reward those who participate in the carbon market with value or influence. The objective of carbon markets is to reduce gas emissions and enable the trading of emission units.

The Klima Token is a carbon-backed currency. You can acquire it, stake it, and get rewarded. The tokens are used to encourage projects that lower carbon emissions and have positive environmental impact.

Built on Polygon, a climate friendly layer of Ethereum, KlimaDAO will spend $100 million on Carbon offsets.

5. MODA DAO

MODADAO.PNG Music DAO backed by Deadmau5

  • What's their mission: Take the music industry into the Web3 space

Moda DAO’s list of founding members includes Web3 media managers, record labels founders, and also artists. The most famous one is Joel Zimmerman, known as Deadmau5.

All those people joined their competencies and experiences to create the future of the music industry. They "aim to remove the middlemen of traditional streaming services", claimed one of the founders.

MODA DAO's treasury will help build the infrastructure for artists and creators using smart contracts and on-chain standards. Then, create a decentralized publishing platform where artists can release their music easily. MODA DAO’s platform will allow artists to upload their music as NFTs and let users listen to this 'NFT song' without having to transfer ownership.

MODA DAO has raised around $5 million so far and released a $MODA token membership to include both artists and consumers in the governance.

6. SeedClub

SeedClub.PNG Builds and invests in Web 3.0 Communities

  • What's their mission: Accelerate content creators and token-based communities

SeedClub is all about communities. To build meaningful and thriving communities, content creation is king. This is why SeedClub DAO puts his energy to gather the best social managers and creators in the web3 space.

Along with the DAO, SeedClub has a cohort-based 6 weeks program working as an incubator for tokenized communities. The last one was in February.

SeedClub provides mentorship and funding in order to turn social capital into digital assets. The main focus is to give power to creators instead of social platforms.

Many successful and promising Web3 communities have been backed by SeedClub, such as Forefront (a Web3 media) and The Krause House.

7. The Krause House

KrauseHouse.PNG Empowering fans to purchase & operate an NBA Team

  • What's their mission: Own an NBA team by a community

Named after the late Chicago Bulls general manager, Jerry Krause. This DAO's goal can seem crazy or impossible. But all the members believe in their ability to bring the first fan-governed team to the NBA.

All the tickets to join The Krause House DAO are sold out. But you can purchase one on the secondary market.

The KRAUSE governance tokens are not a promise for future ownership of a team but they allow you to participate in the DAO’s decisions.

The DAO, which now has about 1,700 backers, has raised more than $4.2 million worth of ether. "The Krause House DAO expects to obtain a minority position in an NBA team within the next 12 months" according to the co-founder Flex Chapman.

8. RawDAO

RawDAO.PNG A new photography-focused DAO

  • What's their mission: Build the greatest photography community in web3

If you are a photographer or a collector, you should join RAW DAO. It is bootstrapped by Fingerprints DAO which is a DAO focused on curating, collecting, and promoting smart contracts as art. We can see Raw DAO like their photography branch.

Using NFTs as a technological and economical tool, RawDAO aims to build a community-first organization. A community where artists, collectors, and art enthusiasts can gather to discuss, curate, and produce the best art.

Until up to now, NFT art has been mainly dominated by digital art. Painting and photography are left behind. Raw DAO wants to fix this by educating and onboarding photographers to mint their own art and collections in a way to protect their ownership.

9. BitDAO

BitDAO.PNG Biggest Defi DAO

  • What's their mission: Build and invest in the best protocols and DeFi projects

BitDAO is the world’s largest token governed treasury in the Web3 space with 1.8 Billion USD. This treasury also grows at a pace of roughly $2M per day. No other DAO has a bigger shared account!

BitDAO aims to expand its ecosystem by funding different projects in the crypto space. They will support projects and initiatives by developing new projects and partnerships. But also investing in grants programs.

With funding from investors like Peter Thiel, Alan Howard, Founders Fund, and institutions like Fenbushi and Pantera Capital, BitDAO is considered one of the best DAOs to stake.

The way BitDAO operates and invests is seen as the future of crypto funding. Recently, they committed $500M to Game7 and provided zkDAO with $200M worth of crypto assets to improve Ethereum's layer 2 solutions.

10. DeveloperDAO

DeveloperDAO.PNG Biggest developers Community

  • What's their mission: Educate and empower web3 developers

Developer DAO is the largest community of Developers. Not all of them work in Web3. But the goal is to encourage the adoption of decentralized technologies.

