Like psychedelic journeyers around a fire: we have a vision.
PsyDAO is working toward a future where psychedelics are better understood and respected, while helping to shape the evolving culture around them. We’re a decentralized group powered by regular people who buy our tokens, yap with us, and work toward our goals of promoting psychedelic science and art. Our members are pouring enormous resources into AI agents, tokenized research, a cultural portal on the Amazon River, and drug development. All of these, we believe, will help people live fuller, happier lives.
Our Alchemist Grant Program reflects our belief that achieving our goals requires diverse approaches. Our team has selected four talented individuals to receive our initial grants, each bringing their own unique perspectives to the field.
We offer $100 to $2,000 grants for researchers, writers, artists, developers, entrepreneurs, community organizers, and curators—anyone with a compelling idea.
We’re currently reviewing applications for the next grantees. Apply here.
Well Read: A Literary Portal to Psychedelic Culture
Our latest grantee, Kaitlyn Davies, brings us the installation "Inquiries in Alchemy." At Well Read, her Lisbon bookstore, Davies has curated hallucinogenic texts from Tao Lin to Michael Pollan, alongside an events program exploring psychedelics. We helped sponsor her recent “mycelial gathering,” a mushroom growing workshop.
Well Read is more than a bookstore—it's a sensory experience reflecting Davies' eclectic vision. Housed in a former warehouse with ornate ceilings, the space is a vibrant community hub, where the collection spans experimental music, literature, contemporary fiction, design, and hand-crafted zines. "This curation is very important in an age of algorithms. I want people to see themselves in these books," Davies has said.
As co-founder of FWB FEST—an interdisciplinary symposium in California—she's ideal for our Alchemist Grant.
The Cosmic Womb: Healing Through Art and Spirit
La Curandera Morgana Sin, a PsyDAO Alchemist grant recipient, has created "The Cosmic Womb," an installation embodying psychological transformation and prototyping innovative psychedelic therapy. With a heritage that is partly Native Mexican, Morgana blends indigenous healing with modern psychology.
Her journey began in 2018, using psychedelics to confront childhood trauma. Through plant medicines, she addressed depression and her relationship with her body.
She had a profound experience with ayahuasca in which she experienced her own rebirth. Her new art installation guides visitors through a soft, red chute creating a sensory rebirth experience. She believes play can be healing.
Currently pursuing a psychology master's, she continues developing her cross-cultural methodology.
Read our blog post about Morgana.
Psychosis and Psychedelics: Always Contraindicated?
Joseph La Torre used his PsyDAO Alchemist Grant to investigate psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for people with a history of psychotic symptoms. Through expert interviews, he explored potential benefits, risks, and why this population is often excluded from clinical trials.
La Torre argues against automatic exclusion of people with a history of psychosis from psychedelic therapy. The research suggests that some substances could be safer than others, with MDMA being one of the more amenable drugs. Researchers cautioned against more intense psychedelics, such as ayahuasca. And the research cautions against "one-shot" trips without wraparound care like therapy, advocating instead for nuanced, individualized approaches.
His findings were published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction and presented at Harvard Medical School's "Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy: Promises and Perils" conference.
With scholarly background in Buddhism, mushrooms vs. synthetic psilocybin, and Amanita Muscaria, La Torre now leads research at University of Washington, co-leading a three-year Phase 2 psilocybin safety trial. He also teaches psychedelic therapy at University of Ottawa.
Hype or Hope? Breathwork Pioneer Investigates
Breathwork rockstar Guy William Fincham at Brighton & Sussex Medical School was our first grantee. Breathwork is the act of breathing in and out quickly, and in a certain way, to induce an altered state that can feel a lot like taking a psychedelic. Fincham discovered breathwork during an unexpected yet profound experience, and it helped him heal from chronic fatigue syndrome.
Fincham used his grant from PsyDAO for participant payments to study the effects of high ventilation breathwork, and thanked us in his thesis. (His answer to the question: “Does Breathwork Work?” is, essentially, “sometimes.”)
His study, Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials“, was published in Nature’s Scientific Reports. It found “small-medium effects of breathwork on self-reported/subjective stress, anxiety and depression.” The Huberman Lab, Time Magazine, and the BBC have all featured his work.
Opening a Portal, Connecting the Amazon to the West
KeneCafé is a blend of an Alchemist Grant and a profit-seeking project.
KeneCafé is many things. It is an ecommerce platform. It is IP embedded onchain. Ancient wisdom with modern tech.
It's a many-faceted vision to bring Shipibo wisdom of nature to the West. We're partnering with a Shipibo nonprofit, KeneRao, to co-fund the creation of a café and shop on the Amazon River. This physical space anchors an online store selling Kene, one of the hidden gems of world art.
We're also embedding some Kene into NFTs so they can be licensed globally and their intellectual property protected.
Kene are visions of Nature woven into tapestries. Artists connect with plant medicine and perceive what they describe as the architecture or song of Nature. These patterns are then meticulously stitched into rugs, hoods, and skirts. Kene represent a treasure in art history, as stunning and evocative as Picasso's cubist paintings or [the Moche portrait vessels](https://Moche portrait vessels) from ancient Peru that likely influenced him (which are similarly connected to psychoactive plant traditions).
Alchemy Turns Raw Materials Into Magic
Our first round of grantees have completed impressive projects, and we're ready to fund more creative minds in our next Alchemist Grants cycle.
Our committee selects recipients based on their potential for positive social impact, sustainability, and meaningful change. We especially welcome applications from underrepresented groups, including BIPOC, LGBTQI+ individuals, and people from the global south.
If you're working in psychedelics—whether through science, art, or community building—we want to help fund your project. Submit your application through our online portal.
We look forward to reviewing your proposal and supporting your work.
[One last note: DAOs are powered by regular people working toward their passions. If you believe in the power of psychedelics and Web3 and want to contribute to PsyDAO, please: