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Have you ever paused to consider just how much of your personal life is floating around in the digital world? And what exactly are faceless companies and dubious people doing with it? It could be an unsettling thought, indeed. That's precisely why safeguarding your digital privacy is so crucial in today's interconnected age. It's all about ensuring your security and maintaining your autonomy —financial autonomy, data autonomy, etc. In this era, where every digital move you make is being monitored. Countries like North Korea, China, and Iran are notorious for their stringent Internet censorship policies, modifying the truth to their convenience. It's not merely about restricting access to certain websites; there are regions it's about overseeing virtually every aspect of your online presence and even manipulating your thoughts and money. Fortunately, there are initiatives aimed at addressing these concerns and championing your digital rights. Several organizations and projects worldwide are already there, aiming to use new technologies to reach freedom and privacy for everyone. And you could even collaborate with some of them. Let’s find out more below. Free Software Foundation (FSF) This organization is dedicated to preserving the ethos of free and open-source software (FOSS). They firmly believe in affording you the freedom to utilize, examine, adapt, and distribute software as you see fit. Moreover, they're fervently committed to disseminating knowledge and raising awareness about the significance of these principles. ** ** It was created in October 1985 by Richard Stallman and has been supported from its inception by digital freedom enthusiasts. Over the years, the FSF has achieved remarkable milestones, —ideated by Stallman in 1983. This initiative seeks to develop a fully free and open-source operating system. The GNU Project is considered the beginning of the FOSS movement, inspiring countless developers and users worldwide. with one of its most significant accomplishments being the coding and support of the GNU Project According to the published by Stallman: GNU Manifesto “I consider that the Golden Rule requires that if I like a program I must share it with other people who like it. Software sellers want to divide the users and conquer them, making each user agree not to share with others. I refuse to break solidarity with other users in this way. I cannot in good conscience sign a nondisclosure agreement or a software license agreement." With unwavering dedication, the FSF continues to strive towards its overarching goal: to foster a world where all software respects the fundamental freedoms of its users. They accept support in the form of donations . You can join the FSF community team, participate in campaigns, attend local events, or even organize activities in your own community. or volunteering Additionally, you can contribute through writing, blogging, or assisting with technical tasks such as maintaining websites or contributing to the GNU Project itself. Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) This NGO was founded in 1990 by John Gilmore, also a founding member of cypherpunks, along with John Perry Barlow (author of the ), and Mitch Kapor (creator of Firefox). Their mission revolves around safeguarding online rights, whether it entails combatting mass surveillance or defending freedom of expression. Not only do they advocate for these causes, but they also equip people with the requisite tools and insights to fortify their online defenses. Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace ** ** They also work to shape policies and legislation that protect digital rights and promote Internet freedom, and develop technologies to enhance online privacy and security. Education and awareness efforts are part of their job as well while offering support and assistance to individuals and organizations facing digital rights issues, providing guidance, referrals, and legal resources to navigate challenges such as censorship and surveillance. They operate worldwide. Through legal advocacy, the EFF takes on cases involving privacy violations, government surveillance, and free speech issues. It’s possible to donate to them, but also with your own skills. If you're a technologist, you can volunteer your skills to support software projects crucial to EFF's work. Additionally, you could also help with translations and mailing lists as an attorney, researcher, or artist. Every collaboration is welcomed. volunteer Privacy International (PI) Founded in 1990 by privacy activist Simon Davies, the primary goal of this charity is to restore agency over personal data. They tirelessly strive to ensure that neither governmental bodies nor corporate entities encroach upon personal online activities without explicit consent. Their efforts extend beyond rhetoric since they're actively developing tools to empower people to monitor who's tracking them online. It’s based in London but operates globally. ** ** Through research, advocacy campaigns, and strategic litigation, PI advocates for policies and practices that safeguard people's privacy in an increasingly interconnected digital environment prone to intrusion, from digital content to biometrics. Their work has had quite an impact, indeed. As we can see , Additionally, PI's advocacy efforts have led to 20 court decisions against exploitative practices in more than 50 countries and advancements in privacy legislation in 20 countries. They also have published numerous studies and research exposing abuses and supported public campaigns to build pressure against problematic conduct by companies and governments. on their website PI has influenced significant changes in business practices, with 39 companies adjusting their models or products since 2019, affecting over 3 billion people worldwide. To support their goals, you could donate, subscribe to their community, learn from them how to protect your online privacy, or join their privacy campaigns. The latter might involve to local authorities asking for accountability about privacy issues. sending letters Freedom Tech Not to be confused with TechFreedom ( interesting NGO, by the way), Freedom Tech involves cryptocurrencies more actively. Something that was to be expected since it’s an initiative in 2023 by Foundation, a crypto hardware wallet manufacturer. , activism, and real use cases of technology to avoid authority oppression. another launched This is a content hub for learners and experts alike to share their knowledge and resources about cryptocurrencies, privacy, open-source tools ** ** The platform was also made to promote and support software projects designed for freedom and privacy. Their ethos is fully aligned with crypto-anarchism and cypherpunk principles, empowering individuals through technology while championing privacy, decentralization, and cryptographic solutions to enhance personal freedom and autonomy. Inspired by the legacy of crypto-anarchists and cypherpunks who sought to use technology to enable individual sovereignty and resist oppressive control, Freedom Tech embraces the belief that technology should serve as a tool for liberation rather than surveillance. Individuals can contribute by sharing their unique narratives and perspectives, amplifying diverse voices, and establishing connections with like-minded individuals and projects. Additionally, backing freedom tech projects financially and raising awareness about them helps sustain and expand initiatives aimed at empowering users and safeguarding their privacy. They’ve shared of freedom tech software projects in need of support. their own list Open Technology Fund (OTF) This NGO was established in 2012 by privacy activist Libby Liu, then president of Radio Free Asia, an entity of the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM). It operates internationally with a mission to promote freedom of expression and access to information by funding and supporting open-source technology projects. Through its initiatives, empower individuals and communities worldwide, particularly those living under repressive regimes, by providing them with tools to circumvent censorship and surveillance. It supports projects that develop and maintain technologies such as Tor, a decentralized network that enables anonymous communication and bypasses Internet censorship, as well as various encryption tools and digital security resources. OTF aims to Additionally, OTF advocates for Internet freedom through research and collaboration with civil society organizations and tech communities globally. including but not limited to OpenVPN, Global Surveillance Tracker, Filezilla, Digital Democracy, FreeWeChat, and Lantern. Any project aligned with their ethos could apply for funding. So, in this one, you could actually receive some help instead of giving it. Besides Tor, they financially support numerous open-source projects against surveillance and censorship, Bonus: Obyte We can say that the initiatives above support several software projects, and by collaborating with them (either with funds or time), we could make a difference. However, it’s also important to use privacy tools to protect your own data, funds, and online activities against surveillance, manipulation, censorship, or even robbery. could help you with it as much as the tools under the umbrella of these organizations. Obyte Our DAG-based and decentralized network aligns with the principles of and movements by providing a neutral, ownerless space that enhances individual privacy, security, freedom, and autonomy online. , without relying on traditional banking institutions, centralized companies or blockchain miners, and without fear of being censored or blocked. crypto-anarchism cypherpunk By using Obyte's decentralized platform, users can circumvent local limitations and securely chat and transact with anyone, anywhere in the world Moreover, Obyte's smart contract capabilities enable users to create and execute self-enforcing agreements without the need for intermediaries, further empowering people to exercise their autonomy and freedom online. Overall, Obyte network offers a means to preserve online rights and financial freedom anytime, anywhere. ** Featured Vector Image by Freepik

