The Third Quarter Daisy Chain Report: How Are the Projects We Highlighted Faring in the Real World?
A quarterly assessment of the projects featured in the Daisy Chain series: where blockchain meets the real world
Welcome to the first Daisy Chain report, a quarterly assessment of the projects featured in the Daisy Chain series: where blockchain meets the real world.
The term "daisy chain" refers to a connected sequence of events or objects that are linked together in a linear or cyclical fashion. This concept can be applied to various technological and natural contexts, like networking, data storage, manufacturing, electronics, biology, ecology and social systems. It's inherently connective and, of course, also references the blockchain.
Each quarter’s projects in the series will no doubt represent myriad modes and mediums. Some will be burgeoning and some will have failed. Others will be at important inflection points. As such, it will be difficult to maintain a standard rubric every quarter, so we’ll be using a broad baseline. Our goal is to answer:
How effectively did, does or will this project leverage web3 to:
accomplish its goals?
create real-world impact (social and/or environmental)?
empower individuals?
challenge established systems?
persist and/or scale?
This is an imperfect science, but we’ll use both qualitative and quantitative data, measuring intangibles like intention alongside metrics like nonfungible token (NFT) mints. Importantly, each project also has a central character, whose story helps ground the technology.
Here’s an overview of this quarter’s five projects:
Main Character: John Gerrard, a digital ecologist and artist
Overview: Gerrard's project uses blockchain and virtual ice to plant real trees. The virtual robotic arm is "based" in the North Pole and creates real-time crystal patterns inspired by snowflakes, which are then tokenized and sold. Proceeds go to Hometree, a tree-planting charity.
John Gerrard (L)
Accomplish its goals: The project effectively leveraged web3 by using NFTs to tokenize the artwork and raise funds for tree planting initiatives. HOW MANY SOLD
Create real-world impact (social and/or environmental): While the project primarily operates in the digital realm, its proceeds are used to fund tree planting initiatives, directly impacting the physical environment. If all NFTs are sold, more than 12,000 trees will be planted. The project also raises awareness about climate change and the importance of conservation.
Empowers individuals: Crystalline allows individuals to own unique pieces of digital art and support environmental causes. It’s also a model that could inspire other visual artists.
Challenges established systems: Challenges traditional art markets by introducing a new model of ownership and value.
Persist and/or scale: The project began on the 2024 summer solstice and will continue for one year. In total, the robot will generate 8,760 original pieces. Scale is not a goal, but the model could be replicated at scale by other creators.
Main Character: Burnt Banksy (Founder)
Overview: Burnt Banksy, along with two friends, burned a Banksy original painting and converted it into an NFT. The stunt sparked controversy and debate about the future of digital art.
Burnt Banksy
Accomplish its goals: The project effectively leveraged web3 by converting the physical artwork into an NFT and auctioning it at a profit (they bought the physical piece for $95,000 and sold the NFT for $380,000). It was controversial, but ultimately succeeded in its goal.
Create real-world impact (social and/or environmental): The project's impact was primarily symbolic, challenging traditional notions of art ownership and value.
Empower individuals: The project’s empowerment was also largely symbolic, conceptually challenging the centralized authority of traditional art institutions.
Challenge established systems: The project challenged the established art market by not only demonstrating the value of digital art, but also by invoking the anti-establishment spirit of Banksy.
Persist and/or scale: The project's impact is limited by the unique nature of the artwork and an societal aversion to the destruction of art, but Burnt Banksy leveraged the stunt’s hype to build an accessible, consumer-focused blockchain called XION. Earlier this year, Burnt Banksy raised $25 million for the company.
Main Character: Doug Petkanics (Co-Founder)
Overview: Livepeer is decentralized video infrastructure that offers an alternative to centralized platforms like YouTube and Twitch (without paying the platforms’ parent companies, Google and Amazon, to use their cloud infrastructure). The project leverages crypto-economic incentives to tap into the idle video transcoding capabilities of GPUs in its network.
Doug Petkanics
Accomplish its goals: Thus far, Livepeer has effectively leveraged web3 by creating a decentralized video infrastructure that offers an alternative to centralized platforms. It’s still small, but it’s been used by important cultural organizations like Burning Man and the Lot Radio.
Create real-world impact (social and/or environmental): The project has the potential to reduce the environmental impact of video streaming by using a decentralized network that’s more equitable and sustainable.
Empower individuals: The project empowers individuals and businesses to access affordable, decentralized video infrastructure – without relying on incumbents.
