Author: Revc, Golden Finance
After material abundance, crypto whales, like tech giants, began to focus on the biotechnology sector of 'immortality'.
On November 13, Binance founder CZ shared his feelings about attending a small decentralized science (DeSci) entrepreneurs' gathering organized by Binance Labs on social media platform X, along with a photo with Ethereum founder Vitalik. During this event, Vitalik introduced CZ to VitaDAO's first longevity product - VD001, a natural high-dose spermidine supplement approved by the Thai Food and Drug Administration. CZ expressed hope to see 1,000 DeSci-related projects emerge next year during the interaction.
On November 8, Binance Labs announced its investment in BIO Protocol. The BIO platform enables global scientists, patients, and investors to collaboratively fund, develop, and co-own new drugs and therapies. Currently, the BIO network consists of seven BioDAOs, focusing on diversified fields such as cryopreservation, women's health, and psychedelics for mental health.
And astute crypto users seized the Desci hotspot over the weekend, participating in the MEME token frenzy with market values in the tens of millions of dollars.
Introduction to DeSci related projects
Bio Protocol
Bio Protocol is a new type of financial protocol designed for decentralized science (DeSci), aiming to accelerate the influx of capital and talent into scientific research through on-chain mechanisms. Its core objectives include:
1. Create and support the BioDAO network, providing on-chain funding and liquidity for scientific research.
2. Standardize the framework, economic model, and data products of BioDAO to enhance the generation and commercialization efficiency of scientific intellectual property (IP) and data.
3. Provide continuous funding and liquidity to address the long-term developmental needs of scientific research.
Core operation module
BIO Protocol achieves its goals through the following five core functions:
1. Curation:
- Use $BIO tokens to filter new BioDAO projects, selecting quality projects through community voting.
- Token holders use locked vBIO tokens to indicate support, and successfully selected projects will receive funding, support, and market priority.
2. Funding:
- Provide initial seed round financing opportunities for selected BioDAOs, allowing participants to receive terms that are equal to or even better than those of institutional investors.
- Ensure a high degree of alignment between research and community participation.
3. Liquidity:
- Provide market liquidity for BioDAO through BIO tokens and other assets held by the BIO Treasury (e.g., ETH).
- Reduce exchange costs and accumulate protocol-owned liquidity (POL) through liquidity pools (e.g., VITA/BIO, BIO/ETH).
4. Reward mechanism (Bio/acc Rewards):
- Distribute BIO tokens as rewards to incentivize BioDAO to achieve milestones (such as advancing IP to clinical stages or realizing sales revenue).
5. Meta-Governance:
- BIO holds multiple BioDAO tokens, granting the community governance rights over the entire ecosystem (BioDAO and IP assets).
The value of the BIO Protocol comes from:
1. Token distribution:
- Providing a grant of 100,000 US dollars to the new BioDAO in exchange for a 6.9% token allocation; at the same time, the BIO Treasury can hold rights to its scientific IP.
2. Protocol-owned liquidity (POL):
- Continuously enhance the value of the BIO Treasury through liquidity pool earnings (BIO, BioDAO tokens, IP tokens, ETH, etc.).
3. Uses of BIO tokens:
- Plan the selection and funding of BioDAO.
- Priority participation in BioDAO token and IP sales.
- Enjoy discounts on BioDAO products/services.
- Vote on fund allocation and protocol updates in governance.
Currently, the 2.5 round auction for BIO tokens has been completed, raising approximately 58 million US dollars, but the tokens have not yet circulated, with only about 3,200 holders, mainly institutions and large investors. Additionally, the tokens have an inflation mechanism, with details to be determined.
pump.science
Currently, there are three MEME tokens under the Desci concept that are being pursued by major funds, with RIF's market value reaching 180 million US dollars.
Rif is deployed by pump.science, and the project has undergone strict screening and examination. The Desci sector has demonstrated a higher threshold in asset issuance compared to traditional MEME. Pump.Science is a decentralized science (DeSci) platform based on the Solana blockchain, aimed at promoting longevity research. The project has received funding from the Solana Foundation, combining IP-tokenization and real-time experimental transparency to incentivize community participation in scientific research. Its core experiments focus primarily on compound testing, including Urolithin A ($URO) and Rifampicin ($RIF), with testing subjects ranging from worms to humans, gradually unlocking experiments through market valuation (such as $69k for worms and $10m for human stages). Experimental data is live-streamed in real-time, similar to a Twitch-style scientific transparency model, where anyone can submit compound suggestions for testing.
