Experimental DAO with ‘leadership-as-a-service’ strategy to launch on live event

This blockchain event is shifting to a DAO structure, allowing community members to directly govern and manage all aspects of its ecosystem.

The ICP Community Conference will transform into a DAO following the live event slated for May 10.

Decentralization is a fundamental principle of the blockchain industry. Protocols are governed by decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), where each member holds voting power to approve or deny proposals and collectively shape a blockchain protocol’s future.

However, various smart contract setups may allow only a few wallets to obtain the majority of the voting power or take actions without community vote thanks to multisig use, undermining decentralization in the process. Internet Computer Protocol’s (ICP) SNS framework allows for creating fully decentralized DAOs that give power back to the community.

From event to DAO

Centered around the ICP ecosystem, the ICP Community Conference (ICPCC) is a multichain event brand. It aims to host annual conferences to help the wider Web3 industry understand the basics of ICP and showcase its potential in integrating with and offering value to other popular chains like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana.

Slated for May 10, ICPCC 2024 will be a global livestream accompanied by meetup watch parties organized in more than 25 cities worldwide. Content creators, live MCs, and innovators will present everything ICP has to offer the Web3 ecosystem.

The livestream is programmed in a way that spans prime times of all three fundamental time zones. The Asia-Pacific stage will witness a standalone ICPCC pre-party livestream that will be hosted by Yuku metaverse. The main 9-hour livestream will kick off in the European time zone and will be concluded in the United States primetime.

This experimental event comes with the goal of taking decentralization to the next level. The whole event series will be launching into a DAO that will oversee the ICPCC brand from then on.

Leadership as a service

Without a core or central team, the new DAO will be governed by elected council members. Collectively called the ICPCC Council, they are essentially paid vendors who are in charge of writing some of the more complex proposals that would be necessary for helping the DAO stay on track with its primary goals. This “leadership-as-a-service” does not delegate council members any authority to act on behalf of the DAO. Instead, they are limited to simply preparing high-quality proposals, while other DAO members can elect and remove council members directly.

As an SNS DAO, the new organization leverages unique features that strengthen decentralization and streamline participation. All components of decentralized apps (DApps) — including front end, back end and data — are on blockchain and, therefore, the DAO can exercise full control over every aspect of a DApp via voting. Moreover, front-end interactions do not require any gas fees, effectively removing a significant barrier to blockchain-based development.

There will be no multisig or custodians for the treasury wallet, leaving it completely under the control of the organization that will manage it in a gasless affordable environment.

Be part of the biggest user onboarding wave since ICP Genesis.

Just dropped: Our first official presentation of #ICPCC24!🔥

Expect talks, demos, airdrops, giveaways, meetups & more!

May 10 awaits. Join us in making history.

Reserve your free spot now: https://t.co/J4TZfE2C8u pic.twitter.com/0u0oznaiSl

— ICP Community Conference (@icp_cc) February 14, 2024

The upcoming DAO will be responsible for organizing and promoting both the ICPCC brand and its events, meaning they will have to own intellectual property and hire vendors. Hence, the DAO is registered as Marshall Islands DAO LLC, which empowers it as a legal entity that can legally sign contracts and manage IP exclusively through on-chain proposals. The annual registration fee will be paid directly in USD Coin (USDC), a milestone for crypto adoption.

Attendees to become owners

Debuted last year, the ICPCC is already transforming into a major event series. It is currently organized by Code & State, an ICP-focused venture studio, which has already delegated all rights related to ICPP. The decentralized organization will then vote to elect council members who will submit proposals.

Regarding the takeover, Isaac Valadez, the venture lead at Code & State, commented:

“This won’t be our DAO. The ICP community really is taking over total control. This is a major Web3 event series converting into a protocol that needs no custodians or centralized dependencies, and it’s an experiment that could outlast all of us.”

Apart from hosting a live DAO launch, the event will also provide chances to win airdrops of a wide range of tokens and NFTs. Party-goers and livestream listeners who enter airdrop codes will be whitelisted for future airdrop allocations. Starting from 2025, ICPCC DAO LLC will also host an annual in-person conference.