What Co-ops and DAOs Can Learn From Each Other

While it is possible for DAOs to emulate cooperative governance, it’s more common to observe the easier-to-implement governance pattern of one-token, one-vote, since verifying one’s personhood is still a nascent field in the world of blockchain. 

At the end of the day, the best framework for an organization may not be a choice between a cooperative or DAO model, but a blend of both. Incorporating cooperative values into crypto networks could take the form of a traditional cooperative that bootstraps its network through on-chain tokenized contributions. Alternatively, a DAO could decide to a... See more

Crypto networks and DAOs often use the concept of the “ownership economy,” an idea first articulated by venture capitalist Jesse Walden, as a kind of guiding philosophical infrastructure.

“The ownership economy doesn’t always mean a literal distribution of tokens, stock options, or equity,” Walden wrote in a post outlining the idea. “Rather, it means that ownership — which may manifest in the form of novel economic rewards, platform governance, or new forms of social capital — can be a new keystone of user experiences, with plenty o... See more

Although co-ops and DAOS are both collectively owned and co-determined organizational forms, there are some key differences. Primarily, cooperatives have one-member, one-vote governance. This means that people vote, not dollars. No single member of a cooperative can purchase more power than anyone else... While it is possible for DAOs to emulate co... See more

Although co-ops and DAOS are both collectively owned and co-determined organizational forms, there are some key differences. Primarily, cooperatives have one-member, one-vote governance. This means that people vote, not dollars. No single member of a cooperative can purchase more power than anyone else.

By contrast, in the crypto space, some of the most famous examples of collective economic organization have formed for the memes, or as exercises in commodification and speculation. Examples like PleasrDAO fractionalizing the Doge meme, or ConstitutionDAO raising upwards of $40 million to buy a copy of the U.S. Constitution, have value in that they... See more

By contrast, in the crypto space, some of the most famous examples of collective economic organization have formed for the memes, or as exercises in commodification and speculation. Examples like PleasrDAO fractionalizing the Doge meme, or ConstitutionDAO raising upwards of $40 million to buy a copy of the U.S. Constitution, have value in that they... See more

There’s another thing cooperatives have in common: They tend to unite around a shared set of principles. The Rochdale Principles are a set of cooperative ideals developed by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers. Nearly two centuries later, cooperatives around the world still use them as a foundation.

Co-ops often emerge as an attempt to respond to market failures and exploitative economic systems. They are designed to bring benefits to their members: good jobs, dignity, and collective agency. Because co-ops are motivated by serving members’ needs, rather than profit, they are often guided by racial and economic justice missions. There aren’t an... See more