Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin Calls for 'Different and Better DAOs'
Vitalik Buterin criticized current DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) designs as inefficient and vulnerable to centralized control, arguing they fail to address the flaws of traditional human governance. While Buterin initially envisioned DAOs as robust, decentralized systems for resource management, he now notes most have become simply treasuries run by token-holder voting, making them susceptible to manipulation. He calls for the creation of more effective DAOs, emphasizing improvements in governance mechanisms such as oracles and privacy technology. Buterin highlights two main challenges: lack of privacy, which turns governance into a social game, and decision fatigue. He suggests zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) can boost privacy and help address these issues, while AI tools may reduce decision fatigue. Others in the crypto community, like Nym Technologies’ Harry Halpin, agree that ZKPs are essential for fair DAO governance but note the technology is still developing. Projects like AnonDAO and DarkFi are experimenting with private governance. Advocates argue that true DAO power requires voter anonymity, which grants real political influence.
