Still in its infancy, DeSci lies at the intersection of two broader trends: 1) efforts within the scientific community to change how research is funded and knowledge is shared, and 2) efforts within the crypto-focused movement to shift ownership and value away from industry intermediaries.

Journals today act as coordination + reputation, but they charge an insane amount to do so. Maybe DAOs can do it better, especially since the main things that people involved in peer-review want more of is recognition, grants, transparency, and interoperable peer review contributions.

What primarily differentiates DeSci from other efforts to rethink our research system is its use of blockchain tools. This is similar to how blockchain is disrupting other industries, where web2 models of centralized ownership are being challenged by web3 models of decentralized, shared ownership.