Visão geral da moeda
Bots
Info
BIO
Encerrada--
Último preço (USDT)
1.79M
Volume de trading em 24h (USDT)
5.76M
Volume total (USDT)
2024-12-25 09:00:00 ~ 2025-01-03 09:30:00
Data da operação (UTC+0)
2025-01-03 11:00:00 ~ 2025-01-03 15:00:00
Data da entrega (UTC+0)
Oferta total3.32B
Recursos
Apresentação
BIO is an open network for biotech acceleration that directs funding to the best early-stage science. With BIO, patients, scientists and biotech builders can collectively fund, build & own portfolios of tokenized biotech projects. BIO protocol provides funding, incentives & liquidity to catalyze an on-chain scientific economy.
Revolution or Scam? An In-Depth Analysis of DeSci's Current State
Original Article Title: DeSci: A Revolution? Or Just a Dream? Original Article Author: 100y eth, Crypto Writer Original Article Translation: zhouzhou, BlockBeats Editor's Note: This article explores the business model of the DeSci field and the shortcomings of the scientific research review system. The author points out that the current review process is inefficient, lacks transparency and effective incentives, affecting the impartiality of academic work. Furthermore, the prevalent "publish or perish" culture in academia makes researchers more inclined to pursue trending topics, overlooking the value of failed experiments. The rise of DeSci not only provides powerful solutions to these issues but also allows the decentralization concept to be more deeply reflected in the field of scientific research. The following is the original content (slightly reorganized for easier reading comprehension): The problems in academia are evident, but DeSci is not a cure-all. I recently obtained a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and during my studies, I published four first-author papers, including in sub-journals of "Nature" and the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS). Although my academic experience is limited to the graduate level and I have not served as an independent researcher, which may result in a less comprehensive perspective, in my nearly six-year academic career, I have deeply felt many structural issues in the academic system. In this context, DeSci (Decentralized Science) attempts to use blockchain technology to challenge the centralized structure of the scientific field, a concept that is undoubtedly fascinating. Recently, the topic of DeSci has swept through the crypto market, with many believing it can completely transform the research model in science. I also hope to see such a transformation. However, I believe the possibility of DeSci completely overturning the traditional academic world is not high. From my perspective, the more realistic scenario is that DeSci serves as a complementary means in some aspects, alleviating specific issues in the traditional academic system. Therefore, with the recent boom of DeSci, I would like to take this opportunity to, based on my limited academic experience, explore the structural issues in the traditional academic system, assess whether blockchain technology can truly address these issues, and analyze the impact DeSci may have on academia. 1. The Sudden Boom of DeSci 1.1 DeSci: From a Niche Concept to a Growing Movement The longstanding structural issues in academia have long been widely discussed, for example, in articles such as VOX's "270 Scientists' View on Science's Seven Major Challenges" and "The War for the Liberation of Science." Over the years, people have been constantly trying to solve these problems, some of which will be mentioned later in this article. As a concept, DeSci seeks to address these challenges by introducing blockchain technology into scientific research, but it did not start gaining attention until around 2020. At that time, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong introduced the concept of DeSci to the crypto community through ResearchHub, hoping to realign the incentive mechanism of scientific research through ResearchCoin (RSC). However, due to the speculative nature of the crypto market, DeSci failed to attract widespread user participation, with only a small portion of the community supporting this vision for a long time—until the emergence of pump.science. 1.2 The Butterfly Effect of pump.science pump.science is a DeSci project in the Solana ecosystem, built by the well-known DeSci platform Molecule. It serves as both a research funding platform and utilizes Wormbot technology for real-time streaming of long-term experiments. Users can propose compounds they believe may extend lifespan or purchase tokens related to these ideas. Once the token market cap surpasses a specific threshold, the project team uses Wormbot devices to conduct experiments to validate whether the compound can indeed extend the lifespan of the experimental subjects. If the experiment is successful, token holders receive equity in that compound. However, some community members have criticized this model, arguing that these experiments lack sufficient scientific rigor and may not truly foster life-extending drugs. Gwart's satirical comment represents a skeptical view of DeSci, questioning the arguments put forth by its supporters. pump.science adopts a Bonding Curve mechanism similar to Molecule, where the token price rises as the number of purchasing users increases. The launch of tokens like RIF (Representing Rifaximin) and URO (Representing Urokinase) coincided with the meme token frenzy in the crypto market, driving their prices higher. This unexpected bull run brought DeSci into the spotlight. Ironically, what fueled the DeSci craze was not its scientific essence, but the speculative price surge of its tokens. In the rapidly changing crypto market, DeSci has long been a niche area. However, in November 2024, it became one of the hottest narratives. Not only did the token issued by pump.science skyrocket, but Binance also announced an investment in DeSci's grant-funded Bio protocol. Existing DeSci tokens also saw significant price surges, marking a pivotal moment for this field. 2. Flaws in Traditional Science It is no exaggeration to say that the academic world is facing numerous systemic and severe issues. Over the years in academia, I have often questioned: how does such a flawed system manage to sustain itself? Before delving into the potential of DeSci, let's first take a look at the shortcomings of the traditional academic system. 2.1.1 Evolution of Research Funding Prior to the 19th century, scientists obtained research funding and made a living in a vastly different manner than today: Sponsorship: European monarchs and nobles would sponsor researchers to enhance their own prestige and drive scientific progress. For example, Galileo received sponsorship from the Medici family, enabling him to continue developing the telescope and conducting astronomical research. Religious institutions also played a significant role in scientific development; during the Middle Ages, the church and clergy sponsored research in astronomy, mathematics, and medicine. Self-funding: Many scientists relied on income from other professions to support their research. They may have been university professors, teachers, writers, or engineers, using these roles to financially back their research. By the end of the 19th century and into the early 20th century, governments and corporations began establishing centralized research funding systems. During World Wars I and II, various governments set up research institutions and heavily invested in defense research to gain a competitive edge in warfare. - In the United States, organizations such as the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and the National Research Council (NRC) were established during World War I. - In Germany, the Emergency Association of German Science (Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft), founded in 1920, was the predecessor to today's German Research Foundation (DFG). - Concurrently, corporate research institutions like Bell Labs and GE Research Lab were established, signaling the active participation of enterprises in research funding. This government-corporate-led research funding model gradually became mainstream and continues to this day. Governments and corporations worldwide contribute substantial budgets to support global research. For instance, in just 2023, the U.S. federal government's RD expenditure amounted to a staggering $190 billion, a 13% increase from 2022. In the United States, the allocation process of research funding is supported by federal government funding for RD and distributed by multiple agencies. For example: · National Institutes of Health (NIH): the largest funder of biomedical research; · Department of Defense (DoD): focuses on research in the defense sector; · National Science Foundation (NSF): supports scientific and engineering research in various disciplines; · Department of Energy (DOE): responsible for research in renewable energy and nuclear physics; · NASA: funds space and aeronautics research. 2.1.2 Centralized Funding System Distorts Scientific Research Today, university professors are almost unable to conduct research independently without relying on external funding. Therefore, they are forced to rely on government or corporate funding, and this centralized funding model has also brought many problems to the academic community. First is the inefficiency of the funding acquisition process. Although the specific processes vary among countries and institutions, there is generally a widespread issue of being lengthy, opaque, and inefficient. Research teams need to submit large numbers of application documents and reports and undergo strict reviews by the government or corporations. For renowned labs, a grant may reach several million or even tens of millions of dollars, allowing them to avoid frequent applications for a longer period. However, this is not the case for most. For most labs, a single grant is usually only tens of thousands of dollars, meaning they need to repeatedly apply, fill out large amounts of documents, and undergo continuous reviews. Many graduate students and scholars have to spend a significant amount of time on funding applications and corporate projects rather than focusing on research. What's worse is that many projects funded by corporations have little relevance to graduate student research topics, further highlighting the inefficiency and irrationality of this system. Investing a significant amount of time in funding applications may have a payoff, but obtaining funding is not easy. According to data from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the funding approval rates for 2023 and 2024 were 29% and 26%, respectively, with a median annual funding amount of only $150,000. Similarly, the success rate for funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is usually between 15% and 30%. Single-source funding often cannot meet research needs, and many scholars have to apply multiple times to sustain their research. The challenge of funding applications lies not only in low success rates but also in the crucial role of networking. Professors often collaborate with peers in their applications rather than applying independently to increase the chances of approval. Additionally, to secure corporate funding, professors frequently engage in private lobbying efforts with the funders. This reliance on networks, coupled with the opacity of the fund allocation process, makes it harder for early-career researchers to enter this system. Another significant issue is the lack of incentives for long-term research. Funding exceeding 5 years is extremely rare. According to NSF data, the majority of grants have durations of 1 to 5 years, similar to the funding patterns of other government agencies. Corporate RD project funding typically lasts only 1 to 3 years. Political factors also profoundly influence government research funding. For example, during the Trump administration, there was a significant increase in RD investment in the defense sector, whereas under Democratic administrations, funding tended to favor environmental research. Due to the fluctuation of government funding with policy changes, long-term research projects struggle to receive stable support. Corporate funding faces similar challenges. In 2022, the average tenure of a CEO in the SP 500 companies was 4.8 years, with other executives seeing similar tenure lengths. They often need to rapidly adjust their strategies based on industry and technological shifts, resulting in few long-term ongoing research projects funded by corporations. Under the pressure of a centralized funding system, researchers are forced to select projects that can deliver visible results in a short period to ensure continued funding support. This has led to a short-term orientation in academia, with only a few institutions or teams willing to undertake research projects lasting over 5 years. Furthermore, researchers tend to focus more on incremental improvements to increase their publication output rather than pursuing truly innovative breakthroughs. `Scientific research can be categorized as incremental or groundbreaking, with the former being small improvements on existing work and the latter breaking entirely new ground. `Due to the constraints of the funding model, incremental research is often easier to fund, while disruptive innovation struggles to survive. The high degree of specialization in modern science indeed makes major breakthroughs more challenging, but the centralized funding model exacerbates this issue, further stifling the potential for disruptive innovation. Some researchers may even manipulate data or exaggerate research findings. The current funding mechanism requires results to be produced in a limited time frame, which promotes academic misconduct. As a graduate student, I often hear about cases of data manipulation by students in other labs. Nature points out that the number of retracted papers in academic conferences and journals is sharply rising. 