5 Freedom Tech and Privacy Projects You Can Join

5টি ফ্রিডম টেক এবং প্রাইভেসি প্রোজেক্টে আপনি যোগ দিতে পারেন

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Decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAOs, hold immense potential to redefine collaboration and wealth distribution, ushering in a new era of equitable participation. By reshaping traditional hierarchical structures and aligning rewards with contribution and labor, DAOs enable token holders to actively shape the organization’s direction and collectively achieve meaningful outcomes. However, alongside these transformative benefits, face a multitude of legal challenges. Regulatory uncertainties, liability risks, tax compliance, and contractual enforceability pose significant obstacles on their path to mainstream acceptance. To ensure compliance with existing laws while preserving their decentralized ethos, DAOs must adopt legal wrappers. DAOs The case on September 22, 2022, serves as a stark reminder that DAOs are not exempt from laws and regulations. The case demonstrated that DAOs must operate within the legal framework and comply with regulatory requirements to avoid legal repercussions. Failure to do so can not only harm the DAO’s operations and reputation but also expose contributors and token holders to legal implications. OOKI DAO vs CFTC The CFTC’s order against OOKI DAO highlights the fact that regulators can penetrate the legal status, declared or undeclared, of DAOs, holding responsible individuals liable. Also, token holders in DAOs lacking legal status may face serious personal liabilities. In light of these challenges, this article provides answers to questions like: Why do DAOs need legal wrappers? What are the best entities and countries for DAO incorporation? How to choose the most suitable legal wrapper for a DAO? By exploring DAO legal wrappers, understanding their importance, and employing seasoned legal counsel steps to adopt the best fit for any DAO, DAOs can bolster their compliance efforts, safeguard their operations, and build stronger relationships with regulators, ultimately paving the way for their broader adoption and long-term success. Content Overview Why do DAOs Need A Legal Wrapper? Types of Legal Wrappers Legal Wrappers in the United States Legal Wrappers in International Countries How to Choose a Suitable Legal Wrapper Why Do DAOs Need A Legal Wrapper? Generally, a legal wrapper is a legal entity or framework that encapsulates an organization and its operations, providing a defined interface between the organization and its legal and regulatory environment. They serve as a crucial tool to enable DAOs to operate in the real world while safeguarding their members from potential legal complications. By adopting legal wrappers, DAOs can effectively address the following key aspects of their operations: DAOs require corporate personhood, which is attained through a legal wrapper, in order to sign contracts and enter into agreements. Interacting with other parties: If a DAO is not incorporated, it may be treated as a general partnership, making all contributors liable in the event of a lawsuit or legal issue. Liability protection for contributors: To legitimately hire employees or contractors, a DAO needs a legal wrapper. Engaging in off-the-books arrangements would be considered tax evasion, which is not advisable. Hiring employees: DAOs must fulfill their tax obligations to ensure legal compliance. It is important to consider the tax implications associated with any financial transactions within a DAO. Tax compliance: Legal wrappers offer vital safeguards for DAOs and their digital assets, protecting them from potential attacks or disputes. Legal protection and compliance for digital assets: Types of Legal Wrappers DAOs have access to a range of legal wrappers, each offering distinct advantages and considerations in different jurisdictions. They are: Legal Wrappers in the United States Wyoming LLCs Wyoming implemented a groundbreaking legal framework, enabling the establishment of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) as Limited Liability Companies ( ) with enhanced legal protection. This significant development, as highlighted by , introduces a governance structure that is notably more permissive compared to traditional corporations. Also, any individual, regardless of affiliation with the DAO, can establish a DAO LLC in Wyoming by filing a certification of formation with the state’s secretary. LLCs Rodrigo Sierra and Chris Bummer Any organization looking to establish itself as a DAO LLC in Wyoming must provide articles of organization meeting specific criteria outlined in the . Wyoming Decentralized Autonomous Organization Supplement Attributes of Wyoming LLCs Wyoming legislature grants a default waiver of fiduciary duty among DAO LLC members, and the DAO unless explicitly stated otherwise in the articles of organization. A DAO LLC cannot be manager-managed. The articles of organization for a DAO LLC must explicitly incorporate the terms DAO, DAO LLC, or LAO (which stands for “Limited Autonomous Organization”) in the name. Unincorporated Non-Profit Associations (UNAs) The UNA entity structure is available across numerous states in the US for adoption, although the specific regulations may vary depending on whether the state has fully or partially adopted the Uniform Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act (UUNAA). DAO A UNA can engage in for-profit activities and distribute funds in some states that have adopted the UUNAA as long as these actions contribute to furthering the organization’s nonprofit goals. However, it is crucial to recognize that such activities can impact the UNA’s eligibility for tax-exempt status under of the tax code. Section 501(c)(3) Attributes of UNAs UNAs are uncomplicated and time-efficient in formal requirements. Although the rules vary across states, UNAs are typically not required to make any state filing in order to form and can arise from an oral agreement between participants. In certain states, UNAs provide a separate legal identity and limited liability for their members. There’s less certainty with UNAs as their governing statutes vary across jurisdictions and are untested by courts. Tennessee Decentralized Organization LLC Tennessee introduced that allows to register as Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) within the state. This statute provides members of DAO LLCs with limited liability protections, akin to those extended to traditional LLCs, safeguarding their personal assets. To register as an LLC, a DAO must submit articles of organization that meet requirements similar to those mandated for DAOs intending to register in Wyoming. ion legislat DAOs There are notable differences between Tennessee and Wyoming regarding the laws governing DAO LLCs. Firstly, the Tennessee statute specifies that a quorum of 50% is necessary for a valid vote. Secondly, unlike Wyoming’s law, Tennessee requires organizations to choose between a “member-managed” and “smart contract-managed” structure. However, in practice, DAOs often incorporate elements of both approaches and are rarely exclusively “member-managed” or solely “smart-contract-managed.” Utah Limited Liability DAOs (LLDs) (Utah DAO Act) The Utah State Legislation passed the Utah DAO Act, granting DAOs legal recognition and limited liability protections. This legislation, resulting from collaboration between the Digital Innovation Taskforce and the Utah Blockchain Legislature, establishes ownership guidelines, protects DAO-compliant anonymity through bylaws, and introduces quality assurance DAO protocols. This new law provides legal recognition and limited liability to DAOs, legally framing them as “Utah LLDs.