DAOs need a new name. Either that, or we need to call them a “dao” instead of a “d.a.o.” and forget that the letters stand for anything. Otherwise, people will keep saying things like “that’s not really a DAO, it’s not decentralized enough.”

As was the case for most people, the headlines around crypto and blockchain initially felt too speculative to me, and out of my areas of interest. That is until around seven months ago I came across a little company using blockchain to help smallholder farmers gain access to the traditional banking system. On the surface, the farmers' income seemed totally unpredictable, and they never had any hopes of approaching a bank for a loan. But once the supply chain was traceable on a blockchain, they were able to show the bank verifiable proof that a significant portion of their income was coming from a major beverage company, who had been regularly buying from them (indirectly, through various middle-men). So based on that reliable income stream, the bank was able to offer a loan on favorable terms. This simple scenario opened my eyes to consider that maybe this technology has the potential to unlock some new possibilities.