2.1.3 Do Not Misunderstand: Centralized Funding Is Inevitable It needs to be clarified that centralized funding itself is not the issue. While this model has brought about many negative effects, it is still crucial to modern science. Compared to the past, today's scientific research is more complex and expensive. A graduate student's project may easily require thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, while research in fields such as defense, aerospace, and basic physics requires an exponential increase in resources. Therefore, centralized funding is indispensable, but the issues within it must also be addressed. 2.2.1 Journal Industry Overview In the crypto industry, entities such as Tether, Circle (issuer of stablecoins), Binance, and Coinbase (centralized exchanges) dominate the market. In academia, journals are the most powerful entities, including giants like Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley, the American Chemical Society (ACS), IEEE, and others. · Elsevier had a revenue of $36.7 billion in 2022, with a net profit of $25.5 billion and a profit margin of nearly 70%. · In comparison, Nvidia's profit margin in 2024 is 55%-57%. · By the first 9 months of 2024, Springer Nature had already reached a revenue of $14.4 billion, highlighting the immense scale of the academic publishing industry. The core profit models of academic journals include: · Subscription Fees: Access to journal articles usually requires a subscription or a one-time fee to access specific articles. · Article Processing Charges (APC): Authors can pay fees to make their papers open-access; otherwise, most papers are placed behind paywalls. · Copyright and Reprint Fees: In most cases, once a paper is published, the copyright belongs to the publisher, and journals monetize through educational or commercial licensing. 2.2.2 Journals: The Epicenter of Misaligned Incentives in Academia So, why are journals considered the "top predators" of the academic world? Isn't their business model just the same as the general publishing industry's logic? The answer is no. Journal's business model is extremely biased towards the publisher, rather than the author or the reader. In traditional publishing or online platforms, authors usually can share revenue with the platform, and the content can reach as wide an audience as possible. However, the core operation of academic journals is entirely in favor of the publisher's interests: · Scholars provide research results for free, but journals profit through subscription fees, page charges, copyright transfer, etc. · Even if authors pay a high APC, journals still control the distribution channels, influencing the reach of the paper. · Readers (including universities, research institutions) often need to pay high subscription fees to access cutting-edge research results. Journals play a key role in academic communication, but their profit model entirely favors the publisher, rather than the author or the academic community itself. To read papers from a specific journal, readers must pay a subscription fee or purchase single articles. However, if researchers want their papers to be open access, they need to pay high processing fees to the journal and receive no profit-sharing. It doesn't stop there—researchers not only have no right to share the revenue brought by the journal, but in most cases, the copyright of their papers is directly transferred to the journal. This means that journals can not only price freely but also repeatedly monetize this research content for business purposes. This system is highly exploitative and entirely unfair to researchers. In terms of the profit model, journals not only monopolize the channels for disseminating academic achievements but also squeeze researchers through high fees. The scale and depth of exploitation in their business model are astonishing. For example, in the field of natural sciences, one of the most well-known open-access journals—Nature Communications—authors need to pay a $6,790 article processing fee (APC) for each published paper. This fee is almost a significant portion of many researchers' annual budgets, yet the journal still does not provide any share to the researchers. The essence of academic journals has long evolved from promoting knowledge dissemination to systematic exploitation of researchers. The subscription fees for academic journals are equally staggering. While subscription prices vary by journal discipline and type, the average annual institution subscription fee for journals under the American Chemical Society (ACS) can be as high as $4,908 per journal. If an institution subscribes to all ACS journals, the cost would skyrocket to $170,000. Springer Nature's subscription fees are even higher, with an average annual fee of around $10,000 per journal, and the full journal package subscription fee reaching $630,000. Since most research institutions subscribe to multiple journals, this means that researchers and institutions face a huge subscription expense. A more serious issue is that researchers are almost compelled to publish papers in these journals to establish their academic credentials. The financial flow of the journal industry mainly relies on government and corporate research funding, creating a highly exploitative cycle: · Researchers must continually publish papers to accumulate academic achievements, apply for research funding, and advance their careers. · The funding for research mainly comes from government or corporate research grants. · The article processing charges (APC) for publication are also paid by this funding. · Institutions, to allow researchers to read these papers, also need to pay high subscription fees, which also come from government or corporate funding. Since these costs are mostly borne by research funding rather than individual researchers' contributions, researchers are less sensitive to these high expenses, giving journals unlimited room to increase prices. Ultimately, academic journals have formed a distorted profit model: charging authors high publication fees, charging readers and institutions exorbitant subscription fees, and monopolizing the copyright of papers. This system not only greatly exploits researchers but also hinders the free dissemination of knowledge, turning academic research into a thoroughly commercial business. 2.2.3 Inefficiency and Lack of Transparency in the Journal Peer Review Process The issues with journals are not only in their revenue structure but also in the inefficiency and lack of transparency in the publishing process. In my six years of academic career, having published four papers, I have encountered numerous issues, especially the inefficient submission process, lack of transparency, and a peer review system with a luck factor. The standard peer review process for journals typically includes the following steps: 1. Researchers compile their research findings into a manuscript and submit it to the target journal. 2. The journal editor assesses whether the manuscript fits the journal's scope and basic standards. If it does, the editor will assign two to three peer reviewers to conduct a review. 3. Peer reviewers evaluate the manuscript, provide feedback, raise issues and questions, and then make one of four recommendations: · Accept: No modifications needed, accept as is. · Minor Revision: Accept with minor changes required. · Major Revision: Accept but significant changes needed. · Reject: Manuscript is not accepted. 4. The researcher revises the paper based on the review comments, and the editor makes the final decision. While this process may seem straightforward, it is rife with inefficiencies, inconsistencies, and overreliance on subjective judgment, which can undermine the overall quality and fairness of the system. The inefficiency of the review process is a significant issue. For example, in the natural sciences and engineering, the time required to submit a paper and go through the review process is roughly as follows: · Time to receive editorial rejection: 1 week to 2 months. · Time to receive peer review comments: 3 weeks to 4 months. · Time for final decision: 3 months to 1 year. When delays occur in the review process due to journal or reviewer circumstances, or multiple review rounds are needed, publishing a paper can take over a year. For example, in a paper I submitted, the editor sent the manuscript to three reviewers, but one did not respond, necessitating the search for another reviewer, extending the review period by four months. Furthermore, if the paper is rejected during this lengthy period, the entire process must start again, with submission to another journal, meaning additional waiting and a doubling of time wasted. This inefficient and time-consuming publication process is highly disadvantageous for researchers, as during this time, similar research by other teams may have already been published. I have witnessed this situation many times, and novelty is a key element of a paper, delays of which can have serious consequences. Another issue is the shortage of peer reviewers. As mentioned earlier, submitted papers are typically evaluated by two to three peer reviewers. Whether a paper is accepted often depends on the opinions of these reviewers. While reviewers are usually experts in the relevant field and consensus on the paper's quality is usually reached through them, the review results still carry an element of luck. I have experienced an example: I once submitted a paper to a prestigious journal A, received two major comments and one minor comment, and was ultimately rejected. I then submitted the same paper to journal B, which is relatively less known, but it also rejected my paper, with one rejection and one major issue in the review comments. Interestingly, despite journal B's lower prominence, the outcome was even worse. This highlights a key issue: the evaluation of a paper relies on a small number of experts, and the selection of reviewers is entirely determined by the journal editor. This means that whether a paper is accepted actually carries a certain element of luck. For example, if three reviewers are lenient, the paper may be accepted; but if assigned to three stricter reviewers, the paper may be rejected. The problems in the journal peer review process are not only inefficiency and lack of transparency, but also include insufficient reviewer numbers, lack of incentivization, and the presence of bias in peer review. Firstly, significantly increasing the number of reviewers to achieve a fairer evaluation is not practical. For journals, adding reviewers means more communication and higher inefficiency. Therefore, while increasing reviewers may help achieve a more just review, from the journal's perspective, this approach is not cost-effective. Secondly, the lack of incentivization mechanisms in the peer review process has resulted in varying review quality. Some reviewers are able to fully grasp the content of the paper, provide insightful comments and questions. However, other reviewers do not carefully read the paper, provide information already included in the paper, or give irrelevant criticisms and comments, leading to significant revisions or straight rejections of the paper. Let me illustrate with an example from my experience. I once submitted a paper to the renowned Journal A. Despite receiving two major comments and one minor comment, my paper was still rejected. I then submitted the same paper to Journal B, which has slightly lower prestige. However, after receiving 1 rejection and 1 major comment, it was rejected again. Interestingly, although Journal B is not as prominent as Journal A, the outcome was worse. The third issue is the lack of incentivization measures in the peer review process, resulting in poor review quality. This varies among peer reviewers. Some reviewers have a thorough understanding of the paper and provide thoughtful comments and questions. However, others do not read the paper carefully, ask about information already included, or give irrelevant criticisms and comments, leading to major revisions or rejection. Unfortunately, this is quite common and can leave researchers feeling betrayed as if their efforts have been in vain. The fourth issue is the lack of transparency in the peer review process. Peer review is usually conducted anonymously to ensure fairness, with journal editors responsible for selecting reviewers. However, reviewers sometimes may identify the authors of the paper under review. This can lead to biases in the review, for example, reviewers may favor papers from their friends or collaborators, or intentionally give harsh reviews to papers from competing teams. This situation is more common than we imagine and can sometimes have a significant impact on the final outcome of a paper. 