1. Introduction
Recently, tokens related to the DeSci track have garnered significant attention, with events such as Coinbase's support, Binance Labs' investment, and endorsements from figures like Vitalik Buterin and CZ further igniting enthusiasm in this field. As a new track that has not yet been fully validated, DeSci has seen its related tokens soar even as the technology and applications are still maturing, sparking heated discussions in the market. According to CMC data, as of November 21, the market capitalization of DeSci-related tokens has exceeded $570 million, with a 24-hour trading volume reaching $150 million.
Source: https://coinmarketcap.com/view/desci/
DeSci, or decentralized science, relies on Web3 technology to redefine the model of scientific research through decentralized means. Its goal is to break down the barriers of traditional research systems, promoting research that is more open and transparent, while also making the allocation of funds and resources more efficient and equitable. However, driven by capital enthusiasm, can DeSci maintain its original intention of promoting scientific innovation? Can it create real scientific value beyond the hype? These questions add more uncertainty to the future development of DeSci.
This article will explore the core concepts and technological models of DeSci, as well as outline the popular tokens in the current market and their operational logic. At the same time, we will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the potential and challenges of this track, aiming to present a clear picture of the DeSci ecosystem.
2. What is DeSci?
1. Definition of DeSci
DeSci (Decentralized Science) is the product of the integration of Web3 technology and scientific research, aiming to reshape the operation of scientific research through decentralized means. The core idea of DeSci is to utilize the transparency, fairness, and security of blockchain to provide an open and trustworthy infrastructure for scientific research. Traditional science often relies on centralized institutions and processes, which can lead to issues such as information opacity, unequal resource distribution, and inefficiency. DeSci attempts to address these pain points through a decentralized model.
The goal of DeSci is not limited to improving a single aspect of scientific research but aims to comprehensively transform the entire scientific system, from funding and research output to data sharing. Its main principles include:
Openness and Fairness: Achieving decentralized storage of scientific data through blockchain technology, allowing research results to be publicly shared globally.
Transparency and Trust: Utilizing the immutable nature of blockchain to ensure the authenticity of research data and provide a transparent platform for peer review and validation of research results.
Democratic Governance: Empowering researchers, funders, and ordinary users with more participation and decision-making rights through decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), breaking the traditional resource allocation model dominated by a few institutions.
This new paradigm of scientific research not only provides more individuals with opportunities to participate in scientific discovery but also injects more innovative possibilities into scientific research.
2. Comparison with Traditional Science
DeSci and traditional science (TradSci) differ significantly in various aspects, from data acquisition and research funding to academic dissemination. These differences reveal the advantages of DeSci and its profound impact on the scientific system.
(1) Data Acquisition and Transparency In traditional science, research data and results are often stored in closed databases controlled by research institutions or publishers. Accessing these resources typically requires high fees, limiting the dissemination of scientific knowledge. DeSci achieves decentralized storage of data through blockchain technology, making data access more transparent and public. For example, platforms like SciHub tokens aim to make academic resources freely shared, which not only lowers the barriers to research but also promotes the global flow of knowledge.
(2) Funding and Incentive Mechanisms Traditional research funding mainly relies on government grants, institutional budgets, or corporate investments. This centralized funding distribution model can lead to unequal resource allocation and even corruption. DeSci introduces fairer incentive mechanisms through DAOs and token economic models. For instance, VitaDAO has established an open funding platform by issuing the VITA token, allowing anyone to hold tokens and vote on how funds are allocated. This decentralized model not only improves the efficiency of fund usage but also encourages more people to participate in research projects.
(3) Academic Dissemination Methods In TradSci, academic publishers dominate, and researchers must go through specific publishing processes to disseminate their results, which is not only time-consuming and costly but also limits the scope of research dissemination. DeSci, on the other hand, utilizes smart contract technology on the blockchain to allow academic results to be published directly in a decentralized manner, reducing intermediaries. For example, ResearchHub allows researchers to earn token rewards by publishing papers and comments, thereby establishing a decentralized academic dissemination ecosystem.
3. Positive Significance of DeSci
The emergence of DeSci is not coincidental; it represents a reflection and optimization of traditional scientific models. Many challenges faced by modern science during its development, including data silos, unequal funding distribution, and insufficient research transparency, are limiting the innovative potential of science. DeSci provides new solutions to these problems through its decentralized model.
Expanding Access to Scientific Knowledge: DeSci breaks down the closed barriers of information, promoting the democratization of scientific knowledge, allowing anyone to access and utilize scientific data.
Promoting International Collaboration and Interdisciplinary Exchange: Through a decentralized technological framework, DeSci enables researchers from different regions and fields to collaborate more efficiently, thereby promoting the globalization of scientific discovery.