Challenge established systems: The project challenges the dominance of centralized companies like Google and Amazon, which maintain market control by owning both the cloud infrastructure and the end user platforms (YouTube and Twitch).
Persist and/or scale: Decentralization is what keeps costs low and gives Livepeer both its competitive edge and its more egalitarian ethos. Moreover, by leaning into its new product Livepeer AI – which focuses on AI video processing – Livepeer has positioned itself to be a major player amidst the burgeoning adoption of AI tools.
Main Character: Tim Gulley (Founder)
Overview: Gulley's project aimed to use a cryptocurrency (AyaCoin) to fund ayahuasca retreats and promote healing. The project failed to raise sufficient funds and was ultimately discontinued.
Tim Gulley
Accomplish its goals: The project failed to achieve its goals due to a lack of funding and interest.
Create real-world impact (social and/or environmental): The project aimed to promote healing and support individuals in need, but it did not achieve its intended goals.
Empower individuals: The project aimed to empower individuals to access alternative healing modalities via a decentralized economy.
Challenge established systems: The project challenged the traditional healthcare system and the legal restrictions on psychedelics, advocating for a more open and inclusive approach to healing.
Persist and/or scale: The project was not able to persist, but it helped raise awareness about the importance of psychedelic research and the need for more open and inclusive approaches to mental health.
Main Character: Ciaran Murray (Founder)
Overview: Olas is a decentralized publishing protocol that aims to become the "most trusted media platform on the Internet." The project uses blockchain technology to verify information sources and empower journalists.
Ciaran Murray
Accomplish its goals: Olas has not yet been launched, so it’s too early to assess its ability to achieve its goals. The vision, though, has garnered $100 thousand in grant funding.
Create real-world impact (social and/or environmental): The project has the potential to affect positive social change by providing a more trustworthy and reliable news platform.
Empower individuals: Olas empowers individuals to become journalists and contribute to a decentralized news platform. It also empowers existing journalists in more authoritarian regimes, enabling them to use pseudonyms and get paid in stablecoins. It also empowers readers to choose – or be – their own curators.
Challenge established systems: The project challenges the dominance of centralized media platforms and the advertising-driven model of journalism.
Persist and/or scale: The project's success will largely hinge on its ability to persist and scale. Achieving its goals will require a lot to go right, even after building a complex technical infrastructure – e.g. onboarding thousands of journalists and getting readers to participate and pay attention.
Visualizing and Comparing
To help us better trace commonalities and distinctions amongst these projects, I’ve broken them down further on this spreadsheet.
The rubric is split across these 10 categories:
Launch Date: This column indicates the date when the project was launched.
Project Goals/Objectives: This column outlines the primary goals and objectives that the project aims to achieve.
Funding Sources: This column identifies the primary sources of funding for the project, such as grants, venture capital, or donations.
Project Stage: This column indicates the current stage of the project, such as completed, ongoing, pre-launch, or failed.
Individual Empowerment: This column assesses the extent to which the project empowers individuals to take control of their own lives and resources.
Challenging Established Systems: This column evaluates the project's ability to challenge existing power structures and promote more equitable systems.
Persistence + Scalability: This column assesses the project's ability to continue and grow over time.
Difficulty Level for Success: This column estimates the level of difficulty or challenges that the project faces in achieving its goals.
Real-World Impact (Qualitative): This column describes the qualitative benefits or outcomes of the project, such as social, environmental, or economic impacts.
Real-World Impact (Quantitative): This column measures the quantifiable benefits or outcomes of the project, such as financial gains, user growth, or measurable changes in specific metrics.
Takeaways
All of these projects bridge digital and physical realms while challenging established systems. They demonstrate the blockchain’s potential to create tangible environmental and social impact, from funding reforestation to democratizing media. They also indicate that decentralization empowers individuals better than centralized institutions.
That said, the varying degrees of success among these projects highlight both the innovative potential and the inherent challenges in blockchain ventures. Successful projects like Livepeer show the importance of scalability and adaptability – as well as tapping more traditional business levers, like lowering costs.
Less successful projects underscore the experimental and risk-filled nature of the field. They also demonstrate that funding sources and regulatory landscapes matter. For AyaCoin, Tim Gulley used his personal finances to challenge drug precedence upheld by massive institutions like the US government and big pharma – all within a nascent web3 landscape that most people didn’t (and still don’t) understand.
That’s it for this round – tune back in at the top of 2025 when we assess the next cohort of Daisy Chain projects. In time, as we assess more projects, hopefully new insights emerge to help builders navigate these complex technical and regulatory ecosystems.