cryptopolitan.com
The scientific community, like any other sector, runs on money and projects in the space constantly need funding to be able to move forward. Ask any scientist and they will tell you that a huge part of their job is chasing grants and all sorts of funding.
The problem is that competition for funding is very cutthroat in the scientific community and oftentimes, good projects are unable to progress because of a lack of financial support.
Many individuals and institutions are working towards ensuring that scientists can access better funding and one of these is using blockchain technology to do so. This solution is Science DAO, a blockchain-backed funding resource for scientists which launched in May 2022.
Funding Through NFTs?
Science DAO actively works to go against the grain of the current funding system. First, there are no strenuous requirements to put a project forward for funding. Instead, anyone who is a member of Science DAO can pitch their project to the community.
Once a project is put forward, the community votes on whether or not to fund it. Voting rights are based on the ecosystem’s native token $THRY, which is now available on Uniswap, and those who have more of the token get more votes.
If the project is accepted for funding, NFTs will be made for it and then offered to the community for sale. Outside of the community, people can buy the native token $THRY and revenue will be used to support intra-community projects.
The NFTs’ prices will be based on the current value of the project and can have their floor price raised, via their smart contracts, as the value of the project itself increases.
If the project does not get enough votes to move forward with funding, it might still privately receive support from members of the Science DAO community.
This is because the Science DAO community is made up of universities, research institutions, and other scientists. One of these might take enough of an interest in a presented project to support it on a private basis.
What Science DAO does, at the end of the day, is create an avenue for scientists to have their work funded, a chance to network within an industry of peers, and invest in world-changing projects.
The Need for Blockchain Support
Science DAO has the goal of creating the world’s first blockchain think tank and democratizing access to support for scientific endeavors. The last few years have shown how vital it is for scientific breakthroughs to be able to progress at a reasonable speed.
The old way of scientists having to fight for research and development funding, often spending years in the process, cannot continue to be the norm. With projects like Science DAO, they don’t have to.
Instead, scientists can have their projects voted on by their community and the funding they need provided by them. By leveraging blockchain technology, transparency and democracy within the voting process can also be achieved for the good of the Science DAO community and all within it.
Finally, the setup of Science DAO means that innovative scientific projects will get to see the light of day for the benefit of humankind.