<s>
A	O
decentralized	B-Operating_System
autonomous	I-Operating_System
organization	I-Operating_System
(	O
DAO	O
)	O
,	O
sometimes	O
called	O
a	O
decentralized	B-Operating_System
autonomous	I-Operating_System
corporation	I-Operating_System
(	O
DAC	O
)	O
,	O
is	O
an	O
organization	O
constructed	O
by	O
rules	O
encoded	O
as	O
a	O
computer	O
program	O
that	O
is	O
often	O
transparent	O
,	O
controlled	O
by	O
the	O
organization	O
's	O
members	O
and	O
not	O
influenced	O
by	O
a	O
central	O
government	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
DAO	O
's	O
financial	O
transaction	O
records	O
and	O
program	O
rules	O
are	O
maintained	O
on	O
a	O
blockchain	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
well-known	O
example	O
,	O
intended	O
for	O
venture	O
capital	O
funding	O
,	O
was	O
The	B-Protocol
DAO	I-Protocol
,	O
which	O
amassed	O
3.6	O
million	O
ether	B-Application
(	O
ETH	O
)	O
—	O
Ethereum	B-Application
's	O
mining	O
reward	O
—	O
then	O
worth	O
more	O
than	O
US$70	O
million	O
in	O
May	O
2016	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
hacked	O
and	O
drained	O
of	O
in	O
cryptocurrency	O
weeks	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
hack	O
was	O
reversed	O
in	O
the	O
following	O
weeks	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
money	O
restored	O
,	O
via	O
a	O
hard	O
fork	O
of	O
the	O
Ethereum	B-Application
blockchain	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
Ethereum	B-Application
miners	O
and	O
clients	O
switched	O
to	O
the	O
new	O
fork	O
while	O
the	O
original	O
chain	O
became	O
Ethereum	B-Protocol
Classic	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
some	O
argue	O
that	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
was	O
the	O
first	O
DAO	O
,	O
the	O
term	O
is	O
only	O
understood	O
today	O
as	O
a	O
organizations	O
deployed	O
as	O
smart	B-Application
contracts	I-Application
on	O
top	O
of	O
an	O
existing	O
blockchain	B-Application
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Decentralized	B-Operating_System
autonomous	I-Operating_System
organizations	I-Operating_System
are	O
typified	O
by	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
blockchain	B-Application
technology	I-Application
to	O
provide	O
a	O
secure	O
digital	O
ledger	B-Language
to	O
track	O
digital	O
interactions	O
across	O
the	O
internet	O
,	O
hardened	O
against	O
forgery	O
by	O
trusted	O
timestamping	O
and	O
dissemination	O
of	O
a	O
distributed	B-Operating_System
database	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
costs	O
of	O
a	O
blockchain-enabled	O
transaction	O
and	O
of	O
the	O
associated	O
data	O
reporting	O
may	O
be	O
substantially	O
offset	O
by	O
the	O
elimination	O
of	O
both	O
the	O
trusted	O
third	O
party	O
and	O
of	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
repetitive	O
recording	O
of	O
contract	O
exchanges	O
in	O
different	O
records	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
blockchain	B-Application
data	O
could	O
,	O
in	O
principle	O
and	O
if	O
regulatory	O
structures	O
permit	O
it	O
,	O
replace	O
public	O
documents	O
such	O
as	O
deeds	O
and	O
titles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
theory	O
,	O
a	O
blockchain	B-Application
approach	O
allows	O
multiple	O
cloud	B-Architecture
computing	I-Architecture
users	O
to	O
enter	O
a	O
loosely	O
coupled	O
peer-to-peer	O
smart	B-Application
contract	I-Application
collaboration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Vitalik	O
Buterin	O
proposed	O
that	O
after	O
a	O
DAO	O
is	O
launched	O
,	O
it	O
might	O
be	O
organized	O
to	O
run	O
without	O
human	O
managerial	O
interactivity	O
,	O
provided	O
the	O
smart	B-Application
contracts	I-Application
are	O
supported	O
by	O
a	O
Turing-complete	B-Algorithm
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ethereum	B-Application
,	O
built	O
on	O
a	O
blockchain	B-Application
and	O
launched	O
in	O
2015	O
,	O
has	O
been	O
described	O
as	O
meeting	O
that	O
Turing	O
threshold	O
,	O
thus	O
enabling	O
such	O
DAOs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Decentralized	B-Operating_System
autonomous	I-Operating_System
organizations	I-Operating_System
aim	O
to	O
be	O
open	O
platforms	O
through	O
which	O
individuals	O
control	O
their	O
identities	O
and	O
their	O
personal	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Admission	O
to	O
a	O
DAO	O
is	O
limited	O
to	O
people	O
who	O
have	O
a	O
confirmed	O
ownership	O
of	O
these	O
governance	O
tokens	O
in	O
a	O
cryptocurrency	B-Protocol
wallet	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
membership	O
may	O
be	O
exchanged	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Governance	O
is	O
conducted	O
through	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
proposals	O
that	O
members	O
vote	O
on	O
through	O
the	O
blockchain	B-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
possession	O
of	O
more	O
governance	O
tokens	O
often	O
translates	O
to	O
greater	O
voting	O
power	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
previous	O
approaches	O
to	O
blockchain	B-Application
based	O
companies	O
have	O
been	O
regarded	O
by	O
the	O
U.S.	O
Securities	O
and	O
Exchange	O
Commission	O
as	O
illegal	O
offers	O
of	O
unregistered	O
securities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2016	O
,	O
a	O
specific	O
DAO	O
,	O
"	O
The	B-Protocol
DAO	I-Protocol
"	O
,	O
set	O
a	O
record	O
for	O
the	O
largest	O
crowdfunding	O
campaign	O
to	O
date	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Researchers	O
pointed	O
out	O
multiple	O
problems	O
with	O
The	B-Protocol
DAO	I-Protocol
's	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Protocol
DAO	I-Protocol
's	O
operational	O
procedure	O
allowed	O
investors	O
to	O
withdraw	O
at	O
will	O
any	O
money	O
that	O
had	O
not	O
yet	O
been	O
committed	O
to	O
a	O
project	O
;	O
the	O
funds	O
could	O
thus	O
deplete	O
quickly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
enabled	O
an	O
attempted	O
large	O
withdrawal	O
of	O
funds	O
from	O
The	B-Protocol
DAO	I-Protocol
to	O
be	O
initiated	O
in	O
mid-June	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
July	O
20	O
,	O
2016	O
,	O
the	O
Ethereum	B-Application
blockchain	B-Application
was	O
forked	O
to	O
bail	O
out	O
the	O
original	O
contract	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
example	O
of	O
this	O
occurred	O
in	O
2022	O
,	O
when	O
one	O
individual	O
collected	O
enough	O
tokens	O
to	O
give	O
themselves	O
voting	O
control	O
over	O
Build	O
Finance	O
DAO	O
,	O
which	O
they	O
then	O
used	O
to	O
drain	O
the	B-Protocol
DAO	I-Protocol
of	O
all	O
its	O
money	O
.	O
</s>
