The Solana DAO Tooling Ecosystem
A Deep-dive into the Solana DAO Tooling Ecosystem & the Future of DAO Building.
“10.2 Billion Dollars”! That is the Total Locked Value (TLV) of all DAO Treasuries across the world according to DeepDAO.io; The number of DAO Members (Token Holders) continue to grow at a healthy rate. “DAOs” are a hot topic in the Technology & Finance space; They are Decentralised Autonomous Organizations that function on the principles of Accountability & Transparency. Today we’ll discuss the state of the “DAO Tooling” Ecosystem on the Solana Chain, analyse multiple Tool Categories & Projects coming up and understand how DAOs are shaping the Future of Cooperation. I’ve collected Data & Graphs from multiple verified sources, designed Infographics for concise and simple understanding and divided Large topics into simple sub-sections. I’ll also be explaining any Technical term that we come across (Relax 😌). We’ll move in a chronological order & understand the basics as well. Let’s Deep Dive 🌊:
Here’s how this Deep Dive is structured 🧵:
Introduction 👋 :
(1) What are DAOs?
(2) Why are DAOs the Future?
(3) What are DAO Tools & Why do we need them?DAO Tools Explored 😶🌫️ :
(1) The Solana DAO Tooling Ecosystem (Analysis)
(2) The Future of DAO ToolingConclusion 🤌 :
(1) Well……..“Conclusion” 🙄
What are DAOs🤔?
A DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations), is an entity with no central leadership. Decisions get made from the bottom-up, governed by a community organized around a specific set of rules enforced on a blockchain. DAOs are internet-native organizations collectively owned and managed by their members. ~ Cointelegraph
Let’s Begin understanding this with an example. ‘Netflix’ is one of the most popular companies in the world today and has 200+ Million users. As a company, Netflix has a ‘Board of Directors’, group of prominent Stakeholders in the Company that take all major decisions concerning the Platform. It also has a ‘CEO’, an executive authority that ensures all decisions made by the Board are executed by funneling the tasks & responsibilities down the Chain of Command. There also exist multiple ‘Producers, Artists, Film-makers & Creators’ who create the Movies & TV Shows watched by the millions of the users of the company.
If a decision needs to be made, for example changing the Platform UI/UX or restricting certain types of Content, it is made single-handedly by the Board and the Company executes this decision. Although this decision affects all of the Creators & Users on the Platform, they aren’t involved in the Decision-Making process. This is essentially how any organization functions today, a Web2 organization.
DAOs are Organizations where there exists no Central Authority like a Board or CEO, instead all participants/members are stakeholders with specific rights and authority. All operations are initiated by Smart Contracts and an immutable record is stored on a Blockchain. DAOs function on the principles of Autonomy, Decentralization & Transparency. DAOs usually validate membership by either providing participants with $Tokens (Cryptocurrency tailor-made for a particular Protocol or DAO) or NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens, an authenticated asset) to prove their membership and vote for proposals.
Smart contracts are simply programs stored on a blockchain that run when predetermined conditions are met. They typically are used to automate the execution of an agreement so that all participants can be immediately certain of the outcome, without any intermediary's involvement or time loss. - IBM
Well, all the fancy words aside🤨, let’s imagine Netflix as a DAO. Perhaps it could launch the $NETFLIX token, which empowers the holders to vote for decision proposals on the Platform. These tokens will be distributed amongst the investors and Company executives while some will be given to users based on how much have they been involved with the Platform. Perhaps like 5 $NETFLIX token for every hour you spend on the platform or 10 $NETFLIX token for every time you write a review or give a feedback. Creators could have special NFTs based on the popularity & success of their content. Every time a decision will have to be made, all token holders will vote (pseudonymous if they wish) and the decisions will be executed by Smart Contracts on Blockchain. This is the model that roughly all DAOs follow today.
Why are DAOs the Future🚀?
DAOs are essentially Communities of individuals, with a common vision & shared goal. This is what differentiates DAOs from any other forms of Organizations :
Permissionless : There are no restrictions for a participant to contribute to the DAO’s mission. Eligibilty is your ability to add value to the community.
Autonomous : All key operations powered by Smart Contracts; decisions initiated more efficiently.
Decentralised : No Central Authority; Equity of stake based on contribution & equal opportunities for all participants.
Transparent : No shady business; All decision records stored on Blockchain.
No Conflict of interest : Unlike in traditional organizations, every participant takes decision in interest of the community - which in turn is the interest of the member.
DAOs are unlike present day Organizations (Companies/Non-Profits/Communities) and offer every individual with an opportunity to own what they use.
