Key points:
● The DeSci concept did not emerge recently; Binance Labs announced its first investment in BIO Protocol, and CZ and Vitalik jointly attended Binance's Desci Day event, reigniting market attention towards DeSci.
● The DeSci track currently has a low market capitalization and is one of the key tracks of interest for top VCs. In addition to Binance Labs beginning to invest in the healthcare sector, a16z has also started to invest in the DeSci field.
● The DeSci track projects are still in the early exploration stage, with noteworthy sectors including the BIO ecosystem and related Memes.
Recently, the DeSci track has started to gain traction, with related Memecoin $RIF and $URO seeing daily increases of up to 200%, and market sentiment has been repeatedly ignited. Binance's exclusive investment in the DeSci track protocol BIO Protocol has become a focal point of market attention. What exactly is the DeSci track that has been highlighted by CZ and Vitalik? Can this market sentiment be sustained?
Why has DeSci suddenly become popular?
DeSci (Decentralized Science) is an innovative concept that combines blockchain technology with scientific research, aimed at reshaping the funding, collaboration, data sharing, and result publishing methods in current scientific research. The goal of DeSci is to create a more open, transparent, fair, and efficient scientific ecosystem.
In fact, the DeSci concept did not emerge recently; Binance interpreted the concept of DeSci as early as March this year. The sudden popularity of DeSci originated from two recent events: On November 8, Binance Labs announced its first investment in BIO Protocol, marking Binance Labs' first foray into the field of decentralized science (DeSci); on November 13, CZ and Vitalik jointly attended the Desci Day event held by Binance in Bangkok, and DeSci began to gain market attention.
Source: Desci Day Event
Subsequently, the related Memecoin $RIF and $URO in the DeSci track saw daily increases of up to 200%, thereby gaining more market attention. Can the DeSci track continue to develop? How far can biological Memes go? What potential projects in the DeSci track are worth our attention?
Projects worth paying attention to in the DeSci track
According to Coingeck data, as of November 20, the total market capitalization of the DeSci track is $1.2 billion. Compared to other hot tracks like AI, the DeSci track still has a certain amount of growth potential.
Source: Coingeck
The DeSci track is also one of the key tracks of interest for top VCs. In addition to Binance Labs beginning to invest in the healthcare sector, a16z has also started to invest in the DeSci field, with AminoChain being one of its investments in this area. AminoChain primarily provides momentum for the modernization of biological sample processing by connecting data among healthcare companies. On September 25, it completed a $5 million seed round of financing and has not yet reached TGE.
Source: AminoChain
CZ is also very optimistic about this track, believing that DeSci has enormous potential. DeSci is expected to address the drawbacks of traditional research, and the free-spirited nature of DeSci also helps in the exploration of human health, longevity, and other aspects.
However, DeSci-related projects are all in a very early exploration stage. Currently, attention can primarily be focused on the two major sectors of the BIO ecosystem and related Memes.
1. BIO Protocol ecosystem
BIO Protocol aims to build a global research funding and collaboration platform using blockchain and DAOs, hoping to leverage blockchain technology to solve currently challenging issues such as rare diseases, longevity research, and emerging health.
1. $BIO (BIO Protocol)
On November 13, the auction round of BIO Protocol has ended. The average auction price for the first round of BIO was $0.025, while the average auction price for the last round was $0.066, representing an increase of 164%. Currently, the token $BIO has not yet been launched, but it is worth noting that many Chinese KOLs participated in the BIO auction rounds.
Source: BIO Protocol
2. BIO Protocol cooperative DAO projects
The network of BIO Protocol currently mainly comprises nearly ten BIO DAOs, which operate on the Ethereum network, planning to split Solana and other chains in the first quarter of 2025. These DAOs cover multiple directions, including women's health and mental health. The main representative projects among these cooperative DAOs are as follows:
Source: BIO Protocol
● $VITA (VitaDAO): VitaDAO is currently the most well-known of the seven DAOs, with BIO's main members also coming from VitaDAO. VitaDAO is a group focused on funding early longevity research, and its first longevity product, VD001, is a natural high-dose spermidine supplement approved by the Thai FDA. At the Desci Day event in Bangkok on November 13, Vitalik showcased VD001 to CZ, and subsequently, $VITA saw a daily increase of 82.4%, with the current price of $VITA at $5.23.