2.2.6 The Illusion of Impact Factor Lastly, I want to discuss the issue of the evaluation of citation counts and impact factors. How do we evaluate a researcher's career and academic level? Each researcher has their own unique strengths: some excel in experimental design, some are adept at identifying research directions, and others can delve deep into overlooked details. However, qualitatively assessing each researcher's strengths is nearly impossible. Therefore, the academic community relies on quantitative metrics, namely using a single number to evaluate researchers, especially citations and the H-index. Researchers with a high H-index and paper citation count are often considered more accomplished. The H-index is an indicator used to measure a researcher's productivity and impact. For example, an H-index of 10 means that the researcher has at least 10 papers, each of which has been cited at least 10 times. Ultimately, citation count remains the most important metric of assessment. So, how can researchers increase their citation count? While producing high-quality papers is the fundamental solution, choosing the right research topics is equally crucial. The more popular the research field and the more researchers there are, the more likely a paper's citation count will increase. 2.2.5 Publish or Perish Success stems from failure. Progress in any field requires failure as a stepping stone. However, in the modern scientific world, almost all papers only report successful results, while the countless failures leading to these successes are ignored and abandoned. In the fiercely competitive academic world, researchers have little incentive to report failed experiments because these failures do not benefit their careers and are often seen as a waste of time. This also reflects the "publish or perish" phenomenon in academia. To gain academic recognition and continue funding, researchers often need to publish a large number of papers. However, successful papers tend to only present results while overlooking the failures in the research, preventing many research processes from being fully presented. As a result, the academic field exhibits low tolerance for failure, instead treating outcomes as the sole measure of a researcher's value, leading to the homogenization of academic evaluation. This is also closely related to the relationship between impact factor and citation count. The academic world's evaluation of papers often overly relies on citation count and impact factor, overlooking the failures or challenges that may have been encountered during the research process. Yet, these undisclosed failures are actually an indispensable part of academic progress. 2.3 Systemic Challenges In the field of computer software, open-source projects have transformed software development by publicly sharing code and encouraging global contributions, fostering collaboration among developers, thus allowing software to be improved. However, the trajectory of scientific development has moved in the opposite direction. In the early days of science, such as the 17th century, scientists prioritized sharing knowledge, advocated for natural philosophy, and displayed an open and collaborative attitude, distancing themselves from rigid authority. For example, despite their competitive relationship, Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke still shared and critiqued each other's work through letters, collectively advancing knowledge. In contrast, modern science has become more closed off. Researchers, driven by competition to secure funding and publish in high-impact journals, often keep unpublished research confidential and strongly discourage external sharing. As a result, research labs within the same field naturally see each other as competitors, with limited avenues to learn about each other's work. Since much research builds incrementally on previously published work, competing labs are likely to be working on similar research topics. Without sharing the research process, multiple labs end up conducting parallel studies on the same subject. This creates a high-stakes, low-efficiency environment where the lab that publishes results first reaps all the credit. Researchers often find that as they near completion, similar research has already been published, rendering much of their efforts futile. In the worst cases, even within the same lab, students may withhold experimental materials or research findings from each other, fostering internal competition rather than collaboration. As open-source culture has become foundational in computer science, the modern scientific community must embrace a more open and collaborative culture to benefit a broader audience. 3. How to Fix Traditional Science? Researchers are acutely aware of these issues in the scientific community. While they recognize these problems, these challenges are deeply rooted in structural issues that individuals find hard to address. However, over the years, there have been many attempts to tackle these issues. 3.1.1 Fixing Centralized Funding Fast Grants: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Stripe's CEO, Patrick Collison, identified inefficiencies in traditional grant processes and launched the Fast Grants initiative, raising $50 million to support hundreds of projects. Funding decisions are made within 14 days, with grant amounts ranging from $10,000 to $500,000, a significant sum for researchers. Renaissance Philanthropy: Founded by Tom Kalil, a former technology policy advisor to Presidents Clinton and Obama. This nonprofit consultancy organization connects donors with high-impact scientific and technological projects and, with the support of Eric and Wendy Schmidt, operates similarly to the patronage system that once thrived among European scientists. hhmi: The Howard Hughes Medical Institute employs a unique funding model that supports individual researchers rather than specific projects. By providing long-term funding, it alleviates the pressure for short-term results, allowing researchers to focus on sustained research work. experiment.com: This is an online crowdfunding platform that allows researchers to introduce their work to the public and raise the necessary funds from individual donors. 3.1.2 Fixing Academic Journals PLOS ONE: PLOS ONE is an open-access scientific journal that anyone can freely read, download, and share articles from. It evaluates papers based on scientific validity rather than impact and is known for publishing negative, inconclusive, or invalid results. Its streamlined publishing process helps researchers quickly disseminate research findings. However, PLOS ONE charges researchers article processing fees ranging from $1000 to $5000. arXiv, bioRxiv, medRxiv, PsyArXiv, SocArXiv: These are preprint servers that allow researchers to share their paper drafts before formal publication. They enable the rapid dissemination of research findings, claim precedence on specific topics, provide community feedback and collaboration opportunities, and offer readers free access to papers. Sci-hub: Founded by Kazakhstani programmer Alexandra Elbakyan, Sci-hub provides free access to paywalled papers. Despite being illegal in most jurisdictions and facing lawsuits from publishers like Elsevier, it has been praised for advancing free access to academic content while also criticized for legal violations. 3.1.3 Fixing Collaboration ResearchGate: This is a professional social platform where researchers can share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators. CERN: CERN is a non-profit organization involved in particle physics research, conducting large-scale experiments that are challenging for individual labs to undertake. It brings together researchers from multiple countries, funded based on each participating country's GDP contribution. 3.2 DeSci, the New Wave While the above efforts have made some progress in addressing the challenges modern science faces, they have not created enough impact to fundamentally transform the field. In recent years, with the rise of blockchain technology, a concept called Decentralized Science (DeSci) has garnered attention as a potential solution to these structural issues. So, what exactly is DeSci? Can it truly revolutionize the modern scientific ecosystem? 4. Enter DeSci 4.1 DeSci Overview DeSci, short for Decentralized Science, refers to making scientific knowledge a public good by improving funding, research, peer review, and research output sharing. It aims to create a more efficient, fair, transparent, and inclusive system. Blockchain technology plays a central role in achieving these goals through the following features: Transparency: Except for privacy networks, blockchain networks are inherently transparent, allowing anyone to view transactions. This feature enhances the transparency of project funding and peer review processes. Ownership: Blockchain assets are protected by private keys, making ownership claims easy. This feature enables researchers to monetize their data or assert intellectual property (IP) rights to leverage funded research outcomes. Incentive Mechanism: The incentive mechanism is core to blockchain networks. To encourage collaboration and active participation, token incentives can be used to reward individuals participating in various research processes. Smart Contracts: Smart contracts deployed on a neutral network execute operations based on their code definitions. They can be used to establish and automate interaction logic among participants, with transparency. 4.2 Potential Applications of DeSci As the name suggests, DeSci can be applied to various aspects of scientific research. ResearchHub categorizes the potential applications of DeSci into the following five areas: Research DAOs: These are decentralized autonomous organizations focusing on specific research topics. Through blockchain technology, they can transparently manage research planning, funding, governance voting, and project management. Publication: Blockchain can decentralize and transform the publication process entirely. Research papers, data, and code can be permanently recorded on the blockchain, ensuring their credibility, providing free access, and improving processes such as peer review through token incentives. Funding and Intellectual Property: Researchers can easily obtain global audience funding support through blockchain networks. Additionally, by tokenizing research projects, token holders can participate in project direction decisions or share future intellectual property income. Data: Blockchain can achieve secure, transparent storage, management, and sharing of research data. Infrastructure: This includes governance tools, storage solutions, community platforms, and identity systems that can be seamlessly integrated into DeSci projects. The best way to understand DeSci is to explore projects within its ecosystem and see how they address structural issues in modern science. Next, let's take a closer look at some prominent projects in the DeSci ecosystem. 5. DeSci Ecosystem 5.1 Why the Ethereum Ecosystem is the Ideal Choice for DeSci Unlike DeFi, gaming, or AI applications, DeSci projects primarily focus on the Ethereum ecosystem. This trend can be attributed to the following reasons: · Trustworthy Neutrality: Ethereum is the most neutral network among smart contract platforms. Given the nature of DeSci, which involves significant fund flows (e.g., research funding), values such as decentralization, fairness, censorship resistance, and trust are crucial. This makes Ethereum the optimal network for building DeSci projects. · Network Effects: Ethereum boasts the largest user base and liquidity in the smart contract network. Compared to other applications, DeSci, as a relatively niche field, may face fragmentation risks if projects are spread across multiple networks. This fragmentation could hinder project management due to liquidity and ecosystem-related challenges. Therefore, most DeSci projects are built on the Ethereum network to leverage Ethereum's strong network effects. · DeSci Infrastructure: Few DeSci projects are built from scratch. Instead, many projects leverage existing frameworks (such as Molecule) to accelerate development. Since most DeSci infrastructure tools are based on Ethereum, the majority of projects in this field also operate on Ethereum. Based on these reasons, the DeSci projects discussed in this article mostly belong to the Ethereum ecosystem. Next, we will explore some representative projects in each area of DeSci. 5.2.1 Molecule Molecule is a fundraising and tokenization platform for biopharma intellectual property. Researchers can raise funds from multiple individuals via blockchain, tokenize project IP, and funders can receive IP Tokens proportionate to their contributions. Molecule's decentralized fundraising platform, Catalyst, connects researchers and funders. Researchers prepare the necessary documentation and project plans, submit projects on the platform, and funders support these proposals with ETH funding. Once the fundraising is complete, IP-NFTs and IP Tokens are issued, and funders can claim these tokens based on their contributions. An IP NFT represents a tokenized version of project intellectual property on the blockchain, combining two legal agreements into one smart contract. The first legal agreement is the research agreement signed between researchers and funders. This agreement includes terms such as research scope, deliverables, timeline, budget, confidentiality, intellectual property and data ownership, publication, results disclosure, licensing, and patent conditions. The second legal agreement is the assignment agreement, transferring the research agreement to the IP NFT holder, ensuring that the rights of the current IP NFT holder can be transferred to a new holder. IP Tokens represent partial governance rights over intellectual property. Token holders can participate in key research decisions and access exclusive information. While IP Tokens do not guarantee revenue sharing from the research, depending on the intellectual property holder, future commercialization profits may be distributed to IP Token holders. The price of IP Tokens is determined by the Catalyst Bonding Curve, reflecting the relationship between token supply and price. As more tokens are issued, their price increases. This mechanism incentivizes early contributors by allowing them to acquire tokens at a lower cost. Here are some cases of successful fundraising through Molecule: Oslo University's Square Lab: The Square Lab researches aging and Alzheimer's disease. The lab received support from VitaDAO through Molecule's IP-NFT framework to identify and characterize new drug candidates for activating mitochondrial autophagy, which has a positive impact on Alzheimer's research. Artan Bio: Artan Bio focuses on tRNA-related research. Through Molecule's IP-NFT framework, it received $91,300 in funding from the VitaDAO community. 