Crypto and DeSci
Research Funding Through Tokens
Traditional research funding relies heavily on government grants and institutional backing.
DeSci introduces new funding models through cryptocurrency tokens. Research projects can issue their own tokens, allowing supporters to directly fund work they believe in.
These science tokens often provide holders with various rights, from voting on research directions to accessing future research data.
Smart Contracts for Scientific Collaboration
Smart contracts serve as the digital handshakes of DeSci, automating many aspects of scientific collaboration.
They handle everything from distributing research funds to managing data access rights.
When a researcher contributes to a project, smart contracts can automatically assign them the appropriate credit and compensation.
Incentive Mechanisms
Cryptocurrency enables novel incentive structures in science. For example:
- Tokens awarded for peer review contributions
- Bounties for reproducing important experiments
- Automated payments for sharing research data
- Rewards for identifying errors or fraud
Data Sharing and Access
Blockchain technology ensures that scientific data remains both accessible and verifiable.
Researchers can prove when they made a discovery without immediately revealing all details, using cryptographic techniques like zero-knowledge proofs.
This helps protect intellectual property while maintaining scientific transparency.
The Economics of DeSci
If conventional academia is like a command economy via its endless funding panels and committees, DeSci introduces a market economy for research, where good ideas and solid work naturally attract support and recognition.
Whether funding groundbreaking research through DAOs or incentivizing peer review through token rewards, cryptocurrency provides the tools needed to make science more open, efficient, and fair.
My DeSci Project
I'm building a DeSci platform, "Kickstarter for Science, with crypto", where scientists can tokenize their research and share future success with the supporters who fund them.