Liechtenstein, July 10, 2024 — Professor Jeff Strnad from Stanford University has joined the Economic Advisory Panel of Q International Foundation, the not-for-profit organization behind the Q Protocol. The collaboration between Q International Foundation and Prof. Strnad aims to address the pressing governance challenges faced by Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs).
Addressing DAO Governance Challenges
DAOs suffer from a fundamental dilemma: On the one hand, they need to be decentralized—otherwise, there is no point in organizing as a DAO. On the other hand, decentralization often comes with negative side effects: absence of leadership, slow decision-making, and lack of accountability are problems that are all too familiar for many DAO participants. The result: most DAOs do not meet expectations, and many are outright failures. DAOs face significant governance challenges, as evidenced by recent controversies with prominent DAOs such as MakerDAO, Arbitrum DAO, or SushiSwap’s DAO. These organizations have struggled with issues like leadership conflicts, slow decision-making, and lack of accountability.
Innovative Governance Concept: Contestable Control Approach
In a groundbreaking paper, Professor Strnad proposes a novel solution to the perennial issues of decentralization in DAOs. His “contestable control approach” allows for DAOs to remain decentralized while ensuring efficient and effective management. The essence of this framework is that control of the DAO is continuously up for grabs to the highest bidder. Successful bidders are rewarded for the value they add, and DAO token holders benefit from an increase in the token’s price.
Professor Strnad explains, “DAOs have immense potential, but they often struggle with decentralization leading to inefficiencies and lack of accountability. The contestable control approach provides a solution that ensures that DAOs can be both decentralized and effectively managed. I am excited to work with Q International Foundation to put this into practice. The Q Protocol with its in-built ability to enforce non-deterministic rules is an ideal platform for testing novel ways of DAO governance.“
Collaboration with Q International Foundation
This partnership will leverage the Q Protocol’s capabilities to enforce the necessary conditions for the contestable control framework. The collaboration aims to create a practical implementation of this governance model, filling the gaps that cannot be addressed by smart contract code alone.
“Professor Strnad’s approach to DAO governance aligns perfectly with Q’s mission to advance decentralized governance. Together, we aim to set a new standard for DAOs, ensuring they are not only decentralized but also accountable and efficient,” comments Martin Schmidt, a key contributor to the Q Protocol.
This partnership marks a significant step forward in the evolution of DAO governance. By combining Professor Strnad’s innovative contestable control framework with the Q Protocol’s decentralized governance infrastructure, this collaboration aims to solve some of the most pressing challenges facing DAOs today.
About Q Protocol
Q is a novel blockchain protocol acting as a fundamental governance layer in Web3. Going beyond the code-is-law paradigm, it combines the benefits of a public, open, and decentralized ledger with the transparency and predictability of enforceable private contracts. Q enables adoption by many use cases that desire decentralization but require scalability and dependability.
About Professor Jeff Strnad
Professor Jeff Strnad is Charles A. Beardsley Professor of Law at Stanford Law School. He teaches various courses on blockchain and cryptocurrencies, including a course on blockchain governance.
Prof. Strnad’s research spans the fields of taxation, public finance, finance, and empirical analysis. He has published leading works on the taxation of financial instruments and on the application of Bayesian empirical methods to law. An innovative teacher of quantitative methods, Professor Strnad has created original courses in empirical analysis and game theory. Before joining the Stanford Law School faculty in 1997, he was a professor of law and economics at the California Institute of Technology and the John B. Milliken Professor of Taxation at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.
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