5.2.2 Bio.xyz Bio.xyz is a curation and liquidity protocol for decentralized science (DeSci), similar to an incubator supporting BioDAO. Bio.xyz's goals include: ·Plan, create, and accelerate new BioDAO-funded scientific projects on-chain. ·Provide ongoing funding and liquidity for BioDAO and on-chain biotech assets. ·Standardize BioDAO frameworks, tokenomics, and data/product suites. ·Generation and commercialization of scientific intellectual property (IP) and data. BIO token holders can vote to decide which new BioDAOs join the ecosystem. Once a BioDAO is approved to join the BIO ecosystem, voting-supported token holders can participate in the initial private token sale. This process is similar to an approved seed round. The governance token of the approved BioDAO is paired with the BIO token and added to a liquidity pool, addressing BioDAO's concerns regarding governance token liquidity (e.g., VITA/BIO). Additionally, Bio.xyz also operates a bio/acc rewards program providing BIO token rewards to BioDAOs to help them achieve key milestones. Furthermore, the BIO token serves as a meta-governance token among multiple BioDAOs, enabling BIO holders to participate in the governance of various BioDAOs. Moreover, the BIO network provides $100,000 in funding for incubated BioDAOs, acquiring 6.9% of the BioDAO's token supply for the liquidity pool. This increases the protocol's assets under management (AUM), thereby enhancing the value of the BIO token. Bio.xyz leverages Molecule's IP NFT and IP Tokens framework to manage and own IP. For example, VitaDAO successfully issued IP Tokens such as VitaRNA and VITA-FAST within the Bio ecosystem. Below is a list of research DAOs currently incubated through Bio.xyz, which will be discussed in detail: ·Cerebrum DAO: Focused on preventing neurodegenerative diseases. ·PsyDAO: Dedicated to advancing consciousness evolution through safe, accessible psychedelic experiences. ·cryoDAO: Contributing to cryopreservation research projects. ·AthenaDAO: Committed to driving women's health research. ·ValleyDAO: Supporting synthetic biology research. ·HairDAO: Collaborating with others to develop new methods for treating hair loss. ·VitaDAO: Focused on research related to human lifespan. In summary, Bio.xyz is planning BioDAO and providing a token framework, liquidity services, funding, and incubation support. As the IP of BioDAO in the ecosystem is successfully commercialized, the value of Bio.xyz's funding pool will increase, creating a virtuous cycle. 5.3.1 VitaDAO When mentioning the most well-known research DAO, VitaDAO is often the first to come to people's minds. Its reputation stems from being an early DeSci project and receiving lead investment from Pfizer Ventures in 2023. VitaDAO funds projects dedicated to longevity and aging research, having supported over 24 projects with funding exceeding $4.2 million. In return, VitaDAO receives IP NFTs or company equity and operates IP NFTs using the Molecule.xyz framework. VitaDAO provides transparency through blockchain, making its funding pool publicly visible. The pool's value is approximately $44 million, including around $2.3 million in equity and $29 million in tokenized IP assets. VITA token holders decide the direction of the DAO through governance votes and can access various health services. Noteworthy projects supported by VitaDAO include VitaRNA and VITA-FAST. The IP of both projects has been tokenized and is actively traded, with VitaRNA having a market value of around $13 million and VITA-FAST's market value at $24 million. Both projects hold regular meetings with VitaDAO to update on their progress. VitaRNA: VitaRNA is an IP Token project led by the biotech company Artan Bio. The project received funding in June 2023 and released an IP NFT in January 2024, breaking it down into IP Tokens. The project's innovative research focuses on inhibiting arginine nonsense mutations, particularly the CGA codon, which is vital in proteins associated with DNA damage, neurodegenerative diseases, and tumor suppression. VITA-FAST: VITA-FAST is an IP Token project from Viktor Korolchuk's lab at Newcastle University. The project focuses on discovering new autophagy inducers. Autophagy is a cellular process, the decline of which is a factor in biological aging. Therefore, the project explores anti-aging and related disease treatment by stimulating autophagy, ultimately aiming to enhance human healthspan. 5.3.2 HairDAO HairDAO is an open-source research network where patients and researchers collaborate to develop methods for treating hair loss. According to data from the Scandinavian Biotech Lab, hair loss affects 85% of men and 50% of women in their lifetime. However, currently available treatments in the market include methods such as Minoxidil, Finasteride, and Dutasteride. Notably, Minoxidil was FDA approved in 1988, while Finasteride received approval in 1997. Despite the approval of these treatment methods, their effects are limited, often only able to slow down or temporarily stop hair loss rather than cure it. The development of hair loss treatments has been slow due to: · Complex Causes: Hair loss is influenced by various factors, including genetics, hormonal changes, and immune reactions, making the development of effective targeted therapies challenging. · High Development Costs: Drug development requires significant time and investment, but since hair loss is not life-threatening, research funding priorities for it are usually lower. HairDAO incentivizes patients to share their treatment experiences and data in the application, rewarding them with HAIR governance tokens. HAIR token holders can participate in DAO governance votes, enjoy discounts on HairDAO hair care products, and stake tokens for faster access to confidential research data. 5.3.3 Others CryoDAO: CryoDAO focuses on cryopreservation research, with a funding pool exceeding $7 million and having funded five projects. CRYO token holders can participate in governance voting and have the opportunity for early or exclusive access to funded research breakthroughs and data. ValleyDAO: ValleyDAO aims to address climate challenges through funding synthetic biology research. Synthetic biology, which uses organisms to sustainably synthesize nutrients, fuels, and drugs, is a key technology for combating climate change. ValleyDAO has funded multiple projects, including research by Professor Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro at Imperial College London. CerebrumDAO: CerebrumDAO focuses on brain health research, particularly Alzheimer's disease prevention. Its Snapshot page showcases proposals from various projects seeking funding. Decisions are made through decentralized voting by DAO members. 5.4.1 ResearchHub ResearchHub is a leading DeSci publishing platform aimed to be the "GitHub for Science." Founded by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Patrick Joyce, ResearchHub successfully raised a $5 million Series A funding in June 2023, led by Open Source Software Capital. ResearchHub is a tool for open publication and discussion of scientific research, incentivizing researchers through its native RSC token for publishing, peer review, and curation. Its key features include: Funding Users can create funding requests for specific tasks from other ResearchHub users using the RSC token. Funding types include: · Peer Review: Request for peer review of a manuscript. · Answer Questions: Request for answering specific questions. Under the "Funds" tab, researchers can upload research proposals and receive RSC token funding from users. The Journal section archives papers from peer-reviewed journals and preprint servers. Users can browse literature and engage in discussions. However, many peer-reviewed papers are behind paywalls, allowing access only to abstracts written by others. The Hub section is where users can create and join research groups to facilitate discussions on specific research topics. RH Journal is ResearchHub's in-house journal with an efficient peer review process completed in 14 days and decisions made within 21 days. Additionally, it provides incentive mechanisms for peer reviewers, addressing the common incentive misalignment issues in traditional peer review systems. The RSC token is an ERC-20 token designed for the ResearchHub ecosystem, with a total supply of 1 billion tokens. RSC tokens drive user engagement and support ResearchHub in becoming a fully decentralized open platform. Their uses include: · Governance voting · Tipping other users · Bounty programs · Incentives for peer reviewers · Rewards for orchestrating research papers 5.4.2 ScieNFT ScieNFT is a decentralized preprint server where researchers can mint their work as NFTs. The published formats can range from simple charts and ideas to datasets, artworks, methods, and even negative results. Preprint data is stored using decentralized storage solutions like IPFS and Filecoin, while the NFTs are uploaded to the Avalanche C-Chain. While using NFTs to identify and track ownership of work is an advantage, a notable drawback is the lack of clear benefits of owning these NFTs. Additionally, the market lacks effective curation. 5.4.3 deScier deScier is a decentralized scientific journal platform. Unlike publishers like Elsevier or Springer Nature managing multiple journals, deScier hosts various journals. All papers retain 100% of the researchers' copyright, and peer review is part of the process. However, as described below, a significant limitation is the lower number of papers published in the journals and slower upload speeds. 5.5.1 Data Lake Data Lake software enables researchers to integrate various user recruitment channels, track their effectiveness, manage consent forms, and conduct prescreening surveys while giving users control over their data. Researchers can share and manage patient data consent easily between third parties. The Data Lake Chain, based on Arbitrum Orbit's L3 network, is used to manage patient consent. 5.5.2 Welshare Health In traditional medical research, the most significant bottleneck is the delay in recruiting clinical trial participants and a lack of patient participation. Additionally, while patients' medical data is highly valuable, there is also a risk of misuse. Welshare aims to address these challenges through Web3 technology. Patients can securely manage their data, monetize it to earn income, and receive personalized medical services. Conversely, medical researchers can more easily access diverse datasets, facilitating their research. Through an application built on the Base Network, users can selectively provide data to earn in-app reward points, which can later be converted into cryptocurrency or fiat currency. 5.5.3 Hippocrat Hippocrat is a decentralized healthcare data protocol that allows individuals to securely manage their health data using blockchain and Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP) technology. Its first product, HippoDoc, is a telemedicine application that provides medical consultations, combining medical databases, AI technology, and assistance from healthcare professionals. During this process, patient data is securely stored on the blockchain. 5.6.1 Ceramic Ceramic is a decentralized event streaming protocol that enables developers to create decentralized databases, distributed computation pipelines, authenticated data streams, and more. These features make it ideal for DeSci projects, helping them leverage Ceramic as a decentralized database: · Data on the Ceramic network is permissionless, allowing researchers to share and collaborate on data. · Actions on the Ceramic network such as research papers, citations, and reviews are represented as "Ceramic streams." Each stream can only be modified by the original author's account, ensuring intellectual property traceability. · Ceramic also provides infrastructure for verifiable claims, enabling DeSci projects to adopt its reputation infrastructure. 5.6.2 bloXberg bloXberg is a blockchain infrastructure established under the leadership of the Max Planck Digital Library in Germany, with participants including ETH Zurich, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and IT University of Copenhagen, among other renowned research institutions. bloXberg aims to advance scientific progress through various processes in innovative scientific research, such as research data management, peer review, and intellectual property protection. By leveraging blockchain to decentralize these processes, it enhances the transparency and efficiency of research. Researchers can securely share and collaborate on research data using blockchain. Is DeSci Really a Panacea? We have explored the structural issues in modern science and how DeSci addresses these problems. But hold on a moment. Can DeSci truly transform the scientific landscape and play a central role as the crypto community claims? I don't think so. However, I do believe that DeSci has the potential to play a supportive role in certain areas. 