There exist various types of DAOs based on the sector or field of interest that they operate in. They have different structures, operating protocols and conditions tailored to their needs. This image below broadly classifies some of the major DAOs that exist today.
What are DAO Tools & Why do we need them🧐?
Well, the DAO idea sounds perfect! Let’s just break all the Close-wall Board rooms & establish a new era of Cooperation & Community. If you think so, hold your thoughts…….. It’s not as easy as it sounds.
Although the conceptual idea is well defined and in-theory, everything seems quite straightforward, building a DAO is still a demanding endeavour. There are a lot of requirements for setting up your DAO, several operations & tasks need to be performed. This chart below illustrates this well 👇
There exist special protocols & companies that design products & services that help DAOs with their day-to-day operations. This may including managing the internal finances or managing Bounties & Grants for interested participants. Such services, which assist DAOs with managing certain tasks or responsibilities for them are called “DAO Tools”.
They are like B2B services in the present day Web2 Ecosystem; for instance, Expense Tracking apps; Web Hosting Services; Marketing Agencies, etc.
The reason DAOs utilise such services, is that it is way too overwhelming for a DAO to manage all aspect of Operations, i.e; An NFT Project usually requires tooling for Minting, taxes & payouts while a DeFi DAO might require tooling for Marketing or Treasury management.
One of the most common example of a DAO Tool is “Discord”! Sounds surprising right? Discord, which was originally designed as a community discussion forum for Social Gaming is today, the most widely used DAO Tool, even in the Solana Ecosystem. Discord allows DAOs to conduct informal/Formal Polls, interact with DAO members & community and share updates.
Here is an example from the SuperteamDAO Discord Server, where the DAO shares Community Updates & Bounties for Lurkers (People interested in Contributing to the DAO). The server also allows for direct interaction between DAO Members and interested contributors.
Now, there exist multiple categories/types of DAO tools. This image below is a well curated list of all DAO Tools in the Ethereum Ecosystem. We’ll explore a similar variety for the Solana Ecosystem further in this Deep Dive!
The Solana DAO Tooling Ecosystem🤩:
This is the crux of our Deep dive. The Solana DAO Tooling Ecosystem is nascent as compared to the Ethereum chain (Obviously, because Ethereum has existed for a longer amount of time). A few insights that I gathered from my research were :
Non-Financial DAO Tools on the Solana Chain aren’t necessarily exclusive to Solana, instead a majority of them began as Ethereum DAO tools and have expanded to Solana as well as other L-1 & L-2 Ecosystems. This is advantageous from a Multi-Chain perspective which offers interoperability.
Unlike in the initial phase of DAO Tools development, a lot of recent Projects are more versatile and offer a wide range of services instead of a narrow niche, which is super efficient for DAOs.
Here are the Broad Categories of DAO Tools in the Solana Ecosystem👇:
1) FINANCE🪙:
This is the most evolved of all the other DAO Tooling Categories, primarily because every DAO has a Treasury to manage along with a cobweb of Payouts, transactions & Token Management requirements. Let’s familiarize ourselves with a few terms before we explore this space.
Multisig (Multi-signature) wallets are Cryptocurrency & Blockchain Assets storage services. As the name suggests, this wallet requires multiple Private keys to approve a transaction and is hence used by DAOs as their Treasury Management tool so that Security and Distribution of Authority is maintained.
Treasury is essentially all of the Cryptocurrencies & Digital Assets collectively owned by the DAO.
SDKs are developmental tools that allow other Developers to build on the native platform and contribute. They can integrate various programs with this feature.
DeFi staking & Yield Farming are forms of token investment, where they are added to Liquidity Pools for the Lender to earn certain returns on them. Don’t stress yourself 😥, read this article I wrote to know more.
Here’s what DAO Tools usually do in the Finance Space💸:
They offer Treasury Management services in form a Multisig wallet and Analytics in the Front-end that allows the DAO to safely monitor & control all transactions that take place. Here are a few promising ones :
(1) Zebec : A Solana Native protocol that provides Multisig Treasury Management & Payments services. The Platform has multiple SDK Integrations available. They are also launching a custom Debit card program for easy Crypto to Fiat utility. You can manage all varieties of SPL Token (Tokens on the Solana Blockchain) and also deploy tokens in Yield Farming & Defi Staking Protocols.
(2) Goki : Goki is a very similar Solana Native Multisig like Zebec but lacks a few of the additional features like Yield Farming or Debit Card Program. Their mission is to make the Platform secure & Human Friendly.
(3) Castle.Finance : Castle, is solely focused on allowing DAOs to create a ‘Vault’, a tool for them to invest securely in Yield Farming & DeFi Protocols while mitigating various DeFi risks. The Platform has multiple SDKs public.
