DAO
Last updated 17 October 2026Last verified 17 October 2026
What is a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization)?
Decentralized Autonomous Organization. A governance structure where token holders vote on protocol decisions. On-chain DAOs can have execution delays (timelocks); many do not. Token-weighted voting means large holders dominate decisions, which concentrates governance risk in a structure that looks decentralized but often is not.
TradFi equivalentShareholder voting without a board or a fiduciary duty. Token-weighted voting is one share one vote, but on a register this concentrated a handful of wallets carry every resolution, and there is no independent director and no minority protection. In the CFTC's case against Ooki DAO (formerly the bZx DAO), a court entered a default judgment treating it as an unincorporated association, and a related private suit over the bZx hack survived a motion to dismiss on a general partnership theory. Neither followed a contested trial, but both point to exposure for voters rather than protection.