● $RSC (ResearchHub): ResearchHub is a platform founded by the founder of Coinbase to reward users who publish quality content on the platform. RSC is the native token of the ResearchHub platform.
● $HAIR (HairDAO): Dedicated to solving hair health issues, developing proprietary products, and promoting the application of related patents, such as its community-supported 'Follicool' product.
● $ATH (AthenaDAO): AthenaDAO focuses on research and development in women's health, such as reproductive health and the treatment of female-specific diseases. By supporting interdisciplinary research, it promotes innovation and technology transfer in women's medicine, helping to bridge funding gaps in traditional research.
● $CRYO (CryoDAO): CryoDAO focuses on research into low-temperature preservation technology and collaborates with institutions such as the University of Oxford to promote the application of low-temperature technology in biomedicine.
● $GROW (ValleyDAO): A decentralized community governance platform focusing on anti-aging drugs and longevity projects.
● $PSY (PsyDAO): PsyDAO supports research on the use of psychedelic drugs in the treatment of mental illnesses, such as PTSD and depression. It promotes the construction of platforms for the testing and data sharing of psychedelic drugs.
According to the allocation of the BIO treasury, the largest DAO allocation fund is VitaDAO, accounting for 51.2%.
Source: BIO Protocol
2. Major MemeCoin
To understand the related Memes in the DeSci track, one must first understand the Pump.Science platform.
Pump.Science is a new Meme launch platform introduced by the Solana ecosystem's DeSci platform Molecule DAO. Unlike other pumps, the Meme tokens issued by Pump.Science must be related to the scientific field, and once the market value of the token reaches $10,000, medical research organizations will apply the drugs in experiments and periodically publish the trial results on the platform. Players can predict the efficacy of the drugs based on experimental results and continue to buy and sell Meme tokens.
Pump.Science has mainly issued two Meme tokens, $RIF and $URO. Additionally, related Memes include donation concepts and quantum entanglement concepts. However, Meme tokens are subject to market sentiment and can be quite volatile. As of the time of writing, most related Meme tokens have started to decline. The specific situation of major Memes is as follows:
1. Pump.Science concept
● $RIF (Rifampicin): Rifampicin primarily focuses on the concept of antibiotics and mainly explores directions for treating tuberculosis infections, making it the current leading Meme coin.
● $URO (Urolithin A): Urolithin A is a natural metabolite found in pomegranates and other nuts, mainly exploring directions for longevity.
2. Donation concept
$Scihub mainly revolves around Sci-hub, the world's largest free paper download center, which faces legal issues due to open-source practices and relies solely on donations to maintain the platform, primarily exploring research copyright-related directions.
3. Quantum entanglement concept
The quantum entanglement concept mainly has two tokens, $PRO and $ANTI, which are independent on-chain but can 'entangle' their token economics through custom contracts. The innovation of this economic model lies in the theory that 1 ANTi should equal 1 PRO. If the price of one token rises, the other fluctuates accordingly; when there is a price difference between the two tokens, holders can realize arbitrage through exchange operations, pushing the price back to equilibrium; this mechanism encourages more trading and interaction, increasing market activity.
The Outlook for DeSci
The development of the DeSci field undoubtedly injects new hope into human longevity, biological sciences, and other areas. The combination of DeSci and cryptocurrency is expected to improve issues such as the inefficiency of traditional research, and the free-spirited concept of DeSci has inspired many researchers to ignite new hope.
However, it is worth noting that research in the life sciences requires a long development cycle. Most DeSci projects are still in the very early exploration stage, and the impact of cryptocurrency on the research system needs further verification.