(4) Liquifi : The best tool for Token Management, be it managing the Vesting or tracking Distributions. The platform is audited by trusted firms and offers features like Tax-compliance & token release automation.
(5) Friktion : This Platform allows DAOs to make planned DeFi investments. It offers them tools to manage this task and earn assured returns. They can create a strong Portfolio with Analytics and Data.
(6) CoinLedger : This is a Taxation tool for Crypto & NFT assets and allows for DAOs to analyse all their transactions & generate reports for easy understanding. It operates across multiple chains like Solana, Binance, Polygon, etc.
(7) Snowflake : Snowflake is another versatile & secure Multisig that allows DAOs to manage their Tokens and automate tasks. The platform is audited by trusted firms and has received multiple investments.
Treasury Dashboard on Goki 
Token Management Dashboard on Liquifi 
Treasury Dashboard on Zebec
They offer tools to manage Payouts & Compensation. Here are few specific Platforms that simplify this process :
(1) Wagmi.bio : It allows for easy Crypto payments, especially for employees. They have various features to allow users to track their transactions and shareable Payment links instead of long wallet address.
(2) PIP : Pip is an integrated suite of Crypto Payment tools. It allows you to create a unique Pip ID, which can be shared on all Social Media Platforms to receive payments. The other functionalities are almost similar to Wagmi.bio. A Chrome extension is already available and the product is live. (Per my research, PIP is more inclined towards social payments, while Wagmi.bio focuses on recurring & official payments.)Token Management & Full-stack DAO Finance tools :
2. GOVERNANCE🏦:
This is a crucial aspect of operating a DAO, since the ownership is distributed and the control is Decentralized, DAOs require sophisticated Protocols for ensuring Secure & Transparent Decision Making process.
SPL Governance is a program (Governance Aggregator) which provides the foundational building blocks & structure to build DAOs on the Solana Chain. A majority of the projects discussed are built on this program to provide Smart contract enabled Governance services.
Here’s what DAO Tools do in the Governance space🏛️:
DAO Setup tools are the most useful tools that provide a basic organizational framework to your DAO; they are often the first tool Creators use for setting up their DAOs :
(1) SuperDAO : This tool offers one-click DAO Creation. It builds the foundation of your DAO with Smart-contracts, Member Directory, Treasury Dashboard & Contributor Management alongside various third party integration. The product is presently in private Beta.
(2) Tribeca : A Solana native Governance Protocol by DAOs, For DAOs. It offers governance and tools to manage operations for your DAO. It offers 3 main tools (programs) ‘smart wallet’, ‘locked_voter’ & ‘govern’. The interesting thing is, the product itself is controlled by a DAO (Decentralization at its best✌️). Goki, is a member of the Tribeca DAO.(3) SolanaSanctuary : This is a DAO launchpad, centered around creating Fair NFT Communities by solving mistrust & centralization. The platform has partnered with the Grape Protocol & is presently in Beta Stage.
(4) Realms : The most versatile of all Solana DAO tools, Realms offers Initial DAO Setup, Treasury Management & Voting services. By virtue of its Public API, various other protocols & programs can be integrated with Realms. It allows DAOs to :
⚡Choose a Governance Structure
⚡Fund & Allocate Treasury
⚡Engage with proposals and analyse Metrics
You can create a :
⚡Multisig Wallet DAO
⚡NFT Community DAO
⚡Community Token DAO
DAO Governance & Management Dashboard from Realms. 
DAO Governance Dashboard from SuperDAO Voting & Decision Making Tools ✅ :
(1) Informal & Off-chain Decision making can take place over Discord Group Calls or Telegram polls. Often form making tools like Tally or Notion are also used to get community opinion.
(2) Solanasail : This project allows for on-chain voting (Records of votes stored on Blockchain, publicly available) in the Solana Ecosystem.
(3) Snapshot : This platform allows for off-chain voting (Records of votes stored on Blockchain but kept private, not publicly available). You can customize how proposals are voted upon. The platform also eliminates Gas fees.
3. HUMAN RESOURCES👨💻:
Humans, afterall are the centre of all economic activities. For DAOs, this commonly refers to onboarding new members via Bounties & Grants. The DAO tools that evolved around this use case have also built a strong online community.
Here’s what DAO Tools do in the HR Space👩🚀:
Providing Bounty & Grant Management services to ease the process of Member onboarding and ensuring a fool-proof and unbiased selection process. Here are a few projects offering this :
(1) There are various upcoming protocols like Layer3 & Kurobi; but the space is monopolized by Questbook. Questbook connects potential contributors with DAOs. It has features that make the process of launching Bounties & Grants easy for DAOs and for them to reach as many people as possible.(2) ImmuneFi is a multi-chain Bug Bounty platform that allows DAOs to host Bug detection bounties on ImmuneFi. People detect bugs to strengthen smart contracts, they are rewarded for their efforts and the DAO is benefitted as well.
