DAOs Vs DeFi: Decentralized Building Blocks

It’s easy to get confused when living in this tech-driven world with new ideas evolving every day. Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are a perfect example of tech being embraced quickly with little to no understanding. DAOs are entities that enable users to create objectives or meet a mandate by coordinating via a shared set of steps policed on a blockchain. DAO tools, or builders, are separate entities that allow third parties to perform those tasks on already-established platforms. In fact, decentralized autonomous organizations and tools have grown exponentially to the point where the total value locked (TVL) in the DAO market is currently higher than that of DeFi’s – $47.67 billion compared to $41.43 billion, and builders may have facilitated this.

Perhaps one of the reasons that decentralized autonomous organizations have exploded in recent times is that DeFi requires DAOs to operate. DAOs have become increasingly popular among people who have common goals and a strong desire to collaborate with one another. They are innovative because they give everybody involved an equal voice in the decisions of the project. True democracy online – and we all know how valuable freedom of speech is. But which platforms are responsible for DAOs surging past DeFi’s TVL and enabling decentralized autonomous organizations to operate simply?

Platforms Exploding the DAO Landscape

Safe is a fully customizable platform that allows users to manage company crypto assets with the option to require a predefined amount of signatures to confirm pending transactions. Safe requires multiple team member signatures to confirm every transaction in order to execute it which helps prevent unauthorized access. To keep assets safe, Safe supports ETH, ERC20 (Tokens), and ERC721 (NFTs). You can also see the fiat values of your assets. Use your favorite wallet to sign transactions. No matter if it’s a mobile wallet, browser extension, or hardware wallet.

XDAO is a bespoke provider of ultra-secure DAO utilities for cryptocurrency entrepreneurs offering arguably the largest variety of blockchains among providers. The provider offers services allowing people to easily create decentralized autonomous organizations, deposit crypto assets, manage them by voting, sell DAO shares and directly interact with DeFi protocols.

With a recently closed seed funding round that drew $2 million of investments from professionals from around the sphere, XDAO's modular architecture allows users to create add-ons on top of the platform’s protocol. Registered in Singapore for extra peace of mind and with a 10/10 security rating on asset management tooling aggregator Daoscanner, XDAO is a fully customizable structure. It can be used for treasury management, multisig wallet, and as a platform for investment. It also supports 30 separate blockchains on its platform making it a leader in the sphere.

Another platform offering DAO tools for users is Aragon. Though only supporting four blockchains in comparison to XDAO’s 30, Aragon’s software can be used to create multiple institutions through its dedicated centralized apparatus. According to Aragon’s website, over 3,800 DAOs have been created using its technology and its treasury holds over $200 million. Aragon has been in the DAO tool game for a while now and is time-tested but offers fewer services than XDAO. Click-to-install modular systems, a secure DeFi connection, hybrid voting, and mobile compatibility are just some examples of what Aragon lacks that XDAO provides.

But why do we need decentralized autonomous organizations in the first place and what role do these builders play? Well, starting any organization which involves funding or money from investors requires plenty of trust from everybody involved in the project. But trust is difficult to build with somebody you’ve only had contact with online. Fortunately, with decentralized autonomous organizations, users don’t need to trust anybody else in the group, just the DAO’s code which is fortunately 100% transparent and verifiable by anybody. This positive structure opens up many new opportunities for collaboration and coordination with everybody involved.

DAO builders like Aragon and XDAO give ordinary people or organizations the opportunity to utilize this trustworthy infrastructure without having to invest in the base technology. The advantage of utilizing a DAO or builder is that the interests of the majority dictate all decision-making and funding. Builders give users the chance to utilize this tech where they wouldn’t have had that opportunity in the past.

With the progression of technology, DAOs evolve and become more ingrained as a concept. Many projects are looking at achieving full decentralization through the DAO model and the services that provide opportunities to build them. Of course, it is worth pointing out that this technology and concept is relatively new but appears to be being adopted across the board in some form or another. DAOs and the platforms that provide decentralization have the potential to change the way corporate governance is done in 2022 and beyond. More and more organizations will embrace the DAO structure and the services provided by them. The figures given in this article today will most certainly grow as this more democratic approach is applied to the norm.