“. It emphasizes ownership guidelines, and anonymity protection, and introduces quality assurance protocols. Attributes of Utah LLDs Utah LLDs may offer liability protection to its members, shielding them from personal liability for the entity’s debts and obligations. It defines ownership of DAOs and protects DAO-compliant anonymity through bylaw. The legislation established a nuanced tax arrangement as mentioned in Section 48–5–406 of the . Bill Vermont Blockchain-based Limited Liability Company (BBLLC) In 2018, Vermont introduced an that can be utilized by organizations using blockchain technology for a significant part of their operations, including DAOs, although the term “DAO’’ is not explicitly mentioned. To register as a Blockchain-Based Limited Liability Company (BBLLC), an organization must include relevant details in its operating agreement, such as its purpose, voting requirements, the intended use of blockchain technology, and the rights of members. LLC legislation By providing a framework that allows for the incorporation of blockchain-based activities, the state encourages innovation and creates a supportive environment for DAOs to operate effectively. Furthermore, the legislation permits participants in a DAO to assume various roles, such as managers and developers, as long as they adhere to the fiduciary duties outlined in Vermont’s LLC laws. Colorado Limited Cooperative Association (LCA) An LCA (Limited Cooperative Association) is a unique entity that combines aspects of both cooperatives and corporations. It offers a flexible capital model and governance structure. Within an LCA, members can assume the roles of investors or patrons, with each having the right to vote and a share of the revenues. The voting system can be based on the “one member, one vote” principle or on patronage or equity considerations. To establish an LCA, at least two organizers, who must be patron members, are required to file articles of organization with the Secretary of State. The LCA’s separate legal personhood ensures limited liability for its members, providing a layer of protection. Catawba Digital Economic Zone The Catawba Digital Economic Zone (CDEZ) has enacted regulations enabling DAOs to register as either Limited Liability Companies (similar to Wyoming DAO LLC law) or unincorporated nonprofit associations. The regulations, akin to those in other states, mandate the issuance of a certificate of organization by DAOs, which includes stating their DAO status, disclosing member rights distinctions from traditional LLCs, and providing information on voting rights, member duties, and amendment procedures. Also, organizations may offer an operating agreement as a supplement to the smart contract, governing principles, and certificate of organization. Legal Wrappers in International Countries These legal wrappers are internationally recognized structures that have been and are being adopted in other jurisdictions outside the US. They include: Coalition of Automated Legal Applications (COALA) COALA has developed a DAO Model Law with the aim of reducing legal uncertainty and fostering the growth of DAOs. A major advantage of the Law is that it will provide uniformity, a model set of rules that could be implemented internationally, and legal certainty to DAOs and their members worldwide. This Law, having 6 chapters addresses the kinds of activities DAOs can engage in, the requirements DAOs need to comply with in order to restrict the liability of its members, and the circumstances (fraud or failure to comply with regulations) that could lead to personal liability for members in chapters 1 to 4. Chapter 5 addresses the unique features of DAOs and their legal implications. For example, what will happen in cases of a hard fork? Chapter 6 looks at the tax regime the Model Law seeks to implement. Marshall Islands (Non-Profits & LLCs) In a significant development, the Republic of Marshall Islands, an independent island state located in the Pacific Ocean officially enacted the Decentralized Autonomous Organizations Act by the end of 2022. This pioneering legislation enables DAOs to establish themselves as Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), provided they self-identify as a DAO LLC. In the Act, both for-profit and nonprofit DAOs are permitted, as well as definitions and regulations for DAO formation, agreements, and smart contracts. Also, it explicitly recognizes DAO voting and tokenization as integral processes within the framework of the Act, further solidifying their legitimacy and importance. The Cayman Foundation Company in the Cayman Islands The Cayman Foundation Company of the Cayman Islands is an appealing choice for DAOs due to its flexible governance structure, and ability to function as both a trust and a corporation. Similar to a corporation, a legal wrapper allows the Foundation to operate as a distinct legal entity with limited liability for its members. As well as providing definitions and regulations for the formation, agreements, and use of smart contracts, the Act accommodates both for-profit and nonprofit DAOs.ecisions in DAO must be made by the community. Ownerless Foundations in the Bahamas, Panama, & Gibraltar States like the Bahamas, Panama, and Gibraltar are international jurisdictions that provide DAOs with the option to establish . These foundations operate under the guidance of a board of trustees or governors who hold a fiduciary obligation towards the foundation itself, rather than shareholders or DAO members. ownerless foundations are appealing because of their structural adaptability and the associated limited liability. Nonetheless, setting this type of foundation can be both costly and complicated. Ownerless Foundations Swiss Foundations in Switzerland Switzerland has not yet introduced specific legislation tailored for DAOs, but it remains a popular choice for DAOs to establish themselves as Swiss Foundations. When setting up a foundation in Switzerland, it is essential for the organization to clearly define its purpose, governing bodies, and administrative procedures in its charter. These factors will determine the regulatory authority overseeing the foundation. Swiss foundations possess their own legal identity, thus providing a limitation on personal liability. They also enable DAO members to exercise the rights granted to them through smart contracts and the organization’s charter. For instance, members of a DAO may have the right to participate in voting processes, with their decisions being implemented by a governing body established by the DAO foundation. Private Trust Company In Liechtenstein Liechtenstein has emerged as a favorable destination for blockchain projects. The country enacted the Token and Trusted Technology Service Provider Act for transparency in the registration requirements and liabilities for token providers. This legislation also provides clear definitions for various types of tokens and the associated rights they confer. Although there is no specific legislation governing entity formation for DAOs, a DAO can choose to establish itself as a Private Trust Company (PTC). The PTC structure offers flexibility, allowing organizations to adopt either a corporation-like or a foundation-like model. It’s noteworthy that a PTC can assume control over assets without incurring fiduciary duties, thus limiting member liability strictly to the assets held by the PTC. How To Choose a Suitable Legal Wrapper To choose a suitable legal wrapper, DAOs must carefully consider their structure, activities, and the advantages and disadvantages of establishing any of the above formal legal frameworks. This decision holds significant importance and should be guided by a clear and structured process informed and guided by experienced legal counsel. When choosing a legal wrapper, the following factors should be carefully considered: : Aligning the legal strategy with the DAO’s overarching goals is crucial for long-term success. The chosen legal wrapper should support and enable the DAO to fulfill its mission effectively. DAO’s mission and vision : Considering the variety of legal wrappers available, DAOs should evaluate and choose the type that best suits their purpose, community, composition, and other relevant characteristics. Both traditional and bespoke wrappers should be considered in this evaluation. Best suitable wrapper type Thoroughly drafting legal documents that clearly define the rights, responsibilities, and governance structure of the DAO is vital. This should be done with the aid of an experienced legal counsel to ensure accuracy and compliance. Drafting legal documents: : Compliance with relevant registration requirements is necessary to establish the legal wrapper entity. DAOs should carefully navigate the registration process in accordance with the laws and regulations of their specific jurisdiction. Registering the wrapper entity : Seamlessly integrating the legal wrapper with the DAO’s smart contracts is crucial for maintaining operational efficiency and compliance. Integrating the wrapper with smart contracts : The legal wrapper’s ongoing compliance with applicable laws and regulations is paramount. DAOs must stay abreast of legal developments and adapt their compliance efforts accordingly. Maintaining compliance It is worth noting that while legal structures offer operational advantages and legal protections, they also come with associated costs. Therefore, DAOs should carefully evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of each legal wrapper option in relation to their unique circumstances. By following a well-informed and diligent approach, DAOs can navigate the regulatory maze, establish appropriate legal frameworks, and empower themselves with compliance and legal protection in an ever-evolving regulatory environment. Also published here. The lead image for this article was generated by HackerNoon's AI Image Generator via the prompt "legal documents".

