DAO means Decentralized Autonomous Organization.  

A DAO is a Smart Contract, or a set of Smart Contracts (computerized, autonomous, tamper-proof programmes) that evolve on a Blockchain.

To illustrate this simply, we need to look at how a so-called ‘Stock’ Company works which is centralized, because yes DAO are modeled on the same principle, but make some big changes which are much more interesting, including decentralization.

How does a ‘Stock Company’ work?

Let’s take the case of any Enterprise, based on generic information.

In this kind of Company, everything is based on a Vertical Organization, which means : 

• A CEO
• A Board of Directors
• Shareholders (who earn dividends based on the company’s profits)

The Board of Directors is mainly composed of shareholders, who have a large amount of Shares, which is normal you will say. The more a person invests in a company, the more shares he or she owns, and it is therefore understandable that this person should have a say in the decisions to be taken.

So concretely :

• You need to own a relatively large number of shares to be able to give your opinion
• You also need a relatively large number of shares to submit an idea
• Therefore, only the Board of Directors can submit ideas, and vote on them.

Depending on the type of company, a small number of people, or even a single person, may demand changes, or submit a vote.

Once the vote is authorized, it is submitted to the shareholders (with sufficient voting rights), the result of which is recorded internally and must be processed manually.

Since it is centrally managed, it keeps the company’s accounts and finances very secret, with only a few privileged people (board members) having access to this information. This can in rare cases lead to the manipulation of figures.

There is still far too much opacity about these kinds of companies.

How do DAO differ from these companies?

A ‘Stock’ Company is centralized. A DAO is by nature decentralized.

Firstly, it is a Horizontal Organization:

• No hierarchy, no CEO, no bosses … (no one person or organization can control the entity).
• The DAO is based on a Distributed Governance system. The exercise of power within the Organization is collective.
• The DAO is not owned by one or a few people, but by all the people who have participated in its creation/funding.
• Because the DAO is decentralized, it can operate in a Supranational framework.

Secondly:

• Each person who has invested in the DAO holds a number of Tokens in proportion to his investment (which is normal, you might say). Tokens, just like Shares, allow to earn dividends according to the revenues of the DAO.
• Any Token holder has voting power, whether it is 1 Token or 1,000,000 Tokens, everyone has the right to vote.
• What is similar to a classic Enterprise is that the more Tokens a person has, the more weight their vote has (which is again normal).

Thirdly:

• The principles and rules of the DAO are written on the Blockchain, so that once they are online it is impossible to change them, just as it is impossible to stop it.
• The DAO works through Smart Contracts 
• Once decisions are voted, they are automatically applied by a Smart Contract and are irreversible.

Fourth :

• Because the DAO is all its information is written on the Blockchain, and its operation is fully automated, all transactions are transparent and anyone can audit the organization and thus verify that everything is working well.

Fifth:

• Any Token holder can submit an idea or proposal to a Vote. Because of its decentralization, and the anonymity of the Token holders, once a vote is submitted to the community, no one can know if this request/proposal is issued by a single Token holder, or by the one who owns Millions. Thus the community studies this proposal from the point of view of its intrinsic value and independent of the status of the person who made it.

Conclusion 

Could we say that DAO are the future of business? Or maybe DAO are even company 2.0? I don’t know.

But what I do know is that DAO offer much more weight to the ‘Shareholders’ called ‘Token Holders‘, by offering them a decision-making power (in proportion to the Tokens held)

DAO are decentralized, open to all and evolve in a Supranational framework, whereas so-called ‘stock companies’ are limited to a jurisdiction, restricted by legal constraints, and limit the power of investors, only the largest investors have power/voting rights.

A company is owned by an individual, a group of individuals or possibly a State, whereas a DAO is owned by all members who participate in its financing.

DAO democratizes decision-making power, whereas companies have a Board of Directors with a small number of members (the elected) deciding on the future and the projects/proposals to be adopted.

DAO, operating through Smart Contracts, can exist and evolve in a world of “Trustlessness“, an environment where trust is no longer necessary, as created by the Blockchain. It is the same for Smart Contracts, they have been coded to define the rules of the organization and hold its treasury in such a way that it is impossible for anyone to touch that money without first submitting the proposal to a community vote.

And realistically, if we eliminate third party intervention, in the real world of centralisation 

• we have to bring in experts, 
• we have to manually request the release of funds, 
• the time needed to draw up a report, 
• and the delays/fees for the execution of the transfer orders by the bank

Decentralization makes all this automatic through Smart Contracts, transparent and auditable by everyone, thus saving a lot of money and time.

Christophe WILHELM

Bitcoin Meister

© Bitcoin Meister

[learn_press_profile]

Hello everyone!

For a few months now, if not a few years, we have been seeing a lot of new words appear in the language of the “Crypto Sphere“.

One of these words that we are particularly interested in is “Web3“.

What does this word refer to? If we talk about ‘Web3’ does that mean that there is also a ‘Web2’ and a ‘Web1’?