Accelerating the Implementation and Application of Research Results: DeSci utilizes the transparency and trust mechanisms of blockchain to make the conversion of research results from the laboratory to practical application more efficient and reliable. For example, Pump.Science gamifies longevity research through a meme coin trading platform, promoting the rapid generation and evaluation of experimental data.
Through these innovations, DeSci not only reshapes the research system on a technical level but also injects a stronger public attribute into scientific research on a social level. The rise of DeSci marks a new stage in scientific development, ushering in a new era of decentralized, open, and inclusive research.
3. Overview and Analysis of Popular DeSci Tokens
1. BioDAOs Tokens under BIO Protocol
Binance Labs recently announced its investment in BIO Protocol, marking its first foray into the decentralized science (DeSci) field. BIO Protocol is a protocol that leverages blockchain technology to innovate early-stage scientific research financing and commercialization methods. Its core is to gather global scientists, patients, and investors through a decentralized autonomous organization (BioDAO) network to jointly fund, develop, and own new drugs and therapies. BioDAO focuses on specific biotechnology areas, monetizing the generated R&D and intellectual property through minting intellectual property NFTs and IPTs, incubating companies, and licensing/selling intellectual property to traditional biotech companies. The proceeds flow back into the BioDAO treasury to fund and transform the next generation of R&D.
Paul Kohlhaas, founder of BIO Protocol, stated that the Launchpad and $BIO token transfer function will be launched in early Q1 next year. BIO Protocol currently has seven BioDAOs focusing on diverse fields such as cryopreservation, women's health, and psychedelics for mental health.
Source: https://www.bio.xyz/
1) VitaDAO ($VITA): VitaDAO focuses on longevity science research, funding longevity-related research projects through collective decision-making by community members, with the resulting intellectual property shared by the community. In February 2023, VitaDAO received a $4.1 million investment from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and supported the listing of Matrix Biosciences in October.
2) ValleyDAO ($GROW): ValleyDAO is dedicated to addressing critical climate and food challenges through funding and incubating academic research and community building in synthetic biology and industrial biotechnology.
3) AthenaDAO ($ATH): AthenaDAO is committed to advancing women's health research, covering areas such as reproductive health and gynecological diseases.
4) HairDAO ($HAIR): Focused on research into hair loss issues, bringing together researchers and patients to jointly fund R&D projects for hair loss treatments, with shared results. Recently, it has made positive progress in gene therapy.
5) CerebrumDAO ($NEURON): CerebrumDAO focuses on neuroscience research, particularly projects related to brain health and neurodegenerative diseases.
6) CryoDAO ($CRYO): CryoDAO focuses on research into cryopreservation technology, aiming to promote its application in medicine and biology.
7) PsyDAO ($PSY): Primarily researching the application of psychedelics in mental health treatment, selecting funding for psychedelic-related research projects through community voting to promote their legalization and application.
2. Open Academic Platform Tokens
1) ResearchHub ($RSC)
ResearchHub is an open science community founded by Brian Armstrong, the founder of Coinbase. It aims to accelerate the dissemination and collaboration of scientific research. The platform allows researchers to share papers, engage in discussions, provide peer reviews, and incentivizes user participation through its native token RSC. ResearchHub has a partnership with BIO Protocol, allowing users to exchange ResearchHub's RSC tokens for BIO tokens.
Source: https://www.researchhub.com/
2) Sci-Hub ($scihub)
Sci-Hub is a shadow library. It uses various methods to bypass publishers' paywalls, providing millions of academic papers and works without regard to copyright issues. However, due to copyright concerns, Sci-Hub faces significant legal risks. The meme token scihub has now officially been listed on the Sci-Hub website.
Source: https://sci-hub.se/
3. Meme Tokens
Pump.Science is a meme launch platform on the Solana chain launched by Molecule DAO under BIO Protocol, but Pump.Science is not like Pump Fun where anyone can issue tokens; it can be understood as a token-based longevity experiment prediction game. Currently, the only meme coins officially listed by Pump.Science are RIF and URO, which represent the antibiotics rifampicin and urolithin, respectively. These tokens are based on experimental drugs and fund scientific experiments through market mechanisms while attracting public participation in scientific experiments.
Source: https://www.pump.science/
1) RIF (Rifampicin)
Rifampicin is a broad-spectrum antibiotic widely used in the treatment of tuberculosis and other infectious diseases. Through scientific experiments, rifampicin has been found to have potential anti-aging effects. Experimental data show that rifampicin extended the lifespan of worms by 32.87%, demonstrating the potential to activate cellular self-protection mechanisms. Research indicates that the drug can maintain protein quality by reducing intracellular oxidative stress, thereby enhancing cellular health.