6.1 What Blockchain Can and Cannot Solve Blockchain is not magic; it cannot solve all problems. We must clearly delineate what blockchain can and cannot solve. 6.1.1 Funding DeSci is poised to excel in funding under the following conditions: Small-scale funding Research with commercial potential The funding scale in the scientific community varies greatly, ranging from tens of thousands to millions or even billions of dollars. For large projects requiring substantial funding, centralized funding from governments or corporations is inevitable. However, small-scale projects can obtain funding through the DeSci platform. For researchers conducting small-scale projects, cumbersome paperwork and lengthy funding review processes can be overwhelming. In such cases, the DeSci funding platform provides rapid and efficient funding support, making it highly attractive. However, to increase the likelihood of a research project receiving funding through the DeSci platform, it must have a reasonable commercialization outlook, such as through patents or technology transfer. This provides a motive for public investment in the project. However, most modern scientific research is not focused on commercialization but rather aims to enhance a nation's or corporation's technological competitiveness. In conclusion, fields suitable for funding on the DeSci platform include biotechnology, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals. Successful research in these areas has high commercial potential. Furthermore, while ultimate commercialization requires substantial funding, the initial stages of research typically require less funding than other fields, making the DeSci platform a favorable option for capital raising. I doubt whether DeSci can support long-term research. Although a few researchers may receive support from altruistic and voluntary funders to pursue long-term research, this culture is unlikely to be widely disseminated in the scientific community. Even if the DeSci platform utilizes blockchain, there is no inherent causation suggesting they can sustain long-term funding. If attempting to forcibly link blockchain with long-term research, a possible consideration could be milestone-based funding through smart contracts. 6.1.2 Journal Ideally, the area where DeSci is most likely to bring innovation is academic journals. Through smart contracts and token incentives, DeSci has the potential to restructure the journal-driven profit model into a researcher-centric model. However, in reality, this will be a challenge. For researchers, a key factor in their career is publishing papers. In academia, researchers' capabilities are primarily judged by the journals they publish in, citation counts, and h-index. Human nature instinctively relies on authority, a fact that has remained unchanged from prehistoric times to today. For example, an unknown researcher can become a star overnight by publishing an article in top journals such as Nature, Science, or Cell. Although ideally researchers' capability assessment should focus on qualitative aspects, this evaluation heavily relies on peer recommendations, thus almost unavoidably depends on quantitative assessment. It is precisely because of this that journals hold enormous power. Despite monopolizing the profit model, researchers still have to comply. To give DeSci journals more influence, they must establish authority, but achieving the reputation accumulated over a century by traditional journals through token incentives alone is extremely challenging. While DeSci may not be able to completely change the journal landscape, it can undoubtedly make contributions in certain areas, such as peer review and negative results. As mentioned earlier, peer reviewers currently have little incentive, which reduces the quality and efficiency of reviews. Providing token incentives to reviewers can improve review quality and raise journal standards. Furthermore, token incentives can drive the development of a network of journals specialized in publishing negative results. Since reputation has less impact on journals specialized in negative results, the combination of token rewards will motivate researchers to publish their findings in such journals. 6.1.3 Collaboration In my view, blockchain is unlikely to significantly address the intense competition in modern science. Unlike in the past, the number of researchers today far exceeds that of the past, where every achievement directly impacts career progress, making competition inevitable. Expecting blockchain to solve the overall collaboration issue in the scientific community is unrealistic. On the other hand, in small-scale research DAOs, blockchain can effectively promote collaboration. Researchers in DAOs share a common vision through token-aligned incentives and record achievements on the blockchain through timestamps to gain recognition. I hope to see not only the number and activities of research DAOs grow in the biotechnology field but also expand into other disciplines. 7. Final Thoughts: DeSci Needs a Bitcoin Moment Modern science faces many structural challenges, and DeSci provides a compelling narrative to address these issues. While DeSci may not be able to completely transform the entire scientific ecosystem, it can gradually expand through those who find value in it, including researchers and users. Ultimately, we may see a balance between TradSci and DeSci. Just as Bitcoin was once considered a toy for computer geeks but now has major traditional financial institutions entering the market, I hope DeSci will also receive long-term recognition like Bitcoin and experience its own "Bitcoin moment." Original Article Link: Link to Original Article
Bio Protocol on DeSci and the future of DAOs
Episode 16 of The Crypto Beat was recorded with The Block's Editor-In-Chief Tim Copeland and Bio Protocol Co-Founder and CEO Paul Kohlhaas. Listen below, and subscribe to The Crypto Beat on YouTube , Apple , Spotify , Twitch, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Please send feedback and revision requests to [email protected] The Block's Editor-in-Chief, Tim Copeland, was joined by Bio Protocol Co-Founder and CEO Paul Kohlhaas. In this episode, Copeland and Kohlhaas discussed the concept of decentralized science (DeSci) and how Bio Protocol is using blockchain technology to decentralize scientific research and funding. OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction and understanding DeSci 05:39 The typical DeSci participant 10:42 Regulatory concerns 13:29 How Bio works 18:22 Value accrual for Bio 24:25 The role of tokens 32:13 DeSci as the next meta? 43:15 Binance and CZ 47:01 Responsibility in DeSci 50:26 Paul’s entry into crypto 56:04 Conclusion The Block Newsletters The Block's newsletters bring you the latest news and analysis of the fast-moving crypto and DeFi markets. To subscribe, visit theblock.co/newsletters Guest links: Paul Kohlhaas - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kohlhaas/ Paul Kohlhaas on X - https://x.com/paulkhls/ Bio Protocol - https://www.bio.xyz/ Bio Protocol on X - https://x.com/bioprotocol
Foresight Ventures Listed Among 2024’s Top 5 Global Crypto VC Firms
The Singapore-based firm, Foresight Ventures, completed approximately 50 to 60 funding rounds last year, placing it among peers such as Cogitent Ventures and Binance Labs, which underwent similar investment activity. Data from insight4vc indicates that Animoca Brands led the sector with more than 100 rounds and Okx Ventures followed with over 80 rounds. Foresight expanded its investment portfolio by backing projects that focus on blockchain infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI), decentralized finance (defi) and emerging Web3 applications. The firm invested in companies including Story Protocol, 0G Labs, Sentient, BIO Protocol, Aptos and TON. “Being recognized among the top active crypto VCs globally is a testament to our team’s dedication and our strategic vision. We believe in the transformative power of blockchain technology and are committed to supporting projects that drive real-world utility and foster decentralized innovation,” the co-founder of Foresight Ventures, Forest Bai told Bitcoin.com News. Foresight added that the firm’s approach reflects a strategy to support projects with measurable impact rather than relying on promotional language. Its portfolio growth and active engagement illustrate a commitment to a rigorous, research-driven investment process. Foresight operates from offices in Singapore and the United States and aims to bridge Eastern and Western markets with innovative technologies. The firm’s activity in 2024 highlights a broader trend in crypto venture capital, where data-driven decisions guide investments 免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到[email protected]，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
RootData January Cryptocurrency Market Summary: BTC's serpentine movement reaches new highs again, but investor enthusiasm is about to freeze
整理：饼干 \ Elvin，RootData In January 2025, BTC reached a new high of $109,000, maintaining a high-level fluctuation between $92,000 and $105,000. The elected U.S. President Trump’s issuance of the TRUMP coin sparked excitement, while DeepSeek's emergence may lead to a significant correction in AI-related tokens, and market liquidity remains pessimistic. The total financing amount in the crypto sector in January reached $748 million, nearly unchanged from the previous month. The total number of financing events was 80, down 25.2% month-on-month, marking the second-lowest figure in nearly two years, only behind August 2023's 79 events. The average financing amount this month was $11.905 million, with a median financing amount of $5 million. Financing trends in the crypto sector over the past two years In this article, we will focus on specific financing data, active investors, trending projects, and other aspects to present the changing trends in the crypto market. I. Financing Data This month saw 3 financing events exceeding $100 million, with 25 financing events greater than $10 million, the largest being the acquisition of the Web3 payment platform MoonPay for $175 million. Other popular projects that completed financing include the Solana wallet Phantom which completed a Series C financing led by Paradigm and Sequoia Capital, Chainalysis acquiring the Web3 security platform Alterya , and institutional-grade digital asset custodian Komainu completing a Series B financing, among others. In terms of financing amounts and rounds, the $1-3 million range accounted for the largest number of financing events, seed rounds were the most popular financing rounds, but their proportion decreased, with 19 projects completing seed round financing. Notable projects include the payment network 1Money Network ($20 million), L1 primitive Pod Network incubated by Common Prefix ($10 million), open-source economic infrastructure Merit Systems ($10 million), and Cosmos cross-chain ecosystem wallet Keplr , among others. Additionally, there were 12 merger and acquisition events in January, which is higher than the monthly average (10 events), particularly with the acquisitions of Helio and Alterya exceeding $150 million, indicating that leaders in the crypto industry are accelerating integration and layout. Furthermore, Jupiter acquired the meme coin trading platform Moonshot, Tokenize Xchange acquired the Web3 venture capital data platform Coinseeker , Coinbase acquired the social chain browser Roam , and Circle acquired the decentralized institutional asset management platform Hashnote , among others. II. Active Investors Animoca Brands has been the most active venture capital firm for three consecutive months, with investment frequencies of 5, 8, and 5 times in the past three months. Investment records include the Sui liquid staking protocol Haedal , Layer 2 scaling solution zkCandy , Berachain life simulation game BeraTone , digital advertising platform EarnOS , and TON lending protocol Evaa Protocol , among others. Following closely are 1kx 、 Mysten Labs 、 Flow Traders , each with 4 investments. Additionally, Sergey Gorbunov 、 Kain Warwick 、 Rushi Manche were the most active Web3 angel investors in January, each investing in at least 2 projects. In addition to the cooling of the investment and financing market, crypto VCs have also released relatively negative signals in fundraising data. MicroStrategy submitted a Form S-3 mixed securities shelf registration application to the U.S. SEC on January 27. The company plans to issue various securities, including debt securities, Class A common stock, preferred stock, depositary receipts, warrants, and mixed securities units. The raised funds will primarily be used to purchase more Bitcoin and for general corporate purposes. III. Trending Projects RootData's heat value is calculated based on normalized data from platform search volume, click volume, user votes, and Twitter heat index. The projects with the highest heat value in December include: Solv Protocol Solv is a decentralized Bitcoin staking protocol that unlocks the full potential of Bitcoin assets through liquidity consensus infrastructure. By addressing the fragmentation, yield opportunities, and custody solutions of BTC assets, Solv provides Bitcoin holders with a gateway to BTCFi, continuously establishing pathways and confidence for traditional funds to enter the cryptocurrency world. Artela Network Artela Network is a high-performance EVM++ Layer 1 public chain built for AI Agents. Artela's full-chain AI introduces advanced tools that support the creation of autonomous AI Agents and smart applications, natively supporting on-chain LLM (large language models), providing key features such as verifiability, privacy