Before we start, it is necessary to be familiar with how these iterations of the Web are written. Because yes, we also use the word ‘Iteration’, in the example “The third iteration of the Web“.

• Web 1.0
• Web 2.0
• Web3 (why not Web 3.0? I couldn’t tell you)

To understand what these 3 iterations of the Web are, it is essential to first make the difference between “Internet” and “Web“.

Very often we use these 2 words, without really understanding the difference, or use the first one to replace the other, and vice versa.

We may not know it, but the concept of the Internet is relatively old. In the early 1960s, the idea of a Computer Network that would allow users of different computers to communicate was born.

In the following years, the scientific community, especially American, British and French scientists, worked on developing the practical application of this technology.

Initially called the “Network of Networks“, it is now called the “Internet“.

In 1991, 30 years after the idea of working on a global network of computers, British scientist Tim Berners-Lee publicly announced the creation of the “World Wide Web“, more commonly known as the “WWW” and which we still use today. At the time, there were 1,000,000 interconnected computers.

In concrete terms, what are the differences between the Internet and the Web?

Internet

The Internet is a worldwide network of computers, allowing the exchange of data packets. This “network of networks” is made up of millions of networks, both public and private (university, commercial, governmental, etc.) without centralized services.

When you do a search on a web page, you (basically) go to a browser, type in your search, a list of results appears, and you click on the one that interests you. The path to the chosen web site is not direct, you will go through different networks (computers) to reach your destination. If one of these networks is down, your computer will look for a new way to access the web page.

To put it more simply: You are in the middle of a city, you get a letter asking you to go to a specific address. With your city map, you look for the fastest or easiest route to your destination. On one of the chosen routes there is an accident, so it is impossible to get through, so you take an alternative route to reach the indicated place. The same applies if all the access routes are blocked, so you have to try again later.

So we can say that the Internet is the ‘Path’ that allows you to reach the ‘Destination’, a place that we can define as the Web

Web 

The Web includes all content pages. Web Sites. All these sites are only accessible on the Internet.

Let’s go back to the 3 iterations of the Web.

Web 1.0:

The very beginnings of the Web, although the name ‘Web 1.0’ came late (in 1999), since the early 1990s we have seen the very first Web Sites appear on the Internet. 

They were static at the time, and linked to each other by Hypertext links. These Websites were created by Web professionals and were intended for individuals.

When we talk about static websites, it means that they were read-only. The reader could not interact with the content, make changes to it, or comment on it. Just as publishing content or creating websites was reserved for web professionals.

For the youngest among us, it is inconceivable that such sites could have existed, and for the not so young, we still remember these often ‘under construction’ websites, whose interfaces were relatively sober.

For a moment of nostalgia for some, or to discover the dinosaurs of the Web for others, I invite you to go to the WayBack Machine site: web.archive.org, which lists all the archives of the net since the mid-1990s, where you can see how static sites looked before the advent of Web 2.0.

Web 2.0:

Which we can date back to the late 1990s. By the mid-2000s, almost all websites had made the transition to a more interactive Internet.

Users could start interacting with websites. This allowed the transition from a Static Web to a much more Dynamic Web.

This Web 2.0 is more commonly called ‘Social Web‘ because it is at this period that Blogs, Social Networks, collaborative sites, sharing of Photos, Videos… were created and popularized. 

It finally became possible to create, edit, publish content on the internet and comment on content already posted:

• Anyone can upload a video on Youtube
• Anyone can share music on SoundCloud
• Anyone can share/post photos and messages on Facebook, Instagram, Flickr …
• Anyone can create a Blog with WordPress
• etc …

Web3:

For a few years now, the word ‘Web3‘ has been around. According to some, it is the next big evolution of the Web. This word is for the first time used in a Blog in January 2006 by J. Zeldman, then in a New York Times article in November 2006 by J. Markoff.

It is in 2014 that Web3 reappears thanks to Gavin Wood, co-founder of Ethereum, G. Wood is also at the origin of the Polkadot project and is the director of the Web3 Foundation.

To date, no definition has been established as to what Web3, the new iteration of this technology, is.

All we know for sure is that it will be much more focused on decentralization, with many people talking about a “Decentralized Web“, using recently developed technologies:

• Blockchain 
• Peer-to-peer exchange
• Internet-of-Things (IoT)
• Artificial intelligence (AI)
• Cryptocurrencies
• Open-source software
• Virtual reality
• Metaverses 
• Etc …

This Web3 comes close to the idea of the Semantic Web imagined and dreamed by Tim Berners-Lee in 1999:

“I have a dream for the Web [where computers] become able to parse all the data on the Web – the content, links and transactions between people and computers. A “semantic Web”, which would make this possible, has yet to emerge, but when it does, the day-to-day mechanics of commerce, bureaucracy and our daily lives will be managed by machines talking to machines.“

Extract from his book “Weaving the Web” published in 1999

Thank you all for taking the time to read this article, if you have any questions feel free to ask me.