(3) Multiple Non-technical bounties like Deep Dives & Content creation bounties are usually hosted on platforms like Notion (Example - Superteam DAO) or even Twitter & Telegram.
Bounties on ImmuneFi for Solana Ecosystem 
Bounties by Superteam DAO
4. COMMUNITY🤝:
The very essence of any DAO is its Community. The more Active and engaging the community of a DAO is, the more successful it gets. (We often judge the quality of a Project based on how active their Discord Community is or how they involve people on Twitter.) Tools offer services to allow DAOs to Grow & Manage their Communities.
Here’s what DAO Tools do in the Community Space🙌:
Community Interaction Platforms that allows participants to engage with the community :
(1) This space is dominated by Discord & Telegram. These platforms allow for Community Announcements, member interaction & direct engagement. There are multiple Web3 alternatives to this platform like Gm and Pikomit, but they are currently in the Ethereum Ecosystem only.
(2) Social media Platforms like Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn also allow for DAOs to interact with the public. Web3 Decentralized Social Media platforms like Taki, CrowdPad, my2cents, etc. also bring a promising future for DAO Communities.
(3) Crew3 : Crew3 provides the infrastructure for Communities in the world of Blockchain. It is already used by 100+ reputed Communities and offers services like Member Analytics, Community Dashboard, Discord Management, Social Media Growth & “XP” based Member Leaderboard which provides on-chain results for off-chain efforts. It also has a public API.
(3) Grape Protocol : It was the earliest Community Management tool in the Solana Ecosystem that is still widely used. They are well integrated with Discord and provide Moderation services. They also help with Content Marketing & Design. They also offer features like NFT gated Community Access and Member Profile & Analytics.
⚡One thing that holds potential in this space is a 3D, Metaverse Platform for DAO Communities. Projects like Spot are working on something similar, but a lot remains to be done.
Community Dashboard on Grape. It allows you to explore and engage with Communities & DAOs 
Community Dashboard on a random Crew3 Space
5. SERVICES⚒️:
Here’s a list of DAO Tools that offer individual services in there specific niches📃:
Dune Analytics, Switchboard, Nansen & Parsiq are Oracle Networks built on Solana that provide Blockchain Data Analytics services to help DAOs understand technical metrics better. They create Graphs & Dashboards from Transaction Data which helps in Treasury management as well as plotting the progress of the DAO.
Wordcel & Mirror are working on Decentralized Publishing. Both the Platforms are widely used by DAOs & Web3 Projects across Ethereum (Mirror) & Solana (Wordcel) Blockchains to share Community Updates and Articles.
OpenLogin, Civic Pass, Anima & Spruce ID are working on creating a secure Decentralized Identification System for users so that they can seamlessly work across Blockchains & Platforms.
DAODAO is a Web3 Social Platform that allows you to start, fund & trade DAOs. It offers a chance for beginners to share their DAO ideas with a Community willing to invest in them.
Fileverse is offering Decentralized Token-gated access to Documents & Media, so that DAOs can share exclusive content only with verified members.
Solluminati is building a DAO Tools Suite for Projects on Solana.
SolanaFM allows DAOs to query Blockchain across the history of Solana using GraphQL to showcase on-chain data & analytics. The Platform is in Beta stage.
The Future of DAO Tooling🔭:
The Solana DAO Tooling Ecosystem has evolved from its nascent stage. We have multiple Projects coming up that are working in all possible Domains to create the most conducive environment for DAOs. We still haven’t achieved the Growth that the Ethereum chain has, but here are a few takeaways from this Deep Dive :
The Solana Ecosystem will have a Lean Approach. Not to many DAO Tools, instead few, efficient & versatile DAO tools.
Interoperability will be of key significance in the Future. Tools will have to integrate with other Protocols. This is the USP of Blockchain Tech. The only reason for Discord’s success is the ridiculous amounts of Integrations & Customizability it offers.
We’ll evolve as a Multi-Chain Ecosystem, Tools will need to operate across chains.
Conclusion🤌:
What we take away from this Deep-dive, is that the Solana DAO Tooling Ecosystem has evolved at a progressive rate. Due to the increase in Community Participation and No. of Token Holders, the demand for Tools has increased.
There still is a lot of untapped potential in this space, especially in the intersection of Blockchain Technology & Metaverse.
As Community Members, it is our responsibility as well to make any Contributions we can make to the Future of Web3.
WAGMI ✌️
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