protection, interoperability, and user policy customization. Nodepay Nodepay is a network infrastructure that provides decentralized bandwidth for AI training. By connecting to the Nodepay network, users will be able to sell unused internet to AI companies, enabling efficient transmission of public training data, labels, model sharing, and remote distributed training. Plume Network Plume is a fully integrated modular chain focused on RWAfi. They have built the first modular, composable EVM-compatible chain with an emphasis on RWA, aiming to simplify the onboarding of all types of assets through native infrastructure and unified RWAfi-specific features across the entire chain. Official Trump Official Trump is a meme coin issued on the Solana chain, introduced by the elected U.S. President Trump on social media. Hyperspace Hyperspace is an open standard protocol designed for distributed model inference, aiming to merge the capabilities of large language models (LLMs) with the latest user data to create a novel intelligence service that is instant, socially aware, and freely accessible at scale. SoSoValue SoSoValue is a one-stop financial research platform for cryptocurrency investors, providing real, high-quality macro market information to assist investors in conducting more effective investment research. It also offers an AI-based classification system for news and research, connecting macroeconomic data with the cryptocurrency market. GoPlus Security GoPlus Network is a modular user security layer for Web3. It can seamlessly integrate with any blockchain or project, providing comprehensive protection throughout the user transaction lifecycle. GoPlus utilizes AVS and cutting-edge AI security solutions for comprehensive risk analysis, offering users intelligent, efficient, and decentralized security services. DuckChain DuckChain is defined as the Telegram AI Chain, a blockchain platform designed specifically for the Telegram ecosystem. It combines AI-driven tools with EVM technology to serve over 1 billion global users on Telegram. Mango Network Mango Network is a Layer 1 public chain with Multi-VM full-chain infrastructure, primarily addressing multiple pain points such as user experience fragmentation and liquidity fragmentation in Web3 applications and DeFi protocols. Sonic（S） Sonic is a Layer-1 platform with an Ethereum security gateway, providing the fastest settlement layer for digital assets, with TPS exceeding 10,000 and transaction confirmation times of one second. Solayer Solayer is building infiniSVM to scale Solana, a hardware-accelerated SVM that connects multi-execution cluster architecture through SDN and RDMA for infinite scalability while maintaining atomic state at 100 Gbps. Mind Network Mind Network is an "HTTPZ" infrastructure that employs fully homomorphic encryption (FHE), leading Web3 into a new era of quantum resistance and end-to-end encryption. Mind Network provides unique solutions for data sovereignty protection, fair consensus, private voting, secure cross-chain transmission, and trusted AI. Sentient Sentient is building community-contributed open-source AI models, aiming to compete directly with OpenAI. Sentient will initiate activities for contributors, each with specific metrics to evaluate contributions and rewards based on these metrics. OpenLedger OpenLedger builds permissionless, data-centric infrastructure for AI development. Limitus Limitus is a decentralized, AI-driven consumer platform. Its uniqueness lies in its emerging intelligence and ability to connect directly with users' devices, transforming them into autonomous operators acting on behalf of users. Unlike traditional tools that rely on static rules and rigid processes, Limitus can operate autonomously. FLock FLock aims to build a decentralized privacy protection solution for AI. FLock proposes a research program called Federated Learning Blocks (FLocks), which uses blockchain as a coordination platform for machine learning among data holders while keeping data local and private. Chainbase Chainbase is a full-chain data network. Its core mission is to provide a transparent, reliable, and permissionless data layer for the AI era. Through its modular design, it supports cross-chain data interoperability and programmability, making it easy to build and use data models. BIO Protocol BIO Protocol is the financial layer of DeSci, aimed at accelerating the influx of capital and talent into on-chain science. bioDAO can use the auction contracts of the BIO Protocol to raise funds and directly allocate them to research programs, IP assets, and other biotechnology organizations. Metya Metya is an AI-driven Web3 dating platform designed to revolutionize the dating experience. By combining cutting-edge technology with user-centric features, Metya creates a secure and enriching environment for modern relationships, making every encounter full of possibilities. SOON SOON is a rollup stack designed to provide top-tier performance for all Layer 1 blockchains, supported by Decoupled SVM and configurable DA layers. ai16z ai16z is an AI venture fund that simulates a16z partner Marc Andreessen's investment decisions using AI models and invests based on recommendations from DAO members, with the weight of investment suggestions depending on the number of tokens held by members and their historical recommendation success rates. Story Protocol Story Protocol is building web3 technology to fundamentally change the way narratives are created. Its mission is to unlock a new way to create, manage, and license on-chain IP, ultimately forming a "story Lego block" ecosystem that can be remixed and recombined. Story Protocol provides a simplified framework to manage the entire lifecycle of IP development, supporting features such as provenance tracking, frictionless licensing, and revenue sharing. Applications built on Story Protocol are designed for creators across all media (prose, images, games, audio, etc.), enabling writers and artists to track the provenance of their works, allowing anyone to contribute and remix while capturing the value of their contributions. IV. Project Dynamics In January, RootData also recorded many events such as mainnet launches and new coin issuances, helping users understand important project dynamics in the market and grasp earlier alpha opportunities. Additionally, RootData launched a token unlocking feature, helping users improve the efficiency of capturing investment signals through the "heat ranking" and comprehensive token unlocking information, combined with structured primary and secondary market information of projects. Due to space limitations, the above is a portion of the mainnet and token information. For more complete and timely data, please visit the RootData official website ( https://www.rootdata.com/zh/ ) for more information.
Sei Foundation Launches $65 Million Fund to Accelerate Decentralized Science Projects
Partnerships with universities and biotech firms aim to address adoption hurdles and legitimize blockchain-driven science initiatives. DeSci gains momentum as YZi Labs and a16z back projects like BIO Protocol and AminoChain, expanding sector visibility. The Sei Foundation, a nonprofit supporting the Sei blockchain, has established a $65 million venture fund targeting startups in decentralized science (DeSci). Named Sapien Capital, the initiative will finance projects built natively on Sei’s Layer 1 network , focusing on sectors like healthcare, biotechnology, and open data sharing. Justin Barlow, head of business development at Sei Foundation , confirmed the fund is fully funded internally but may partner with external investors later. DeSci leverages blockchain to decentralize control over scientific research funding and data access. Unlike traditional models, where institutions centralize decision-making, DeSci platforms use tools like decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to enable transparent, community-driven governance. Sapien Capital will invest in equity and tokens of early-stage startups, with individual investments ranging from $100,000 to $2 million. The capital will deploy over three to four years, prioritizing ventures that bridge scientific research and mainstream adoption. Barlow identified consumer-facing applications as high-potential opportunities, including wearable technology integrations, user-controlled data networks, and gamified approaches to drug discovery. These projects aim to address systemic challenges in life sciences, such as limited funding access and opaque data practices. DeSci’s traction has grown since 2021, with recent investments from firms like YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs) and venture capital giant a16z. YZi Labs backed BIO Protocol, a DeSci platform whose token holds a $370 million market value, while a16z funded AminoChain, a decentralized biobank. Barlow attributes rising interest to improved blockchain infrastructure, noting Sei’s technical capacity now supports scalable DeSci applications. Adoption hurdles remain, particularly skepticism from academic and corporate research entities. To build credibility, the Sei Foundation plans collaborations with universities, established biotech firms, and academic leaders. As DeSci evolves , the fund’s success may hinge on balancing innovation with institutional buy-in—a challenge familiar to blockchain initiatives at the intersection of technology and traditional sectors.
Sei Foundation launches $65 million DeSci venture fund 'Sapien Capital'
Sei Foundation, which supports the growth of the Layer 1 blockchain Sei, has launched a $65 million venture fund focused on decentralized science (DeSci) as the sector picks up momentum. Dubbed "Sapien Capital — Open Science Fund I," the venture fund will exclusively invest in DeSci startups building natively on the Sei blockchain, Justin Barlow, head of business development and investments at Sei Foundation and a former investor at Solana Ventures, told The Block. The Sei Foundation has fully committed the $65 million capital for the fund, but it may work with external investors or limited partners in the future, Barlow said. Sei Foundation's foray into DeSci comes as interest in the sector grows. DeSci, or blockchain-powered science, is viewed as a way to expand access to scientific research funding, enable open data sharing and ensure fair compensation for scientists. Unlike traditional research institutions, where centralized entities control funding distribution, DeSci shifts power to decentralized communities. Using mechanisms like decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), funding decisions are made transparently on-chain and research data is openly shared. "DeSci has the potential to scale massively due to its universal impact and the vast number of stakeholders across healthcare, science and biotech," said Barlow. "Our goal is to empower visionary founders who are building the infrastructure, applications and communities needed to support and scale this emerging vertical." Notably, the fund is not an ecosystem fund and will not offer grants; instead, it will make venture investments in both tokens and equity of DeSci startups, with check sizes ranging from $100,000 to $2 million, Barlow said. The fund plans to deploy its full capital over the next three to four years, he added. Sei Foundation's DeSci bet Barlow noted that the Sei Foundation began discussing launching the fund in the fall of 2024. He highlighted consumer-facing applications as some of the biggest opportunities in DeSci, particularly those with the potential to reach hundreds of millions of users. "Key areas of interest for the fund include more sophisticated wearables, user-owned data collectives, and gamified drug discovery, all underpinned by the innovative funding and ownership models crypto has developed over the last decade," Barlow said. "These advancements have the potential to bridge the gap between niche scientific communities and mainstream adoption, addressing numerous systemic challenges affecting traditional life sciences and biotech today." While DeSci as a concept has been around since 2021, its traction has grown notably in recent months. Last November, Binance Labs — now rebranded as YZi Labs — made its first move into the DeSci sector with an investment in BIO Protocol. The BIO token is currently trading at $0.23, with a market capitalization of over $370 million, according to CoinGecko data . In September, a16z made its first DeSci investment in the decentralized biobank platform AminoChain. Barlow attributes DeSci's growing popularity to the cyclical nature of crypto narratives, noting that it often takes multiple market cycles for a new vertical to mature. "Not only is the narrative more clear now than it was in 2021, but the tech behind protocols like Sei is finally able to support DeSci activity at scale," he said. Still, mainstream adoption won't be without challenges — particularly gaining acceptance from the broader scientific community. To address such challenges, Barlow said the Sei Foundation plans to collaborate with "highly reputable members of the academic community, leading universities and established life science companies" to enhance the legitimacy of the nascent DeSci sector and encourage long-term investment. The fund will also work with the Sei Foundation to support portfolio companies in areas like go-to-market strategies and user education, he added. The SEI token is currently trading at $0.30, with a market capitalization of $1.3 billion, according to The Block's SEI price page . The Funding newsletter: Stay updated on the latest crypto funding news and trends with my free bimonthly newsletter, The Funding. Sign up here !
