Introduction to DAOs

A decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, coordinates people and capital through smart contracts and token voting instead of a traditional corporate hierarchy. Treasuries, protocol upgrades, and grants flow from collective decisions recorded on chain — transparent and permissionless to observe.

Web3 protocols need governance — who upgrades code, spends treasury, sets fees? DAOs attempt open ownership where token holders steer direction. No boardroom required; participation is global and always on.

This course covers governance tokens, voting, treasuries, delegation, tools, failure modes, and real protocol examples — practical understanding for participants and builders entering DAO governance.