DAO stands for “decentralized autonomous organization”
<aside> 👌 TLDR; DAOs are basically member-owned communities.
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Here are a few different definitions...
A DAO is a formalized community that can self-govern and take on some aspects of a company.
Internet communities with a shared cap table and bank account - Cooper Turley
Think of them like an internet-native business that's collectively owned and managed by its members. They have built-in treasuries that no one has the authority to access without the approval of the group. Decisions are governed by proposals and voting to ensure everyone in the organisation has a voice… There's no CEO who can authorise spending based on their own whims and no chance of a dodgy CFO manipulating the books. Everything is out in the open and the rules around spending are baked into the DAO via its code.
A DAO is a community with a treasury owned by its contributing members. The simplest way to describe how a DAO works is to compare it to a company:
Source: Creator Economy by Peter Yang