In the latest Cryptopedia episode, viewers can get a succinct and informative overview of decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAOs. Cointelegraph's Jackson DuMont believes DAOs have the power to "completely transform how work and social collaboration are organized."
What makes this type of organization both decentralized and autonomous"_blank" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/breaking-constitutiondao-fails-to-win-sotheby-s-auction">ConstitutionDAO, members raised just over $49 million to buy an original copy of the U.S. Constitution but were outbid at auction. Another example is Blockbuster DAO, which aims to raise enough money to buy the video rental brand from Dish Network and turn it into a streaming film studio.
DAOs intend to reduce the risk of poor leadership through horizontal leadership, or flat hierarchies that level out the playing field of power. The reach is infinite and no matter where a member is located, everyone is bound by the same rules of the smart contract. Trust is placed in code rather than people.
Related: $53 million raised for Assange showed the power of DAOs
Of course, there remain risks and concerns over legality and security. One notable example of a DAO gone wrong is The DAO, which was hacked for $50 million in 2016. A recent report claims to reveal the identity of the alleged hacker.