Decentralized science (DeSci)

DeSci groups several experiments aimed at problems in academic research: slow and opaque funding, paywalled journals, results that cannot be reproduced and intellectual property controlled by a few institutions. Research DAOs pool money from token holders to fund specific fields, such as longevity or rare diseases, and vote on which projects receive grants. Intellectual property NFTs package a project's patents, data or licensing rights so that funders share in future royalties, and on-chain timestamps record data and peer reviews in a tamper-evident way.

The movement attracted attention from biotech researchers and investors because it promises faster early-stage funding and a way for patients and communities to back research they care about. Some DAOs have financed lab work at universities and spun out companies.

Funding volumes remain small next to public research budgets. Tokenizing IP runs into securities law, university technology-transfer rules and medical regulation, and speculative tokens attached to research can create incentives that clash with scientific rigour.