VitaDAO launches a new proposal to airdrop 2 million BIO to VITA and VitaDAO IPT holders
According to BlockBeats, on January 29, according to official news, VitaDAO launched a new proposal to airdrop 2 million BIO to VITA and VitaDAO IPT holders, of which 50% of the airdrops are available immediately, and the other 50% are required to be allocated according to a 1-year linear unlocking plan. It is reported that this proposal is an improvement proposal to VDP-161, adding Solana VITA holders as eligible participants and excluding BIO Protocol Treasury or other bioDAOs holders (bioDAOs holding VITA) from the distribution.
Sei Foundation launches $65m DeSci venture fund
Sei Foundation has unveiled a $65 million venture fund aimed at investments in the decentralized science ecosystem. In an announcement first published by The Block, the Sei Foundation said its “Sapien Capital – Open Science Fund I” will look to invest in DeSci projects building on the layer 1 blockchain Sei ( SEI ). With the crypto and blockchain space transforming science funding, and DeSci research gaining traction, the $65 million fund aims to redefine the sector. According to the Sei Foundation, Sapien Capital will not only change how science is funded but also how it is shared and validated. According to the announcement, the new fund is not designed for the Sei ecosystem and, therefore, does not include grants. Instead, it is targeted at venture investments in DeSci startups, including those focused on gamified drug discovery and wearables. The fund will invest in both project tokens and equity, with check sizes ranging from $100,000 to $2 million. Sapien Capital plans to fully deploy its capital within the next three to four years, Sei Foundation’s head of business development and investments, Justin Barlow, said. Interest in DeSci has VC investment from some of the leading venture funds in the space. This includes a16z Crypto’s investment in AminoChain last September and YZi Labs, previously Binance Labs’ bet on BIO Protocol in November.
3 Altcoins That Reached All-Time Low Today — January 27
The crypto market is in the red today as Bitcoin fell below the $98,000 support level. Altcoins suffered the wrath of these bearish conditions as losses piled up, resulting in multiple new lows. BeInCrypto has analyzed three such crypto tokens that have formed a new all-time low today and whether or not they can recover in the coming days. Zerebro (ZEREBRO) ZEREBRO’s price dropped 24% in the past 24 hours, now trading at $0.0925 and briefly hitting an intraday low of $0.0921. This sharp decline has resulted in a new all-time low, reflecting intensified bearish sentiment and a lack of immediate buying support for the altcoin. The ongoing decline poses challenges for ZEREBRO’s recovery, as the current downtrend shows no signs of easing. If this trend persists, the altcoin may experience further losses, deepening concerns among investors and delaying any potential rebound in its price action. ZEREBRO Price Analysis. Source: TradingView However, if ZEREBRO manages to reclaim $0.1355 as a support level, it could invalidate the bearish outlook. Achieving this milestone might pave the way for a recovery, with the altcoin potentially targeting $0.259 and restoring some confidence in its market performance. Dymension (DYM) DYM experienced a 13.6% drop in the past 24 hours, hitting a new all-time low of $0.91 during today’s intraday trading. The decline followed the altcoin’s inability to maintain support at $1.13, further highlighting its ongoing struggle in the current bearish market environment. If broader market conditions remain unfavorable, DYM could face continued downward pressure, having already lost the critical $1.00 support level. This ongoing decline may extend further, leaving investors cautious as they wait for signs of stabilization or a shift in market momentum. DYM Price Analysis. Source: TradingView To invalidate the bearish outlook, DYM must reclaim $1.13 as a support level. Successfully doing so could enable the cryptocurrency to recover to $1.37, offering a potential pathway to restore confidence and reverse its current downtrend. Bio Protocol (BIO) BIO has dropped 12% today, extending its downward trend since its initial listing a month ago. The persistent decline reflects weak investor confidence, compounded by challenging market conditions. The lack of demand and prevailing bearish market sentiment have pushed BIO to set a new all-time low of $0.20 today. This consistent formation of lower lows highlights the token’s vulnerability to further declines unless market interest picks up significantly in the near term. BIO Price Analysis. Source: TradingView To invalidate the bearish outlook, BIO must flip $0.25 into a support level. Achieving this milestone could pave the way for a recovery, with the altcoin targeting $0.38 as the next resistance level. A successful rebound would boost investor sentiment and potentially attract fresh inflows.
Bio Protocol Founder: Has donated BIO tokens worth $690,000 to the Big Pharmai community
Bio Protocol founder Paul Kohlhaas recently stated on social media that he personally donated BIO tokens worth $690,000 to the Big Pharmai community, aiming to support the development of agents and create mutual incentives. At the same time, Big Pharmai founder Tony has assured Paul Kohlhaas that he will lock up this portion of BIO for at least one year. Paul Kohlhaas also clarified that he did not participate in the Big Pharmai VIP round and does not hold DRUGS tokens.
A Detailed Explanation of How BIO Protocol and DeSci Field Projects Innovate New Paradigms in Scientific Research Development
Original Title: Decoding BIO Protocol \& DeSci's Big Dreams Original Author: Bankless Original Translation: Felix, PANews As the launch of the BIO Protocol approaches, the token prices in the DeSci (Decentralized Science) ecosystem have skyrocketed. With the boundaries between cutting-edge technologies like DeSci and AI becoming increasingly blurred, this excitement has continued until the launch of BIO, reflected in the tokens associated with these technologies. As a key hub for DeSci financing, the introduction of BIO has brought hope to DeSci, generating enthusiasm from the outside world for this highly experimental field, and over time attracting more attention and capital to DeSci. This article will delve into how the BIO Protocol works, the challenges it aims to address, and the DAOs operating under its protection. It will then explore how other projects fill the DeSci narrative and provide additional tools or use cases to transform scientific collaboration and funding. BIO Protocol The BIO Protocol is essentially a decentralized, token-managed platform that supports and incubates specialized BioDAOs. By incorporating funding decisions, intellectual property ownership, and governance on-chain, BIO directly addresses several long-standing barriers in the biotechnology field: Helping early-stage projects escape the "valley of death," where lack of funding often hinders promising ideas from materializing Tokenizing research outcomes to promote open access and transparent collaboration, resisting data and intellectual property silos Replacing opaque R&D with real-time on-chain funding flows and outcome tracking To achieve these goals, BIO implements several core mechanisms: Curation BIO holders lock their tokens (vBIO) to help determine which new BioDAOs are allowed to join the network. This process ensures that only the most promising or community-supported ventures are admitted, as those committing to support must stake BIO for a certain period. If approved, stakers can exclusively participate in the funding rounds of the BioDAOs. Funding and Liquidity After the curation phase is completed, BioDAOs open private seed pre-auctions for those who have locked vBIO. This allows early supporters of the DAO and the BIO community to invest in early scientific research under terms traditionally reserved for VCs. Meanwhile, the BIO Protocol manages liquidity on behalf of these BioDAOs, eliminating the need to oversee secondary markets. The BIO treasury pairs tokens (i.e., VITA/BIO or HAIR/BIO) with ETH or other assets to generate fees for the protocol while ensuring stable trading pairs. This arrangement allows BioDAOs to focus on advancing research rather than being preoccupied with market operations. Meta-Governance Since the BIO treasury holds a portion of each BioDAO token, BIO holders collectively gain influence within the broader DeSci ecosystem. This meta-governance structure enables them to guide decisions across multiple BioDAOs, whether determining research priorities or emphasizing synergies between projects. Additionally, by diversifying the assets held by the treasury, the protocol enhances its ability to invest in new projects and reinvest in existing ones, thereby achieving seamless coordination in the ever-expanding field of scientific research. Yield Provisioning To incentivize clear and measurable contributions to its network, BIO issues "bio/acc rewards" in the form of additional BIO tokens to BioDAOs that achieve key milestones. In addition to these incentives, BioDAOs can also tokenize their IP (from research data to patents). By issuing IP tokens, BioDAOs can grant partial ownership of their research outcomes, allowing more stakeholders to benefit from future scientific breakthroughs while retaining control over key decisions and potentially earning from the use of their data. Beyond direct incentives, the overall value of the network also grows through token distribution and liquidity owned by the protocol. Grants to new BioDAOs can be exchanged for a small equity stake in their tokens, while liquidity pool fees flow back to the treasury. As BioDAOs mature and generate tangible results, the total value of these assets will increase, reinforcing a virtuous cycle of funding, growth, and innovation. BioDAOs in BIO Currently, there are eight active BioDAOs in the BIO network, each focusing on specific research areas. VitaDAO | $VITA VitaDAO was launched in 2021 to support research aimed at extending human lifespan. Funded by Pfizer Ventures and Balaji Srinivasan, it explores the biological mechanisms of aging, including neurodegenerative diseases. Quantum Biology DAO Quantum Biology DAO studies how weak magnetic fields affect cells at the quantum level. It collaborates with the Quantum Biology Institute to develop quantum microscopes, opening new avenues for longevity research, drug discovery, and more. HairDAO | HAIR HairDAO unites patients, researchers, and funders to collaboratively address the resource scarcity issue of hair loss. ValleyDAO | $GROW ValleyDAO is dedicated to seeking synthetic biology solutions to combat climate change, such as engineering microbes to capture carbon dioxide or produce biodegradable materials. AthenaDAO | $ATH AthenaDAO focuses on women's health, filling gaps neglected by traditional funding. Through a decentralized community of patients, scientists, and advocates, it supports projects on reproductive health, hormonal disorders, and other under-researched topics in female biology. CryoDAO | $CRYO CryoDAO allocates funding for cryopreservation research to improve the storage of organs and tissues, a solution with life-saving