Amir Taaki, a veteran Bitcoin developer, has created what he claims is the world's first fully anonymous onchain decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The project aims to "defend freedom" in the digital realm.
Taaki announced the launch on X on August 12. "More than ever, we need anonymous DAOs to defend freedom," he stated.
The DAO's design ensures complete anonymity. It's invisible on the blockchain. So is its treasury and transactions. Member identities and token ownership? Hidden. Proposals and voting? You guessed it – also anonymous.
"Everything about this DAO is designed to be completely anonymous and invisible on the blockchain," Taaki explained.
The system allows for calling any smart contract. This includes treasury fund transfers. DAO actions remain concealed. Payments don't reveal treasury info. Receivers stay anonymous.
Taaki argues that DAOs should be "anonymous and subversive". His main goal? Protection against oppressive regimes.
"DAOs were envisioned as the post-corporate online future for mobilization and wealth creation of communities," he said. "This vision got stuck and eventually fizzled out."
The British-Iranian hacktivist slammed the current state of the internet. He claims it's too reliant on surveillance and data harvesting. Anonymous DAOs, in his view, could create free, uncensored, and sovereign online organizations.
Taaki is working with DarkFi. The team claims to be developing anonymous tools for online organizations. Their aim? To harness "the true power of cryptocurrency."
The project has turned heads in the crypto community. Nick Almond, CEO of Factory Labs, called it "cypherpunk AF". He added, "It's a primitive. A privacy building block. My mind is bending with how this changes DAO game theory. Gonna be interesting."
DAO governance has been a tricky business for crypto and DeFi projects. Management challenges stem from the lack of traditional hierarchies. This can lead to unclear leadership roles.
Another issue? Unequal token distribution. It can centralize control into the hands of a few whales. This goes against decentralization principles. Several DeFi protocols, like Uniswap and Compound Finance, have faced such governance issues in recent years.
Will Taaki's invisible DAO solve these problems? Or will it create new ones? Only time will tell. But one thing's for sure – the crypto world is watching.