DAOs and Compliance: The Importance of Legal Wrappers

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One of the biggest challenges Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs) contend with is finding a suitable legal wrapper. In most cases, this is due to a DAO inherently lacking the legal capacity to execute “off-chain” contracts. However, one of the earliest attempts to give DAOs a form of legal recognition is the 2017 Cayman Islands Foundation Companies Law. In the Cayman Islands, DAOs operate tax-free as foundation companies with the legal personality and limited liability of a typical company. I recently sat down with , the founder and Managing Director of , a Cayman Islands regulated company manager that not only helps DAOs to form Cayman foundation companies but also acts as their directors, supervisors, registered office, and secretary.  Enjoy the conversation! David Lloyd Bell Rock Group David, can you recount your journey to blockchain and the crypto world? We worked with many of the first blockchain projects to provide services in Cayman to their DAOs. As a regulated and licensed firm with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, we have always been well positioned to incorporate Cayman foundations, provide experienced directors to the board of the foundation, secretary services, the supervisor and many other support services to help the growth of the DAO community. We have also worked to assist fund managers with the launch of digital asset hedge funds and provide independent director services and governance to such funds throughout the fund lifecycle. We also routinely work on requirements to register as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) so intricately involved with developments in the blockchain space. Our firm has traditionally worked with asset managers, blue chip companies, investment banks, and high-net-worth individuals, providing independent governance services. Each of our directors has over 25 years of senior-level industry experience but also developed niche expertise throughout the growth in DAOs, blockchain protocols, web3 developments and crypto services. DAOs face many challenges. One of them is finding a legal wrapper. What is your experience dealing with it? A Cayman Foundation differs from an ordinary company primarily because it does not need to have members. The Cayman Companies Act governs a Cayman Foundation—unless it is excluded, modified, or inconsistent with the Cayman Foundation Companies Act. The fundamental corporate structure of a Cayman Foundation is tried and tested, and legal jurisprudence regarding Cayman companies also applies to it. These are the typical roles in a Cayman Foundation, all of which we provide at Bell Rock: Founder, Director, Shareholders/Members, Beneficiaries, Supervisors, and Secretary. The founder is usually the person who established the structure through a contribution of assets. The Foundation Act does not formally define the role of “Founder,” so the governing documents may specify what (if any) powers the Founder retains. For example, the Founder may reserve the power to appoint the directors or amend the governing documents, but the Founder may also have no ongoing role in the foundation. Since DAOs utilize a bottom-up governance structure, the Founder would not normally retain any powers in the Foundation. As with an ordinary company, a Cayman Foundation is managed by a board of directors, with the same powers as in an ordinary Cayman company, though they may be restricted to align with the DAO’s specific objectives. Regarding Members/shareholders (if there are any), a Cayman Foundation must initially be incorporated with one or more members (the same as an ordinary company), but it can cease to have members at any time, without affecting the foundation’s existence, capacity, or powers. A Cayman DAO may therefore exist as an orphan entity without any members or shareholders. An ownerless Cayman Foundation DAO jibes nicely with the ethos of the hierarchy-less DAO and its community. Cayman Foundations may choose to have beneficiaries. Unless otherwise specified, the beneficiaries will not have any powers, rights, or standing to sue the foundation (such a supervisory function is vested in a “supervisor”). Beneficiaries may be specified people or a class of people—for example, token-holders or certain community members, whom the Cayman Foundation DAO may be structured to reward. As beneficiaries of the Cayman Foundation DAO, token-holders would not have any personal liability for the foundation’s debts or financial losses. As for supervisor(s), if a Cayman Foundation ceases to have members, it must have one or more “supervisors” (who may also be directors). As suggested by their title, supervisors enforce the rules of the Cayman Foundation and typically have the right to access its files, books, and accounts. A supervisor has no ownership or economic entitlement in a Cayman Foundation. And lastly, the role of Secretary can only be provided by a licensed company manager, such as Bell Rock. How is Bell Rock Group solving this problem? We have worked with many different protocols, the founders and their legal counsel to incorporate Cayman foundation companies to create a limited liability entity to enable the DAO to operate, provided protection to DAO members and allow for the DAO to operate, open accounts, hire developers, manage treasury and generally operate the DAO. We provide a one-stop solution for DAOs in the Cayman Islands and as a regulated provider of services in the Cayman, we are well-positioned for future regulatory developments in this sector. What are the major criticisms levelled against the Foundation Law and how do you respond to them? The major criticism is the lack of decentralization with any formal legal governance structure. The core premise of DAO decentralization is undermined by the structure of a foundation company as the foundation is set up to have a legal personality and is treated like a typical company (i.e., able to enter into contracts, undertake actions with third parties, etc. Even with the issuance of voting tokens and a governance framework, many governance protocols claim to be fully decentralized yet fail to achieve the level of decentralization necessary to continue operating without interference. Even with the issuance of voting tokens, it is often the case that tokens are concentrated with certain holders who can then exercise control on decisions. There is no perfect solution all round but the Cayman foundation has been seen as outweighing many of the cons given its flexibility. Moreover, as we have seen recently with the Arbitrium governance tokens, many DAO members were disgruntled by the founders not putting certain matters to a vote, especially when it concerns treasury. What we witnessed was a backlash against the DAO foundation. Many DAO evangelists yearn for a balance between DAO legislation and innovation. How can this be realised? The governing rules, structure, and roles of a Cayman Foundation can be adapted to suit a range of bespoke needs. And, because the constitution of a Cayman Foundation can be supplemented with bylaws that are not filed with the Register of Companies, they are private, affording the Cayman Foundation some privacy and the flexibility to set its own rules about structure and management. The bylaws may relate to any aspect of the Cayman Foundation or to any of the duties or powers of the directors or other officeholders, including how to achieve the foundation’s objectives. For DAOs, the substantive rules about how community members will govern the DAO typically live in the bylaws, which may also restrict the directors’ powers in keeping with the DAO’s democratic governance model. Anti-crypto US Senator Elizabeth Warren is proposing a ban on owning a personal crypto wallet. What are the implications for the growth of DAO in the US? The current bill does not distinguish between blockchain protocols and exchange-traded cryptocurrencies. DAOs will continue to develop at a rapid pace. If personal crypto wallets are banned, it would severely limit the ability of individuals and organizations to participate in the creation and operation of DAOs. Furthermore, the ban would hinder innovation in the crypto industry, which has been a driving force for the development of new technologies and financial products. If the ban were to go into effect, it could also lead to a shift in the global crypto market, as investors and developers may move their operations to other countries where personal crypto wallets are allowed. It's worth noting that Senator Warren's proposal is just one of many ideas being discussed in the US regarding crypto regulation, and it's not clear if it will become law. Nonetheless, it highlights the ongoing debate over how to regulate the crypto industry and the potential consequences of such regulations. Are DAOs here to stay? Absolutely, although they will naturally evolve in terms of their operations and I believe many jurisdictions are already starting to look at regulating DAOs and/or the service providers that provide services to them. However, the regulation of DAOs is not a bad thing. I see nothing wrong with regulated service providers being the firms best placed to hold DAOs accountable to a high standard in terms of compliance and sanctions screening, prudential governance, cybersecurity, business contingency, internal controls, market conduct, accounting standards and so on, which is an expectation of those very service providers. Despite some regulatory and technical challenges, the potential benefits of DAOs are significant, and we can expect to see more experimentation and adoption of DAOs in the future. How can DAOs be truly decentralised? The control of the DAO should be distributed among its members, without any individual or group having undue influence over the decision-making process. This can be achieved through the use of transparent and auditable smart contracts that automatically execute decisions based on pre-defined rules and conditions. What, in your view, is the most significant milestone for DAOs? The most significant milestone for DAOs was the launch of the DAO, also known as DAO1, in April 2016. The DAO was a decentralized autonomous organization that aimed to create a decentralized venture capital fund, where members could invest in startups using digital tokens. The DAO raised over $150 million in Ethereum in just over a month, making it the largest crowdfunding campaign in history at the time. However, it also suffered a major security breach in June 2016, which resulted in the loss of over $50 million worth of Ethereum. The incident led to a contentious hard fork of the Ethereum blockchain, which ultimately led to the creation of Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC) as separate blockchain networks. While the DAO ultimately failed as a result of the security breach, it served as a significant milestone in the development of DAOs. It demonstrated the potential for decentralized crowdfunding and investment and highlighted the importance of security and governance in the design of DAOs. It also led to significant advancements in smart contract development, which have since been used to create a wide range of innovative DAOs in areas such as decentralized finance (DeFi), governance, and social networks. Any parting words? The future of blockchain and decentralization is exciting and we, at Bell Rock in the Cayman Islands, are excited to be a part of future developments in how DAOs govern themselves, virtual assets and web3 communities. To the extent that we can support the growth of DAO communities then we will play a fundamental part.