Rif
RIF is an experimental research token related to Rifampicin antibiotics, which have potential anti-aging effects that have attracted the attention of the medical community. Research on model organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans shows that Rifampicin can activate cellular defense mechanisms and enhance resistance to stress and damage. It helps reduce oxidative stress and maintain protein quality within cells, promoting healthier and longer-lived organisms. Although the research is still in its early stages and has not confirmed its application in humans, Rifampicin's ability to enhance cellular health makes it a promising candidate drug for anti-aging therapy.
As of 6 PM Beijing time on the 18th, RIF's 24-hour increase exceeded 129%, with a market value nearing 200 million US dollars. As the leader in its sector, it continues to trigger market FOMO emotions, with some smart money making a 74-fold profit by buying RIF at a low point.
Uro
URO is an experimental research token related to Urolithin A, a natural compound generated by human gut microbiota metabolizing tannins (such as the active ingredient found in pomegranates), which has unique biological functions in cellular health. It supports the generation of new mitochondria by activating mitophagy to clear aging or dysfunctional mitochondria. This process helps cells optimize energy metabolism, improving overall efficiency and vitality. In animal studies, Urolithin A has been shown to extend the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans, demonstrating its anti-aging potential.
Also recorded a 113% increase in the past 24 hours, with a market value nearing 70 million US dollars.
SCIHUB
SCIHUB advocates for academic freedom and resistance to the long-term monopoly of the academic publishing industry. Sci-Hub was founded by Russian Alexandra Elbakyan, providing free access to academic papers and helping users overcome the high costs of downloading research articles. Elbakyan faced economic barriers during her student years and created Sci-Hub after self-learning programming. Sci-Hub is particularly popular in China, where Chinese users account for a large portion of its traffic and donations. The platform faces multiple lawsuits, mostly from publishers like Elsevier, and its domains and social media accounts have been blocked. Despite facing legal challenges, Elbakyan still relies on crowdfunding to maintain service operations.
The existence of this platform highlights the ongoing issues in the academic publishing industry, where high subscription fees limit access to academic research results. Many researchers support Sci-Hub because it is convenient and easy to use. Elbakyan hopes to restore the paper upload feature of Sci-Hub and introduce AI functionalities to enhance its services. In China, Sci-Hub is affectionately referred to as 'Little Bird', and Elbakyan is hailed as the 'Academic Goddess'. The logo of Sci-Hub consists of a hammer and sickle along with a key, symbolizing its stance in the copyright struggle. The following is the main struggle process:
In May 2017, Elsevier submitted a list of 100 articles illegally provided by Sci-Hub and LibGen to the court, requesting a permanent injunction and damages of 15 million US dollars. On June 21 of the same year, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of Elsevier after a default hearing. Subsequently, on November 6, 2017, the court ordered Sci-Hub to pay 4.8 million US dollars to the American Chemical Society (ACS) and blocked its servers and domains. Despite this, Elbakyan stated in an interview with (The Scientist) that she would not pay the compensation.
In December 2018, a Russian court blocked multiple domains related to Sci-Hub at the request of British publisher Springer Nature. In January 2021, Twitter banned its account due to Sci-Hub posting pirated papers.
From a narrative perspective, SCIHUB is more likely to evoke widespread sympathy and the resonance of industry scholars who have long been oppressed. Thus, MEME has evolved into a community emotional expression against social inequality.
In the past 24 hours, SCIHUB recorded a 158% increase, with a market value reaching 50 million US dollars.
Summary
The Desci sector has demonstrated independence in project review and application. Combined with the launch of MEME assets, it has given cutting-edge scientific exploration the support of 'community finance'. However, the implementation of related concepts has uncertainty, and investors need to pay attention to the associated risks. From the financing operations of BioProtocol, until the assets are issued to the PumpFun market, the team shows a high level of professionalism, but it should also consider whether excessive financial speculation deviates from the original intention of experimentation. Whether Desci is close to us or just a 'vision' of super-rich individuals is no longer important to investors in the short term.
If I were to summarize the currently booming MEME market in one sentence, 'Initial Emotion Offering' may be a relatively fitting understanding. Narratives that are likely to resonate emotionally with people, such as Pnut Hamster and SciHub, are more likely to yield excess returns in the context of a bull market.
