Decentralized Science (DeSci) addresses the capital shortage problem – a major cause of failure for many research projects in the "Valley of Death" – by applying Web3 technology, blockchain, and smart contracts to restructure traditional funding models.
1. Establish Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) DAOs serve as a vehicle for forming funding capital for research, attracting participation from a diverse group including patients, researchers, and the investment community. Participating in a DAO helps align the interests of stakeholders, creating a common incentive to move research past the "Valley of Death" and towards clinical trials or commercialization.
• For instance: The protocol $BIO enables the creation and funding of specialized BioDAOs in fields like longevity (VitaDAO), cryopreservation (CryoDAO), hair loss (HairDAO), and women's health (AthenaDAO).
2. Tokenization and Fractionalization of Intellectual Property (IP Tokenization / Fractionalization) Traditional Intellectual Property (IP) management systems are often bulky, centralized, and hard for smaller stakeholders to access. DeSci tackles this issue by converting IP into digital assets (like IP-NFTs or IP tokens) that are liquid and tradable. Fractionalization allows multiple stakeholders to co-own, share IP rights, and contribute funding to projects.
• For example: The Molecule project utilizes the IP-NFT model to bring IP rights on-chain, attracting capital to support the translation of research into practical applications.
3. Automated Disbursement via Smart Contracts Instead of the traditional manual funding process, DeSci implements milestone-based funding mechanisms that are pre-programmed and automatically disbursed through smart contracts. This ensures transparency, compliance with the parameters set by the DAO, and enhances accountability for the research team.
4. Democratic Governance and Transparent Decision-Making Traditional funding requests often face challenges due to opaque review processes, relying on a closed evaluation committee, which can lead to delays or bias. DeSci addresses this with a decentralized governance model using tokens, where funding allocation decisions are fairly and transparently voted on by the community.
5. Community Funding Platforms (Web3 Funding Platforms) Instead of relying on grants or support funds from centralized organizations (which are often slow and bureaucratic), Web3 funding platforms open up opportunities for researchers to connect directly with the community and investors.
• Examples include Catalyst (focused on funding DeSci IPs), Bio.xyz (a funding platform for DeSci DAOs), or pump.science (funding for testing compounds). The interactivity of Web3 allows a DAO to smoothly organize fundraising across multiple platforms at different research stages.