Cayman Islands DAO Wrapper: Exclusive Interview With David Lloyd, Bell Rock Group Founder

In our previous articles, we discussed the and power distribution differences between blockchain and DAG. Now, let’s take a look at their ideological/philosophical differences. technical They are fundamental. As noted in , users in blockchains can only transactions but have to rely on block producers to them to the ledger, while DAG users both transactions and them to the ledger without the help of any third parties. Distribution of Power in DAGs and Blockchains create add create add This means that DAG users have full autonomy, full independence, and full control of their lives (as far as distributed ledgers are concerned), which relates to individualistic values. They are on their own and no one can stop them. No group can stop them either, even if that group is large or dominant in any way. It is not so in blockchains. In blockchains, user transactions have to be approved/accepted by block producers. It is block producers who have the final say about adding every transaction to the blockchain. Assuming that block producers represent the community in some way (the quality of representation is another question) and the majority of the community doesn’t want your transaction to be accepted for whatever reason, the block producers have the power to block it. That is, the collective’s representatives have the power to intrude on an individual’s life. do The collective’s ability to block any transaction means that the private property that resides on a blockchain is conditional on the approval of the majority. This way, it cannot be regarded as private property to the full extent. This is in line with the collectivist belief that . “man has no rights except those which society permits him to enjoy” In blockchains, the community has to protect what the technology can’t The above conclusion doesn’t mean however that all property stored on blockchains is in immediate danger. Since collectivism’s goal is “to do the greatest good to the greatest number”, you should be fine as long as you belong to “the greatest number”. Remember, we are still assuming that block producers perfectly represent the community, and what they think is “good” is what the majority of the community thinks is “good”. As long as it is the case, the community’s values can protect the individual from excessive intervention by block producers. Here are two examples: In early May 2021, Marathon, a large miner, in an effort to stay “compliant with U.S. regulatory standards”. This initiative was met with strong criticism in the Bitcoin community, and by the end of the month Marathon stating that it “is committed to the core tenets of the Bitcoin community, including decentralization, inclusion, and no censorship”. Bitcoin started censoring non-OFAC-compliant transactions stopped this practice In August 2022, after many US-based Ethereum businesses started censoring the OFAC-sanctioned Tornado Cash transactions, Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, that if regulators asked them to censor at the protocol level, he would rather shut down the validator service than comply with censorship requirement. tweeted This is great when blockchain communities are strong enough to protect the freedoms of their members. Some of these communities still have the core built around protecting individual freedoms against government interference. After all, blockchains were a huge improvement compared with banks and other centralized ledgers (such as PayPal) in terms of freedom to move one’s own money as one sees fit. That was definitely the case as block production was (and still is) largely unregulated. However, there are no guarantees that a community that is strong now will remain equally strong in a few years, or that outside pressures won’t grow. Likewise, there are no guarantees that the original values-based core won’t be washed out of the community and replaced with those who see crypto as a way to get rich and are more likely to compromise on the freedoms of the individual. Blockchain technology permits that. There is simply too much room left for human decisions. There are too many variables. DAG-based ledgers are the opposite — the technology ensures the individual’s rights and leaves no room for any interference. Separation of concerns Even though DAG strongly favors individualism, it is still a community whose members have a common interest in upholding the network. For this, they might have governance processes and representatives to help them make decisions about the network as a whole. In , we have Order Providers (OPs), and their main task is regularly posting transactions to help all the nodes establish order on the DAG. Their other task is updating the list of OPs, i.e. removing some old members from the group and accepting new ones to ensure continuous operation of the network and orderly governance in the future. For example, if some OPs become subject to external pressures which would oblige them to censor some transactions, such OPs should be replaced by the remaining ones before the coercible OPs become a majority. Or, if an OP becomes less interested in supporting the network, or just a better candidate comes up, they can be replaced too. Obyte DAG It is important that in this design, the collective decision-making and activities of the community’s representatives (the OPs) affect only — the order of transactions on the network or the health of the network as a whole. Neither the community nor its representatives can do anything to intrude on any particular individual’s life. That is, the collective manages the collective’s resources, while every individual manages that individual’s own assets. common resources This separation of concerns exists in DAG, but not in the blockchain. Just a tool Now, this is not a discussion of whether DAGs are better or worse than blockchains, or whether individualism is better or worse than collectivism. Both blockchain and DAG are just tools, and should be chosen according to one’s goals and values. As we have shown above, blockchains better align with collectivism, while DAGs better align with individualism. This means that blockchains are a better fit for tasks where the interests of the community as a whole should be prioritized over the interests of any individual or a minority group within the community. Note that in practice, the community’s interests can only be expressed through representatives (not directly) and the quality of representation matters a lot. The representatives are powerful, and if they become subject to outside pressures, or become driven by self-interest counter to the public interest, or start serving the highest bidder, such a blockchain benefits neither the community nor the individual. DAGs, on the other hand, are a better fit for tasks where individual freedoms are of primary concern and the individuals need a neutral, ownerless medium through which they want to do business with each other. The medium doesn’t impose anything on them, it’s only a conductor of their free will. Of course, the medium has its rules and restrictions (such as: every transaction must have a valid signature and spend existing coins), and these rules are enforced purely by technology and are equal for all. Depending on goals and values, one can choose blockchain or DAG. For the purpose of creating a long-term store of value where assets cannot be blocked or confiscated by the will of the majority, DAG works better. Also published here.

Exploring the Ideological Differences between Blockchain and DAG: Individualism vs. Collectivism

Explorando las diferencias ideológicas entre Blockchain y DAG: individualismo versus colectivismo

Explorer les différences idéologiques entre Blockchain et DAG : individualisme contre collectivisme

ब्लॉकचैन और डीएजी के बीच वैचारिक अंतर की खोज: व्यक्तिवाद बनाम सामूहिकतावाद

ブロックチェーンと DAG のイデオロギーの違いを探る: 個人主義と集団主義

Explorando as diferenças ideológicas entre Blockchain e DAG: Individualismo vs. Coletivismo

Khám phá sự khác biệt về tư tưởng giữa Blockchain và DAG: Chủ nghĩa cá nhân so với Chủ nghĩa tập thể

探索区块链与DAG的意识形态差异：个人主义与集体主义

How To Write a Solidity Smart Contract and Deploy it on Ropsten

Cómo escribir un contrato inteligente de Solidity e implementarlo en Ropsten

Comment rédiger un contrat intelligent Solidity et le déployer sur Ropsten

सॉलिडिटी स्मार्ट कॉन्ट्रैक्ट कैसे लिखें और इसे रोपस्टेन पर कैसे लागू करें?

Solidity スマート コントラクトを作成して Ropsten にデプロイする方法

Como escrever um contrato inteligente de solidity e implantá-lo no Ropsten

Làm thế nào để viết một hợp đồng thông minh vững chắc và triển khai nó trên Ropsten

