The endorsement effect of celebrities, focusing on Vitalik + CZ.
Decentralized science (DeSci) is not a new concept. As early as March last year, the research organization Messrai published relevant reports. Recently, this sector has regained market attention, largely due to Binance's investment in BIO Protocol.
On November 8, Binance completed strategic financing for BIO Protocol, with neither the round nor the amount disclosed. Thanks to the investment from Binance, the BIO Genesis community fundraising initiative launched by BIO Protocol reached its limit with a total of $33 million raised. Additionally, CZ tweeted about participating in a gathering of small entrepreneurs in DeSci, where Vitalik was also present.
Binance's substantial investment, coupled with endorsements from two major figures in the crypto space, what exactly is DeSci? Which projects within it are worth our attention? Let's take a look with WOO X Research.
Source: @bioprotocol
What is DeSci?
DeSci stands for Decentralized Science, aimed at solving various problems encountered in scientific research, including lack of transparency in funding distribution, knowledge monopolization, and the openness of research data.
The following are the main characteristics and core concepts of DeSci:
Decentralized fundraising: Traditional research funding usually comes from governments, academic institutions, or large corporations, which may be influenced by political or commercial interests. Grant applications are often time-consuming, and insufficient funding for research projects is a common problem. In DeSci, researchers can directly raise funds from the community via a DAO on the blockchain, for example, using cryptocurrencies or issuing tokens for research projects, allowing more people to participate and support innovative research.
Open data and knowledge sharing: DeSci encourages research data and results to be stored on the blockchain in an open manner, ensuring transparency and immutability of data, addressing the current issue of data closure in academia. At the same time, researchers can use blockchain technology to track citations and usage of their research, ensuring fair distribution of knowledge.
Incentive mechanisms: DeSci typically uses tokens or other blockchain tools as incentives, allowing participants (such as researchers, reviewers, data providers, etc.) to receive rewards within the system. For example, researchers can earn token rewards when publishing papers or sharing open data, encouraging more people to share scientific results.
Improving the peer review mechanism: Traditional academic journals and peer review processes may face issues such as low efficiency, bias, or high costs. DeSci utilizes smart contracts and distributed review systems to achieve a more transparent and efficient review process, ensuring reviewers receive fair compensation.
NFTs and intellectual property: In DeSci, research results can be minted as NFTs to track and manage intellectual property. For example, a groundbreaking research result can be recorded on-chain as an NFT, ensuring the original author's ownership and benefits.
The main core of DeSci lies in the fact that funding for blockchain projects often precedes application development, which can lead to excess funding and overvaluation. In contrast, scientific research faces high difficulties in fundraising, and it is challenging to see results in the short term, leading to low speculative elements.
DeSci is the transmission of hot money from the crypto space into the scientific research field, with the narrative suggesting that blockchain can genuinely assist scientific projects, thereby benefiting society, which opens up imaginative space for the valuation ceiling of this sector.
Source: @_kaitoai
Representative project
VITA
As mentioned earlier, BIO Protocol, in which Binance invested, was created by one of the founders of VitaDAO. It can be said that the current token VITA is the most legitimate DeSci project. VitaDAO was established in 2021, focusing on funding and promoting early longevity scientific research, aimed at extending human healthspan. As mentioned earlier, Vitalik and CZ participated in the DeSci gathering, where Vitalik showcased VitaDAO's first longevity product—VD001, a natural high-dose spermidine supplement approved by the Thai FDA.
Not only is there support from crypto celebrities, but VitaDAO also received $4.1 million in funding as early as January 30, 2023, with investments from Pfizer's venture capital arm, Shine Capital, L1 Digital, and Balaji Srinivasan among others. Notably, this is Pfizer's first investment in the Web 3 space.