2) URO (Urolithin)
Urolithin is a natural metabolite primarily derived from foods rich in ellagitannins, such as pomegranates. Urolithin has shown potential in improving mitochondrial function in experiments and is hailed as "the spring cleaner of cells." Urolithin enhances mitochondrial autophagy, clears aging mitochondria, and promotes the generation of new mitochondria, significantly improving cellular energy metabolism efficiency. In experiments, urolithin extended the lifespan of worms by 6.35%, showcasing its potential as a longevity research drug.
4. Current Development, Opportunities, and Challenges in the DeSci Track
With the rapid development of Web3 technology and increasing attention from the capital market, DeSci is gradually moving from concept to practical application. The unique mechanisms of the DeSci track bring disruptive changes to scientific research. However, this emerging field also needs to face multiple balances between efficiency and quality, speculation and stability, innovation and regulation.
1. Opportunities
1) Disruptive Innovation in Research Funding Models
Traditional research funding models are often concentrated in a few institutions, leading to inefficient resource allocation. The decentralized funding mechanism of DeSci provides researchers and teams with more flexible ways to obtain funding. For example, the secondary donation mechanism and DAO voting model allow more small research projects to secure startup funding, significantly improving the utilization of research resources.
2) Accelerated Advancement of Scientific Democratization
DeSci allows more ordinary people to participate in the funding and decision-making of scientific research. By holding tokens, individual investors can support specific research directions and influence project progress through decentralized governance models. This model breaks the "elite monopoly" in traditional science, granting the public more participation and choice.
3) Comprehensive Activation of Data Value
Scientific data has always been an important resource in the research field, but the efficiency of data sharing and commercialization under traditional models is low. DeSci achieves decentralized management of data through blockchain and smart contracts, promoting open sharing of data. For example, the Data Lake platform utilizes the LAKE token to establish a data donation mechanism, which not only enhances data utilization but also provides richer resources for medical research.
4) Broad Prospects in Long-Tail Fields
DeSci offers new development opportunities in many areas traditionally overlooked by scientific research. For instance, AthenaDAO focuses on women's reproductive health, while ValleyDAO is dedicated to ecological climate protection. These projects attract researchers and investors from specific fields through DAO governance and token incentive mechanisms, filling gaps in the traditional scientific funding system.
2. Challenges
1) Contradiction Between Research Efficiency and Quality
Decentralized governance and funding models theoretically improve the efficiency of scientific research, but in practice, they still face the risk of inefficiency. For example, when the community has disagreements over fund allocation, it may hinder the progress of research projects. Additionally, due to the decentralized nature, the scientific quality of DeSci projects is difficult to guarantee completely, which may lead to low-quality research occupying resources.
2) Market Speculation Impacting the Track
As part of the Web3 field, DeSci projects cannot avoid the influence of market speculation. Many tokens experience significant price volatility after initially gaining high attention due to speculative trading. For example, the RIF and URO tokens on the Pump.Science platform saw substantial growth in a short period but subsequently faced price declines. This volatility may affect the stability of research funding and weaken investors' long-term confidence.
3) Dual Pressure from Technology and Regulation
The innovative model of DeSci relies on blockchain technology and DAO governance, but these technologies are still in a gray area in terms of legal and regulatory aspects. For instance, the SciHub token has faced controversy due to copyright issues, and the intellectual property protection and cross-border applicability of technologies like IP-NFT also face challenges. If these issues are not properly addressed, DeSci may encounter resistance from governments and traditional research institutions.
4) Community Participation and Governance Challenges
The advantage of the decentralized model lies in broad community participation, but this also brings complexity to governance. Particularly within DAOs, there may be conflicts between the goals and expectations of different stakeholders. For example, funders may focus more on investment returns, while research teams prioritize academic outcomes, which could lead to reduced decision-making efficiency within the DAO.
5. Outlook and Summary of the DeSci Track
As an innovative field of Web3, the DeSci track demonstrates tremendous potential for driving changes in scientific research. Through the combination of blockchain technology, DAO governance models, and token economics, DeSci achieves transparency, democratization, and efficiency in the research process. From data transparency to DAO-driven governance models, and effective incentives from token economics, DeSci opens up a new path full of potential for scientific research.
In the future, as blockchain technology matures further, every aspect of research—from data collection to result publication—could potentially achieve on-chain recording, reducing issues of data falsification and research misuse. Additionally, DeSci is expected to promote open science globally, breaking geographical and institutional limitations, allowing more researchers to participate in high-value research projects. However, the development of DeSci also faces challenges, including efficiency issues in decentralized governance, instability brought by market speculation, and legal and ethical constraints. These issues need to be addressed through technological innovation, community collaboration, and policy alignment.
Looking ahead, DeSci is expected to play a greater role in global scientific research, breaking the bottlenecks of traditional research and promoting social progress. By continuously optimizing technological frameworks, expanding application scenarios, and strengthening global collaboration, DeSci will inject strong momentum into the future development of scientific research from a blockchain-driven research experiment.
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