如何编写 Solidity 智能合约并将其部署在 Ropsten 上

Ishan Pandey: Hi Mark, welcome to our series “Behind the Startup.” Please tell us about yourself and the story behind Chic-A-Dees? Sure thing, I am the founder of ADOR and a creative storyteller at my core. Mark Savage: I have been in the NFT space since 2017; creating digital art. Not many NFT gurus carry this OG status. I only say this to show my true dedicated intention to grow and improve the blockchain space. I have always championed education and self-expression in the blockchain industry, and NFTs are the gateway! Chic-A-Dees is a new IP that ADOR & Ownerfy teamed up to create, mid-2021. Nick, from Ownerfy, created one of the 1st mobile NFT minting platforms with 20k+ MAU; he reached out to me to launch a generative NFT experiment. Chic-A-Dees consists of 8888 digital chics and 2223 legendary chics, 11,111 total. We have had a great public response and a growing discord community! Since inception, all chic-a-dees can now lay (erc20) egg tokens. This is an NFT 1st! Yield bearing NFTs is a perfect utility for any community; it allows owners to passively collect eggs from their chic-a-dee NFTs. Even more, we have formed an EGG-DAO, EGG VAULT and EGG-ETH uniswap pair… This is just the beginning. All chic-a-dee holders will have 1st access to future releases and the ability to participate in EGG exclusive NFT drops. There are a few collections in the pipeline that you don’t want to miss out on. Ishan Pandey: What are your views on NFT art and what will be its future according to you? NFT art is incredible, truly a paradigm shift for human history. Mark Savage: Most millennials do not have the space to collect many physical pieces of ART or collectibles. The immutable nature of blockchain and digital provenance allows any level of artist to offer their works globally and trade it for borderless currency. Many digital artists are thriving in the NFT space, mainly due to the nature of connecting technology with emotion. I also have to mention that the term NFT is a huge umbrella, which means NFT art can consist of many different genres. I encourage any creative to approach this medium with an open mind and patience. This industry is just getting started, so its best not to burn out in 6 months. Ishan Pandey: Do you think more NFTs projects will shift from Ethereum to other blockchains due to gas wars? NFT projects are already shifting to other chains, but Ethereum is currently the industry leader. Most projects copy what Ethereum has already done or doing; the future will be multichain. We are all super early, so it’s best not to get hung up on which chain is the top currently. Mark Savage: Ishan Pandey: Community building is the most critical part of any NFT related project. According to you, what techniques and methods should entrepreneurs use for building a community around their NFT project? This is a critical area to shine a light on… Many great ideas are born and never see the light of day if a substantial community isn’t there to support it. Mark Savage: Growth hacking is an art that can tap into any subculture that exists. What I mean is, if there is a small niche or community that loves, “f” then as a creative, you may want to create or deliver a message that resonates with community “f”. If you want to tell a new and unique story, you will still have to connect with an audience. It is a good practice as a creator to place yourself in the “community shoes”... What do they want to feel, what do they hate, what wakes them up every day? Starting with a profile of the community you want to attract can be a great way to build organically. Other techniques like influencers collaborations, celebrity promos, PR releases and VIRAL TIKTOK marketing can get your name out there and attract the TRIBE you are looking for. Ishan Pandey: Do you think that Ethereum high gas fees are proving to be a hurdle for the adoption of NFT projects on the Ethereum blockchain? Further, what can be its solution considering that other public blockchains are also coming up as competitors? Ethereum gas fees are the result of its success. You also pay for security. Ethereum is the most decentralized blockchain and people want the security that their investment will be around in 10 or 20 years. Mark Savage: That is what people are paying for. Some of the other blockchains are a great start, but most aren’t as developed as Ethereum. There is a lot of opportunity and potential for the other blockchains because of Ethereum’s high gas fees, but they will also be racing against the release of Ethereum 2.0 which is supposed to significantly reduce the Ethereum gas fees. Ultimately, there will be many winners, and many of Ehtereum’s ‘competitors’ will also be successful. Ishan Pandey: China recently intensified their stance on cryptocurrencies by imposing a blanket ban on all crypto transactions and mining, putting immense pressure on bitcoin and other prominent coins as well as crypto and blockchain-related companies. What will be the global implication of this nationwide ban? We all know China has banned cryptocurrency many times before in the past and it’s always had a passing effect on the industry and the market. It appears this time will be no different. Mark Savage: Many people use a cryptocurrency and some of the largest blockchain companies are based in China and the latest policy has had very little effect so far. This is probably because it’s challenging to enforce the ban, and so many people in CHINA benefit from cryptocurrency; there is very little support from the business sector. China ultimately is trying to send a message. If the message aligns with industry standards and regulations then this can be a good thing for them. Tons of scams and lures are easily tempting many with major FOMO. Time will tell CHINA’s true intentions if they are for this technology and the advancement of their economy. Ishan Pandey: According to you, how should NFT projects marketing their product and build an audience for their product? (Similar to community building, but please focus here on marketing channels and do’s and don’t). Specifically for marketing, hiring a firm and a few ambassadors can get the job done. A healthy budget of 10k-50k is a reasonable goal. Mark Savage: If you do not have this type of budget, you will have to use alternative methods like viral marketing to get your brand awareness. Bitcoin and many other projects do not have a marketing budget, but they have a die-hard community and they are making history. The people are the power; this is why you must resonate with your target audience. Top companies spend billions on marketing their brand. This old model is now outdated; the new way to connect is with authentic storytelling and micro influencing. Small sparks can ultimately create a huge viral effect for your brand when you have the story and the emotion just right. Ishan Pandey: What are your views on the fractionalization of NFTs? Should fractionalized NFTs be treated as securities? Regulation is supposed to be in place to protect investors. If the investors are happy, then I do not see a need for regulation. There is no dust bowl. No one is jumping off bridges; some are getting burned from moving too fast, but this is a life lesson to learn. Mark Savage: Some companies offer traditional products that mirror traditional investments, like investing in the company, but it is truly up to the person to decide the amount of RISK they want to manage. I believe other more exotic fractionalized assets are too new to regulate right now. Early regulation or misguided regulation could set the industry back before it has time to blossom. It is probably a good idea to let things play out and discover what issues investors have that could benefit from regulation. I do not think it is ever a good idea to try to protect people who are not asking for protection. The end goal should be to grow the economy, not get in the way of it. Disclaimer: The purpose of this article is to remove informational asymmetry existing today in our digital markets by performing due diligence by asking the right questions and equipping readers with better opinions to make informed decisions. The material does not constitute any investment, financial, or legal advice. Please do your research before investing in any digital assets or tokens, etc. The writer does not have any vested interest in the company.