To get in, you can buy an NFT from other members. For developers who cannot afford a token, they can apply for a scholarship. The Developer DAO operates in transparency and autonomy.

All the developers are invited to contribute by building projects and participating in hackathons. The DAO helps with grants, sponsorships, and rewards.

DeveloperDAO is also behind web3con, a virtual conference meeting around the Web3 space. When you join the community, you are surrounded by many talented developers from all continents and can benefit from job opportunities and useful repositories.

11. DTravel

DTravelDAO.PNG Decentralized AirBNB

AirBNB fees are getting higher and higher at a point where homeowners and travelers are both complaining about the monopolistic role played by the company. DTravel wants to address that. How? By giving hosts and guests more control, ownership, and lower fees.

This decentralized home-sharing platform offers more than 250K homes in 20.000 destinations. You can pay in crypto or traditional payment methods.

The fees on DTravel are only 10%. And the platform is governed by the DAO, holders of TRVL tokens. The coin can also be used to pay the rent. Among the list of other reasons to join or stake this DAO's token: The utility of DTravel, the fast-growing community, and the number of shared properties.

The host can earn additional revenue by participating in certain platform operations, such as customer support, dispute resolution, onboarding, and host happiness.

12. Yield Guild Games

YieldGuildGame.PNG The largest gaming guild

Yield Guild Games (YGG) started during Covid in the Philippines. Gabby the founder of YGG, started lending out his characters in the game Axie Infinity for people in need. Axie Infinity is a game that allows players to win tokens and change them in local currency. This is how the idea of building a play to earn community began.

Today Yield Guild Games is backed by huge investment funds like Andreessen Horowitz. And it is the entry point to many game-related NFTs. With one of the largest treasuries and portfolios of games, like League of Kingdoms, F1 Delta Time, and The Sandbox.

When you join the DAO, your YGG token allows you to be part of five different roles, and you are considered a Player-Investor. The DAO offers yield farming strategies to their player-investors.

13. Aragon

ARAGON.PNG Software used to maintain and create DAOs

  • What's their mission: Provide all the tools for DAO builders

“During a gold rush, sell shovels”. This saying resumes the mission of Aragon. With the increasing demand for tools to build DAOs, Aragon managed to become one of the most requested platforms to create and manage Web3 communities.

Aragon provides several services to set up a community and manage proposals and votes in a decentralized way. It works like a website builder which relies on already configured modules. All you have to do after that is to customize it.

The ICO of Aragon secured $24 million in just fifteen minutes. The ANT token is used by many people for staking and investment purposes.The platform is also behind big DAOs like Curve Finance and Decentraland.

14. Compound

CompoundDAO.PNG Autonomous interest rate protocol

  • What's their mission: Make the financial system without intermediaries

Built on Ethereum, Compound is a DeFi lending protocol that gives you an easy way to earn interest on your crypto by pooling it with others.

Put simply, it allows you to borrow some money by putting up other money as a guarantee. For example, put some Bitcoin in Compound and borrow some dollars. As a result, you can earn interest on the bitcoin and pay interest on dollars.

The system is based on supply and demand. Suppliers (borrowers) of an asset interact directly, earning (paying) a floating interest rate, without having to negotiate with a peer or counterparty.

The difference here, everything is within an audited and transparent code.

The Compound DAO helps in the governance of this system. If you hold at least 100 COMP tokens, you can create a proposal to change interest rates or add a new market.

15. Big Green

BigGreen.PNG Charity DAO founded by Kimbal Musk

  • What's their mission: Disrupt the philanthropic world

"I've decided to run an experiment to decentralize philanthropy. This #GivingTuesday I'm launching the first Giving DAO". This is the founding tweet of Big Green DAO by Kimbal Musk. The youngest brother of Elon, who sits at Tesla and SpaceX board.

Big Green DAO aims to restructure grant-making and avoid unnecessary expenses. When you make a tax-deductible donation to the DAO’s treasury you receive a governance token. You can choose your preferred non-profit organization and direct distribution. Big Green DAO also funds philanthropic initiatives.

This DAO is related to Big Green company whose goal is to encourage growing food. To stay climate-friendly the DAO is built on the Polygon network and supports many organizations that are advancing food and gardening.

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