Belongs to the public chain: ETH
Current coin price: $6.2
Current market cap: $160 million
Number of holding addresses: 4,076
Market cap all-time high: Currently ATH, $160 million
$RIF
A meme coin launched on Pump.Science, which is a meme coin issuance platform launched by Molecule DAO under the BIO Protocol at the Token2049 Solana Breakpoint conference. However, unlike Pump Fun, which allows everyone to issue coins, the issuance projects on Pump.Science must be related to scientific research.
Currently, the only meme coins recognized by Pump.Science are RIF and URO, with RIF representing the antibiotic 'Rifampicin,' which primarily suppresses bacterial RNA synthesis and has significant antibacterial effects, treating conditions including tuberculosis, leprosy, trachoma, and veteran's disease.
Rapamycin has been shown to activate cells' natural defense mechanisms against stress and damage. Current experiments on worms have shown effects of extending lifespan and improving health, although the research is still in its early stages and it remains unclear whether rapamycin can produce similar effects in humans. However, it represents an exciting research direction in anti-aging therapies.
Belongs to the public chain: Solana
Current coin price: $0.1705
Current market cap: $170 million
Number of holding addresses: 20,146
Market cap all-time high: $183 million
Source: Dexscreener
$URO
A meme coin launched on Pump.Science, it is one of the only two officially certified coins of Pump.Science along with $RIF.
Urolithin A is a compound that naturally occurs in pomegranates. Its uniqueness lies in its ability to perform a 'clean-up' of cells. It helps remove aging and dysfunctional mitochondria, allowing fresh and healthy mitochondria to thrive. It can be thought of as a reset button for cells, helping them maintain optimal operating conditions.
Belongs to the public chain: Solana
Current coin price: $0.0466
Current market cap: $46.6 million
Number of holding addresses: 12,674
Market cap all-time high: $60 million
Source: Dexscreener
SCIHUB
Sci-Hub is an open-source academic paper library founded by neuroscientist Alexandra Elbakyan in 2011, aiming to provide free access to academic papers for everyone, but it has also sparked concerns about copyright infringement. In 2017, Sci-Hub was ordered by publishers to compensate Elsevier with $15 million. The founder of WTF Academy, 0xAA, purchased 22% of SCIHUB's total token supply and later transferred 20% to Alexandra Elbakyan's wallet, showing support for Sci-Hub.
Belongs to the public chain: Solana
Current coin price: $0.0486
Current market cap: $49 million
Number of holding addresses: 13,842
Market cap all-time high: $73 million
Source: @SciHubFans
Conclusion: Can DeSci truly bring practical applications?
The main narrative of DeSci is the flow of hot money from the crypto sector into the scientific research community, suggesting that cryptocurrencies can play a role in improving the world. However, DeSci is not a new concept that emerged this year; VitaDAO was established as early as 2021, with participation from the well-known pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Its development has been lukewarm and has not attracted market attention until Binance's investment and the participation of CZ and Vitalik brought it back into the public eye, with speculative elements still outweighing actual utility.
As mentioned above, scientific research is often costly and time-consuming, making it difficult to secure funding and implement projects in the short term. The DeSci tokens driven by memes are not fundamentally different from previous meme coins, both representing manifestations of attention economics. There remains considerable doubt about the sustainability of DeSci in a crypto market that demands immediate returns.
For the overall sector to have sustainability, it must meet the following conditions:
Continuous celebrity endorsements: This round of narrative was initiated by crypto celebrities CZ and Vitalik. Attracting more crypto celebrities to participate will help solidify the narrative foundation of DeSci and attract more capital and users.
Funding activities continue: More funding cases are needed in the future to demonstrate investment institutions' interest in the DeSci sector. Institutions entering the field to build an ecosystem is crucial for stabilizing the overall fundamentals of DeSci.
Leading project valuation increase: Currently, the market caps of leading projects VITA and RIF are between $150 million to $200 million, which is still lower than many leading projects in other sectors. If the market cap of leading projects can be raised to the $5 billion range and listed on mainstream centralized exchanges, it could drive up other projects and confirm the development potential of the DeSci sector.