Building a Community Around Your NFT Project is Critical

Blockchain smart contracts enable trust-minimizing escrow agreements, where value can be received, held, and remitted pursuant to objective conditions and triggers. Defining Escrow The traditional escrow agreement is an arrangement between adverse parties where the timing mismatch of performance and payment is rectified by placing any combination of value, documents, assets, signatures, and other conditions or actions with a third-party escrow agent. Generally, when all required conditions to a transaction’s closing are complete or satisfied, the escrow agent releases funds along with signed and dated documents to close the deal. A title company or other specialized trade or regional entity may act as an escrow agent; occasionally, larger institutions such as banks or law firms might take on the escrow role. When third-party entities execute these agreements on behalf of the contracting parties, the risks of security or contractual breach and other unintended actions augment the transaction expenses to the already complicated conditions of the contract. By replacing third-party escrow agents with blockchain smart contracts, value can be received, held, and remitted under a predetermined set of objective conditions without requiring trust in a third-party entity or individual. Smart escrow contracts leverage the security of thousands of independent nodes running automatically executing code which can also leverage “off-chain” data (i.e. not blockchain-native data, such as data fed by web APIs) by using off-chain-to-onchain translation software known as an “oracle.” An oracle receives data requests from blockchain smart contracts (such as the smart escrow contract suggested here), reads the traditional API, and returns the data in a readable format for blockchains. By using oracles as a gateway for traditional data to blockchains, smart contract escrow can be expressly contingent and automatically execute upon objective external data or conditions like e-signature events, payment messages, financial data, or internet-of-things (“IoT”) data. With , API3 is dedicated to ensuring that each oracle is a first-party oracle (i.e. data provider-run) to minimize vulnerability in the objective data needed for such executions. Airnode When escrow agents are brought into contractual agreements to simply conduct bilateral value transfers, trustless automation presents a breadth of disruptive potential. Traditional escrow agreements tend to suffer from inefficiencies and issues such as: Restriction to the working hours of the parties and escrow agent, especially when international parties face different time zones, which may cause delays and additional costs, including: Opening and utilizing an intermediary account or escrow agent for closings outside of local banking hours; Interest rate slippage, foreign exchange adjustments, swap/break costs, repricing transaction costs if delayed; Accommodating concerns for temporary time zone overlap, pertinent asset location or condition affecting legal or tax favorability, etc.; Tax or funding timing (such as expiry of the fiscal or calendar year, incentive period, stipend, etc.); and Expediting satisfaction of other conditions precedent in order to meet such deadlines may carry additional costs and risks. High fees for merely receiving, holding, and transferring funds; Legal and accounting fees for negotiating the escrow agent’s agreement mechanics and payment waterfalls; Prolonging negotiation and deal process to accommodate escrow parameters, which usually permits an escrow agent’s resignation and substitution with unilateral notice; Using an escrow agent often requires a unique additional set of know-your-customer requirements to comply with anti-money laundering regulations; and Relying on the trust of a centralized third party presents an additional layer of security risk and potentially misaligned incentives including access to otherwise confidential information; 1. Clauses absolving the escrow agent of liability for human error, for example: “for any error in judgment made in good faith by an officer or employee of the escrow agent unless proven that the escrow agent was grossly negligent in ascertaining the pertinent facts or acted intentionally in bad faith”[1]; and 2. Auto-compliance clauses leave the agent’s processing of funds at the whims of pending litigation or arbitration. In some circumstances, funds are frozen during investigations,[2] regardless of relation to the transaction at hand. Many of these problems give smart contracts an opportunity to disrupt the traditional escrow agreement. By placing funds or other digital consents into smart escrow contracts, transacting parties may effectively eliminate several of the above-mentioned problems. Such forms of digital consent can include things like funds converted to cryptocurrency, stablecoins or tokens[3]; e-signatures; or rights to ownership or title via non-fungible tokens. Trustless and ownerless smart contracts can act as the “escrow agent” with respect to value transfer and closing evidence. They can also widen the programmatic possibilities of agreement, including addition of hard-coded trustless dispute resolution mechanisms[4], or even choosing to have escrowed funds earn permissionless yield while the deal is pending. The escrowed funds may be programmatically released and the deal may close at any time 24/7 by onchain signature of the parties or by using rich external data as evidence of objective quantifiable conditions (see the Appendix for a step-by-step example). The programmed conditions for closing and constructing the smart escrow contract may be stipulated in the transaction’s core legal documents, such as a sale or financing contract. The external data used to validate such conditions would be fed by oracle software such as the to the smart escrow contract. Such oracle-fed conditions may include: a commodity or security price point; an agreed level of interest rate or other exchange benchmark or volatility limit (which might also provide an automatic termination or renegotiation threshold); the coordinates of a movable asset by tracking API, GPS or IoT data transmission; or fulfilled e-signature events. Airnode As with any off-chain escrow agreement, on-chain contracts will need to be handled with similar care. It is imperative to use security-audited smart escrow contracts and ensure the smart contract reflects the intention of the parties including any intended actions in relation to off-chain legal agreements. The parties should also consider a time-limited expiry or other condition to return escrowed funds (minus any agreed non-refundable deposit) in the event the transaction is not ultimately consummated. This prevents a lockup of funds should conflict between the transacting parties or other unexpected conditions arise. Appendix: Smart Escrow Step-by-Step Example[5] 1. Parties negotiate commercial terms of the deal, agree on off-chain documentation and process, and closing parameters/processes. 2. Parties sign any relevant pre-closing documents and arrange subjective and off-chain conditions to closing. 3. Smart escrow contract is deployed — typical parameters might include deal/asset description or identifier, deposit and/or purchase price, token payment method (i.e., stablecoin address), time until expiry, parties’ addresses, oracle interface for off-chain objective conditions, and anything else set forth in deal documentation. 4. Buyer indicates it is ready to close by calling a function and depositing funds to the smart escrow contract. This deposit may be done directly, or by using a fiat-crypto API or another interface.[6] 5. Seller checks deposit is in escrow contract’s address and indicates it is ready to close by calling a function. 6. Now that both buyer and seller are ready to close and funds are in escrow, either may call the function to close the deal and pay seller-provided any other objective conditions are satisfied. If such an objective closing condition is queried through the oracle and is not yet satisfied, the function may be called until the objective condition is satisfied (as reported by the oracle) and the deal may close, or until expiry. Similar to the deposit process, the seller may choose to “off-ramp” the received tokens to a traditional bank account by fiat-crypto API or by another interface. 7. When the deal closes, the objective conditions, details, and timing of closing will be emitted as events and are trustless-ly verifiable on-chain. Parties could also choose to include an encrypted reference to where the deal’s documentation is stored, such as on IPFS. By Erich Dylus (Legal Engineer at API3 and contributor to LexDAO) and Emily Cockley (Operations and Process Analyst at API3)

Redefining Trust: Smart Escrow Contracts

Imagine a scenario where price forecasts are made are forecast accurately, predictions about property markets and rental rates are predicted accurately, and the news is fact-checked thoroughly, making fake news a terrible memory. This scenario could seem too good to be true, but it could be something that could become a reality, thanks to the emergence of Decentralized Prediction Markets (DPMs). So What Is A Prediction Market? To understand what a prediction market is, we need to look at the definition of a market. A market is simply a group of people that buy or sell things. These can be physical things like a grocery store or a wholesale market, financial assets like banks and stock markets, or cab aggregator services like Uber. Similarly, a prediction market is a marketplace to buy and sell predictions. A prediction market operates like a stock market. Just like how you get shares in a stock market, you get shares in the outcome of an event. This could be any event, the weather, financial prediction, or predictions about the price of utilities increasing or decreasing. Understanding How A Prediction Market Works A prediction market has two types of shares, YES shares, and NO shares. YES shares are long shares, while NO shares are short shares. The payout depends on if the event in question occurs or doesn't occur. For example, a YES share will pay out a Dollar if the event occurs, and if it doesn't, then it won't pay anything. The same applies to a NO share. If the event in question does not occur, then the NO share will pay out a Dollar, and if the event occurs, then it won't payout. The share price depends on how much buyers pay and how much the sellers are willing to accept. The price in a prediction market is equal to the probability of the event occurring. If a YES share costs 60 cents, then the market believes a 60% chance of the event or outcome occurs. Similarly, if the NO share costs 60 cents, then the market thinks a 60% chance of the outcome is not happening. What Are Some Existing Prediction Markets? Prediction markets have proven to be a useful prognosis tool as they can represent various opinions. Some examples of prediction markets are Intrade, BetFair, and Iowa Electric Market. The Iowa Electronic Market is one of the pioneers of prediction markets. It was established in 1988 and was used to predict who would win the presidential elections. Augur is another example of a prediction market. It is a decentralized prediction market based on the Ethereum blockchain. Rise Of Prediction Markets Blockchain technology has made ownerless, peer-to-peer prediction markets possible. Ethereum, in particular, has enabled prediction markets to realize their full potential through the power of smart contracts. Smart contracts are lines of code that are executed automatically when certain predetermined conditions are met. Decentralized prediction markets are smart contracts that stipulate who gets paid how much when certain predefined conditions are met. Decentralized prediction markets are dApps that substitute centralized control with code and cryptography. Decentralized prediction markets are in a very nascent stage of their evolution. They have the potential to revolutionize trading and investing. What Are The Problems Faced By Prediction Markets? Prediction markets let traders and individuals leverage their knowledge to forecast outcomes for specific events or real-world scenarios. The currency generation of prediction markets suffers from some fundamental problems. There is an apparent lack of markets and a lack of liquidity in prediction markets. There is also a lack of traders and the presence of duplicate markets. They also face legal issues and a lack of decentralization, severely limiting their user base resulting in a drop in prediction quality due to a less diverse crowd. The total prediction market volume averaged only $1 million per day through 2020. This figure was lesser in previous years. At such low volumes, traders cannot hedge against outcomes and take large positions in prediction markets. The low volumes also contribute to low liquidity, leading to low fees and less active traders. This is the problem that plagues existing prediction markets, and they end up with hardly any daily users or daily volume. Which Are The Best Decentralized Prediction Market Platforms? Augur Developed in 2014 by the Forecast Foundation, aims to incentivize a network of computers to maintain a prediction market platform on Ethereum. Augur forecasts the outcome of any event by using the "wisdom of the crowd" principle. This method collects information from the crowd and averages it into the most realistic possibility and predicting the most probable outcome. Augur Gnosis was founded in 2015 by Stefan George and Martin Koppelmann. Gnosis was one of the first projects that were backed by the Ethereum focused ConsenSys. The Gnosis platform uses insights from capital markets and data science to enable users to forecast events. Users can also build their own decentralized prediction applications. Gnosis also offers users of the platform a multisignature wallet. Gnosis had an ICO on 24th April 2017 and raised $12.5 million of Gnosis (GNO). Gnosis Polkamarkets is a DeFi powered prediction market which can be used for trading and cross-chain information exchange. Users can predict and take positions on the outcomes of real-world events and scenarios. Polkamarkets is based on a decentralized and interoperable platform on Polkadot. Polkamarkets Conclusion Prediction markets represent a variety of opinions and have proven to be a useful prognostic tool. Companies like Google also utilize prediction markets. The current economic, cultural and political environment has increased the demand for prediction markets. Prediction markets have slowly moved from the private domain to the public domain. The availability of data from multiple sources should improve estimation methods and bring about the problem of data manipulation. However, as prediction markets become more mainstream, the markets' effectiveness will improve, and ethical and human biases will be adjusted.