potential. PsyDAO | $PSY PsyDAO focuses on psychedelic research for mental health issues such as depression, addiction, and PTSD. It employs a decentralized funding model and AI-based auditing to accelerate the exploration of new compounds, while on-chain governance ensures transparency in resource allocation. CerebrumDAO | $NEURON CerebrumDAO convenes a global community to jointly prevent neurodegeneration and extend brain health. It studies diseases like Alzheimer's, focusing on inflammation, metabolic issues, the blood-brain barrier, and their impacts. Other DeSci Projects Outside the BIO Protocol ecosystem, there are many interesting DeSci projects that bring new platforms or tools for scientific discovery. ResearchHub Foundation The ResearchHub Foundation was founded by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Patrick Joyce, utilizing RSC to create an open platform for publishing and reviewing science. Contributors earn RSC by publishing research, curating content, or facilitating discussions. The platform aims to build a "GitHub for scientific research," streamlining peer review, encouraging open sharing, and bringing real-time accountability to academic publishing, all achieved through token incentives. RSC holders can also vote on platform improvements and reward distributions. yesnoerror Yesnoerror is a decentralized platform that combines AI with community-driven oversight to enhance the reliability of scientific papers. Its AI engine continuously scans for inaccuracies in research (whether in data, statistical analysis, or references) and flags potential issues for further review. Community members who verify or correct these errors will earn YNE tokens, creating intrinsic incentives for thorough review and timely feedback. Overall, YNE aims to detect issues early to prevent erroneous conclusions, reduce the risks of poor policy decisions and research waste, and develop an AI that can learn from users to better detect problems across a range of scientific fields. pump.Science Pump.science is a DeSci platform aimed at identifying and developing chemicals that can extend human healthspan. It hopes to gamify research by conducting low-cost tests on simple organisms (worms, flies) before using complex models (mice). This approach can identify promising interventions early, using cryptocurrency-based funding to propose or invest in new compounds. By live-streaming experiments, the protocol provides real-time data, allowing researchers and speculators to track results and potentially adjust their support as research progresses. Conclusion The token launch of the BIO Protocol has made the DeSci field a market focal point, showcasing how a new generation of on-chain initiatives can reshape R&D in biotechnology and beyond. Beyond the BIO ecosystem, other DeSci projects demonstrate complementary strategies for enhancing scientific research through blockchain. From ResearchHub's open collaboration platform to yesnoerror's AI-based paper auditing and pump.science's gamified longevity trials, these projects explore the intersection of science and crypto from different angles. Collectively, they point to a rapidly evolving DeSci landscape where shared governance, financial coordination, and real-time data sharing could lead to new breakthroughs. Whether addressing funding bottlenecks, streamlining peer review, or discovering longevity molecules, DeSci solutions have bold goals, enabling a broad and proactive community to explore discoveries and ultimately accelerate the world's benefits from the next wave of scientific innovation.
PumpScience: The airdrop of 2.5 million BIO tokens to RIF and URO holders has begun
Golden Finance reports that, according to an official announcement from Pump Science, they have begun airdropping 2.5 million BIO tokens to RIF and URO holders. The airdrop allocation is based on three snapshot nodes in November, December and January. Addresses holding all snapshot nodes can receive a 2.5 times airdrop bonus. In addition, each wallet can receive up to 8000 BIO tokens at most.
PumpScience: 2.5 million BIO tokens have been airdropped to RIF and URO holders
Pump Science has officially started airdropping 2.5 million BIO tokens to RIF and URO holders. The airdrop distribution is based on three snapshot nodes in November, December, and January, with all holding addresses at the snapshot nodes receiving a 2.5x airdrop bonus. In addition, each wallet can receive a maximum of 8,000 BIO tokens.
BIO Protocol announced that BIO has expanded to Solana and unveiled the roadmap for early 2025
On January 9th, BIO Protocol announced that BIO has been deployed on the Solana mainnet and supports cross-chain functionality through the Wormhole protocol. Users can transfer BIO tokens between Ethereum and Solana via the official bridging service. Additionally, BIO Protocol released its early 2025 roadmap, planning for multi-chain deployment and ecosystem expansion between January and February. Specific plans include: launching the Long Covid Labs project, introducing the $BIO/BioDAO liquidity pool, deploying DeSci Agents, releasing the Curetopia platform, and launching a new project incubation platform on Solana.
BIO Protocol Expands to Solana Chain
On January 9th, according to an official announcement from BIO Protocol, its DeSci (Decentralized Science) project has now launched on the Solana mainnet and supports cross-chain functionality through the Wormhole protocol. Users can transfer BIO tokens between the Ethereum mainnet and Solana using the official bridging service provided by BIO Protocol (bridge.bio.xyz). The company stated that this move lays the foundation for BIO Protocol's expansion into a multi-chain ecosystem and revealed that more plans will be launched in January and February.
BIO Protocol expands to Solana chain, with bridging services provided by Wormhole
On January 9, according to the official announcement from BIO Protocol, its DeSci (Decentralized Science) project has now been launched on the Solana mainnet and supports cross-chain functionality through the Wormhole protocol. Users can transfer BIO tokens between Ethereum's mainnet and Solana via the bridging service provided by the official website (bridge.bio.xyz). The officials stated that this move lays a foundation for BIO Protocol to step into a multi-chain ecosystem, and revealed that more plans will be rolled out in January and February.
VitaDAO community rejects proposal to airdrop 6.9 million BIO to VITA and VitaDAO IPT holders
On January 9th, according to the Snapshot page, the VitaDAO community rejected an airdrop proposal with 68.24% of the votes against it. The proposal originally planned to allocate 6.9 million BIO tokens out of a total of 21 million for the airdrop, with 5.52 million (80%) going to VITA holders and 1.38 million (20%) going to VITA IPT holders. The voting ended on January 9th, 2025, with only 31.76% of the votes in favor and a total voting volume of 2.6235 million votes.
BIO Protocol Announced Long COVID Labs Launch on January 9 to Redefine Medicine Future
Key Points On January 9, BioDAO launches Long COVID Labs (COVID). BIO Protocol was Binance Launchpool’s 63rd project, and Binance listed BIO on January 3rd. BIO Protocol announced via a post on X that Long COVID Labs launches tomorrow, January 9, and it will accelerate a cure with DeSci. The ticker of the project will be COVID and contributors include current and ex-Stanford researchers. The project will distribute 1% of the token supply to BIO holders who take part in the auction. Long COVID Labs Vision The project revealed via X important details about their vision, starting by saying that even if COVID-19 left the headlines, it never left peoples’ bodies. They addressed that 20% of recovered patients still have viral remnants including spike proteins in their bloodstream. Also, they noted that 40% of people diagnosed with long Covid suffer from chronic illness. Long COVID Labs was reportedly created to tackle these challenges with a bold vision: Cure Long COVID Unlock treatments for billions of people worldwide Redefine the future of medicine. Project Founders The founders of the project include the following specialists: Rohan Dixit – serial healthcare entrepreneur and former neuroscientist at Standford and MGH Martinos Center who was himself diagnosed with Long Covid. Ruth Ann Crystal (MD) – Stanford physician entrepreneur who runs one of the largest Covid-19 newsletters. Jacob Glenville – computational immunoengineer, Centivax founder. Annelise Barron – Stanford professor of bioengineering, studying new therapies. Largest Decentralized Clinical Trial Network In the X thread, the project claims to be the largest decentralized trial network ever built, involving machine learning that: Identifies patterns Optimizes trials Suggests individualized treatments The project also noted that while Big Pharma ruled medicine for decades, profiting from slow and expensive processes that prioritize investors over patients, now Long COVID Labs will change this paradigm, focusing on patients. Long COVID Labs via X Getting Involved The project uses a DAO model where individuals/patients hold governance tokens (COVID) that allow them to vote on proposals, recommend research directions, and oversee financial proceeds. There are two ways to earn COVID tokens: Contributing through research Support the research financially by buying COVID tokens directly The BIO Protocol was announced as Binance Launchpool’s 63rd project in December 2024.
VitaDAO's proposal to distribute 6.9 million BIO tokens has been rejected
On January 9th, the proposal previously submitted by the VitaDAO community to distribute 6.9 million BIO tokens to VITA and VITA IPT holders has been rejected. According to the content of the proposal, the distribution plan was set as 5.52 million BIO allocated to VITA holders and 1.38 million BIO allocated to VITA IPT holders, using multiple snapshots and tiered mechanisms to ensure fairness, with plans for implementation from January to March in 2025. However, this proposal failed to gain community support.
BIO Protocol cooperates with CRISPR AI to accelerate decentralized scientific innovation, and the $COVID project will be launched tomorrow
On January 8th, BIO Protocol announced a strategic cooperation with CRISPR AI to jointly promote the future development of decentralized science (DeSci). This cooperation includes the strategic allocation of Nuclease DAO to BIO Treasury, injecting new impetus into the collaboration between the two parties in the field of gene editing and distributed scientific research. This move will accelerate the innovation process in the field of DeSci. In addition, Long COVID Labs ($COVID), a heavyweight project of the BIO Protocol platform, will exclusively launch on BIO Launchpad on January 9, 2025. Led by current and former Stanford University researchers, the project aims to accelerate the treatment research progress of more than 100 million long COVID-19 patients worldwide through decentralized financing. BIO Protocol continues to consolidate its leadership position in the field of decentralized science through strategic cooperation and technological innovation, and its future development potential is highly anticipated!
Ordens executadas
Cenários de entrega
