Remember when going shopping was a chore? You would make a list, go into the store, lose hours browsing through the isles, only to be standing in long check out-lines and lugging shopping bags back home. That has become a thing of the past.
Companies like Amazon reimagined buying from the ground up, filling a void that few people were aware of. Uber and Bolt are rethinking ride-sharing worldwide and companies like Airbnb have changed the face of the hospitality industry without owning a single room.
Investing and equity sharing are also bound to be changed as a result of new emerging models and technological tools. Investment clubs, where people can collectively invest and manage digital assets, are laying down a new financial paradigm. DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) are offering everyone, everywhere an inclusive financial environment that will forever change how people invest their money and build companies.
Unique.vc has been breaking new ground recently as a platform that facilitates collective investments in the Web3 and crypto dimensions, providing all essential tools for communities to found, join and manage an economic society.
Why Are DAOs Important?
Investment clubs first gained popularity in the United States in the 1950s. Investing in stocks back then looked nothing like it does now. Back then buying and selling stocks was sluggish, expensive and out of reach for a vast majority of people.
People understood the power of coming together and pooling their resources to invest, overcoming their individual shortcomings. Knowledge and opportunity are better fostered in communities, where everybody can contribute with information and capital to build a bigger momentum. Also, the risk is better mitigated when a whole collective, instead of an individual, deals with uncertainty, volatility and external events.
Today we are stepping into a new dimension of collective ownership — DAOs. They are driven by the blockchain revolution where users are the owners of the network and are fueling the rapid growth of Web3 and the crypto space.
Collectives with a democratic, decentralized governance that allow people to own, trade and invest in a variety of NFTs and other digital assets that would otherwise be out of reach for most individual retail traders. Being part of a DAO based investment club is giving everybody equal access to opportunity within the crypto and Web3 space.
Starting or Joining an On-Chain Venture Club
Up until now, the stock, forex and commodities markets were mainly steered and exploited by central banks and hedge funds that dwarf individual traders and investors who operate with a fraction of the capital. Blockchain based investment clubs give people the opportunity to channel their collective value and add weight to the assets they own. Never before has it been easier to raise and manage funds with your community and navigate your way into the markets. Treasury management can now be done in a secure and transparent way by the whole collective.
Unlike venture capital financing — an elaborate process that can take many months, founding a DAO venture club is fast and affordable. Social investing is a tangible form of managing and creating value that puts power and information in the hands of people. As opposed to the corporate environment, where influence always flows only into a number of hands, collective ownership investment clubs are giving everybody equal chances for participation in managing the venture.
DAOs based on blockchain are democratically run by encrypted rules and a set of principles that prevail over external circumstances and internal arguments in the pursuit of a shared objective and advancement. Unlike the corporate sector, where decisions are made by the fewer, on-chain investment clubs are offering equal access to all parts involved. Social investment ventures are not only changing the economic landscape, they are re-imagining the monetary circuit altogether. Instead of value flowing one way only, economic power is being redistributed omnidirectionally and everybody is a part of the journey.
Zooming In
Let’s take a brief look at some fortunate examples of collective ownership organizations. PleasrDAO is a $100m market cap blockchain investment club famous for the acquisition of several NFTs with huge cultural and financial impact, among which Wu-Tang Clan’s “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” album and a work from Edward Snowden that together hover around $10ml. The collective venture is getting more wind in its sails as it is also being backed by crypto billionaire Andreessen Horowitz.
In the beginning of this year, AssangeDAO managed to raise $50m for the WikiLeaks organization founded by Julian Assange. Also recently, Binance Labs invested in gaming DAO Merit Club, pushing them north of $100m valuation.
Big and small investment clubs world-wide are showcasing a more agile sense for raising and managing funds. On-chain governance is made possible by networks like Solana, Ethereum and platforms that understand the essence of modern investing. Unique.vc is a recently established dApp building the infrastructure and tools for founding, joining or running a collective investment club. Every community is managed with the help of Solana’s SPL governance program, ensuring open dialogue, continuous education and seamless investing.
Unique.vc team is creating a secure Solana-based environment where community-driven investment and treasury management are being fostered. The beautiful thing about blockchain collective ownership is that projects gain traction in little time once the common goal is established. With Unique.vc, communities can be easily integrated and begin to invest and manage digital assets and cryptocurrency in no time. Creators and members have complete flexibility in how they collaborate and share profits.
The Increasing Adoption
In 2020, there were around 200 existing DAOs. Now only two years later that number exceeds 4000 according to DeepDAO. As of April 2022, there is $11 billion held in DAO treasuries across all networks with its all time high being $13.2 billion in December. Ethereum is the leading blockchain with $8.2 billion while the second largest blockchain is Solana with $1.3 billion. We have seen a ten fold growth in a year as in May of 2021 there was only $930 million held in treasuries across all networks.
These numbers show a clear trend in increasing adoption among hedge funds, billionaires, and communities interested in the advantages provided by DAO investing clubs.
As inflation and turmoil are creating uncertainty in the traditional markets and fiat currency, people are rethinkinging their financial journey and investment opportunities. Blockchain venture clubs can help to create a modern, dynamic economic community in which people not only participate, but also become an integral part of the experience.