Decentralizing Prediction Markets: Augur Vs. Gnosis Vs. Polkamarkets

Manipulating data is a core skill for any developer. In an API-driven environment, so much of the data you receive is formatted in a way that doesn't directly match the way that your application or UI needs it. Each web service and third-party API is different. This is where the ability to sort, normalize, filter, and manipulate the shape of data comes in. In this article, we'll explore some common ways to work with data in Javascript. To follow along, you'll need to be working with code in either Node.js or the Browser. Retrieving data from an API Before we start, you need some data. For the rest of the examples in the article, we'll be using the data returned from a search of GitHub's v3 REST API. We'll use the search/repositories endpoint to make a query for repositories matching a search term (the q parameter, in this case set to bearer). We're also going to limit the number of results to 10 per page, and only one page. This makes it more manageable for our examples. Start by using Fetch to connect to the API, and wrap it in a function with some basic error handling. You can reuse the function later in each of our examples. apiCall = fetch( ).then( { (res.ok) { res.json()
  } (res)
})
.catch( .err) const => () 'https://api.github.com/search/repositories?q=bearer&per_page=10' => res if return throw new Error console If you're using Node.js, you can use the node-fetch package to add Fetch support. Install it to your project with npm install -S node-fetch. Then, require it at the top of your project file. fetch = ( ) const require 'node-fetch' We'll also make use of async/await. If your platform (like some versions of Node.js) doesn't support top-level async/await, you'll need to wrap the code in an async function. For example: { results = apiCall() } async ( ) function example // Code here let await // More code With the setup out of the way, let's get started handling the response data. The results from the API call provide you with an object that contains some general metadata, as well as an array of repositories with the key of items. This lets you use a variety of techniques to iterate over the array and act upon the results. Let's look at some example use cases. Sorting results Many APIs, including GitHub's, allow you to sort the results by specific criteria. Rarely do you have full control over this. For example, GitHub's repository search only allows ordering by stars, forks, help-wanted-issues, and how recently an item was updated. If you need results in a different order, you'll have to build your own sorting function. Let's say you want to sort results by the number of open issues the repository has. This means the repository with the fewest issues should show first, and the repository with the most should show last. You can achieve this by using along with a custom sort function. Array.sort sortByOpenIssues = repos.sort( a.open_issues_count - b.open_issues_count) results = apiCall() .log(sortByOpenIssues(results.items)) // Sort by open issues const => repos ( ) => a,b // Run the apiCall function and assign the result to results let await // Call sort on the items key in results console To understand what's happening, lets look at how sort works. The method expects a specific return value: A value less than 0 means the first value is greater than the second, and should come before it in the order. A value of 0 means both values are equal. A value greater than 0 means the second value is greater than the first, and should come before it in the order. The easiest way to work with these conditions is to subtract the second value from the first. So in our code above, you subtract b.open_issues_count from a.open_issues_count. If the number of issues for "a" is greater, the result will be greater than 0. If they are equal, it will be zero. Finally, if b is greater the result will be a negative number. The sort method handles all of the movement of items around for you, and returns a brand new array. In the example above, two values are compared, but you can use any calculation that results in the criteria mentioned above to sort the results of an array. Filtering results Sorting changed the order of our data, but filtering narrows the data down based on specific criteria. Think of it as removing all of a certain color of candy from a bowl. You can use Javascript's built-in filter method on arrays to handle this. Similar to sort, the filter method will iterate over each item and return a new array. Any Let's look at a few filter scenarios. In the first, we'll create a filter that only shows repositories that contain a description. descriptionsOnly = repos.filter( repo.description) results = apiCall() .log(descriptionsOnly(results.items)) // Filter only repos that have descriptions const ( ) => repos ( ) => repo let await console In this case, we're returning the truthiness of repo.description to represent whether the API returned a value or null. If the current iteration in the loop returns true, that iteration's item is pushed to the new array. What if we want only repositories that have both a description and homepage URL? You can modify the previous example to achieve this. homeAndDescription = repos.filter( repo.homepage && repo.description) results = apiCall() .log(homeAndDescription(results.items)) // Filter only repos with URL and description const => repos => repo let await console Using Javascript's AND operator (&&), you can check that both the description and URL exist. If they do, the whole expression returns true and the item in the array is added to the new array. If either are false, the whole expression is false and the iteration will not be added to the new array. What about something a little more complex? Lets say you want all repositories that have been updated after a certain date. You can do this by setting a threshold and comparing it to the updated_at value on each repository. date_threshold = .parse( ) filterByDate = repos.filter( .parse(repo.updated_at) > date_threshold) results = apiCall() .log(filterByDate(results.items, date_threshold)) // Set a threshold let Date '2020-08-01' // Filter over results and compare the updated date with the cutoff date const ( ) => repos, cutoff_date => repo Date let await console Just as in the previous example, the truthiness of the returned value in the function passed to filter determines if the item is added to the new array. Changing the shape of data and format of data Sometimes the data you receive isn't what you need for your use case. It can either include too much, or it can be in the wrong format. One way to get around this is by normalizing the data. Data normalization is the process of structuring data to fit a set of criteria. For example, imagine these API interactions are happening on the server, but the client needs a subset of the data. You can re-shape the data before passing it down to the client. normalizeData = repos.map( ({ : repo.html_url, : repo.name, : repo.owner.login, : repo.description, : repo.stargazers_count
}) results = apiCall() .log(normalizeData(results.items)) const => repos => repo url name owner description stars let await console In the above code, the map array method is used to iterate over the results. It returns a new array made up of the values you return. In this instance, the data from the repos is simplified to include only a few key/value pairs, and the names of the keys have been made more digestible. You can even use this time to modify any data. For example, you could wrap repo.stargazers_count in Number() to ensure the count was always a number and never a string. Wrapping up Managing the data you receive from an API is a critical part of any API integration. Every API will return a different shape of data, in their own format. The exception being GraphQL APIs that give you more control over the shape, and sometimes the sort order and filtering options. Whether you are using the data as part of a larger data-processing effort, or using it to improve the usefulness of your application to your users, you will need to perform some actions to make the data digestible for your app. These API integrations are integral to your application, but what happens when they fail? We've written here before about you can take to from failure. some of the actions protect your integrations Previously published at https://blog.bearer.sh/javascript-api-array-data-manipulation/

How Use Array Methods to Handle API Data

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