Feel free to check out the WayBack Machine Website, and do your own research. The world of the internet and the web is so vast and fascinating, we learn about it every day.

Christophe WILHELM

Bitcoin Meister

© Bitcoin Meister

Hello everyone! 

Many of you often wonder why we differentiate between Coins and Tokens, some of you even confuse the two denominations, calling ‘Tokens’ those which are ‘Coins’ and calling ‘Coins’ those which are actually ‘Tokens’. But both are Cryptocurrencies/Crypto Assets.

Let’s first recall what a Cryptocurrency is: Electronic/Virtual Currency built with Strong Cryptography. It is highly Secure and Immutable. And are based on Blockchain Technology.

One of the first Electronic Currencies that inspired our current Cryptocurrencies, was created by David Chaum in 1989, under the name DigiCash 

To understand this big difference between Coins & Tokens, just remember this:

• A COIN is a Cryptocurrency that operates and functions on a Blockchain of its own and thus each Blockchain is different!

Like for example: 

• Bitcoin (BTC) operates and functions on the Bitcoin Blockchain
• Ether (ETH) operates and functions on the Ethereum Blockchain
• Dogecoin (DOGE) operates and functions on the Dogecoin Blockchain
• Polkadot (DOT) operates and functions on the Polkadot Blockchain
• NEO (NEO) operates and functions on the NEO Blockchain
• TRON (TRX) operates and functions on the TRON Blockchain
• Note Blockchain (NBTC) operates and functions on the NOTE Blockchain

The second big difference is that the Coins are mostly Minable. Because Blockchains need Miners to maintain the Blockchain, secure it and validate transactions.

So on the contrary, Tokens work on a Blockchain that allows to create and Host them (while they belong to another Coin), such as: 

• the Ethereum Blockchain, with Tokens of type ERC-20 & Tokens of type ERC-721
• the NEO Blockchain, with Tokens of Type NEO-5
• the Tron blockchain, with Tokens of Type TRC-10

You can also create tokens on a multitude of other Blockchains such as: 

• Stellar
• QTUM
• Waves 
• Ethereum Classic
• CounterParty
• EOS
• Minter Network
• OMNI
• NEM …

Concerning the Coins, you have to think of them as a ‘Currency’ in their own right. Because they have the same characteristics as the Money Coins:

• Exchange intermediary/Money transfer (allows to buy online, or in store ..)
• Reserve of value (can be stored to be sold later, hoping to make a profit)
• Unit of account (allows to set a value with this currency)

“A currency is characterized by the confidence its users have, in its ability to serve as a medium of exchange.“

Let’s cite these examples: 

• Bitcoin (BTC), Pays transaction fees, rewards miners of the Bitcoin Blockchain
• Ether (ETH), Serves as fuel/gas for the platform, allows for the execution of Smart Contracts, transaction fees, as well as all Tokens created on the Ethereum Blockchain (Type ERC-20 & ERC-721) need ETH to be initiated, and pay for transaction fees as well as sending Tokens.
• Ripple (XRP), Pays Network Fees

Unlike TOKENS, which can eventually serve as a Unit of Account and “theoretically” a Reserve of Value, but do not include any of the other fundamental characteristics of the Currency.

The advantage of creating a Token, is to create a Cryptocurrency, without having to create a Blockchain (as well as a Coin), by using pre-established Scripts (ERC-20, NEO-5, TRC-10 …). So saving time and money

Generally issued during ICO/STO, there are various types of Tokens:

• Security Tokens
• Equity Tokens
• Utility tokens
• Payment Tokens.

Depending on the type of Token, you can enjoy premium or advanced options on dApps, you can own some shares of a Token issuing company (Security Tokens), or you can use a service, once it is developed after the ICO.

Some examples of Tokens are:

• Tether USDT (USDT)
• Binance Coin (BNB)
• Basic Attention Token (BAT)
• Spice Token (SPICE)
• Crypto Kitties
• NFT (Tokens Type ERC-721)

Conclusion

Coins, like Tokens, are Cryptocurrencies, they are : Fungible, Divisible, Portable and have a Limited Offer (for a very large majority of them)

• Coins are Native Units of a Blockchain, whose existence is essential to the survival of the Network.

• Tokens are non-Native Units of a Blockchain, which it (Blockchain) does not depend on it (Token) to function. Because they are created through an existing Blockchain, depending on a Coin. 

Some Blockchains need the Native Coin to create, and perform Token Transactions: 

• Ethereum Blockchain – ETH
• NEO Blockchain – Gas
• Minter Network Blockchain – BIP …

Remember also that a Cryptocurrency can appear as a Token first, and then migrate to its own Blockchain and become a Coin, such as Rapids Network and its Cryptocurrency Rapids (RPD)

See you soon

Christophe WILHELM

Bitcoin Meister

© Bitcoin Meister