Astro Launches on NEAR To Supercharge DAO Communities

October 11, 2021 — NEAR Team

Astro, the platform for online communities to gather, vote, and govern has launched on NEAR. Astro is the next evolution of SputnikDAO, the hub for decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) operating on NEAR with a host of new features, more flexibility, and a friendly UI.

If you’re a community looking to create, collaborate, and govern, Astro is the tool for you.

What is Astro?

Astro is a platform for On Chain Communities (OCC). OCC are groups of people that prove their membership and coordinate decisions through a series of smart contracts. Each vote is verified by the blockchain, and funds are distributed based on voting decisions.

With Astro, DAOs will be able to retain more autonomy and, importantly, cast the net further in regards to governance through increased flexibility and the introduction of governance tokens.

Curious to know more about Astro? We’re hosting an AMA on October 12, 2021 at 7 am PST / 10 am EST / 4pm CEST. Register for the AMA and submit your questions to the Astro team. Find out more about it here.

What is a DAO?

A DAO is a business structure where control is spread out, across the team members instead of being centered around one authority figure. Think of a DAO as being a machine with one purpose, to carry out a set of instructions determined by pre-written smart contracts.

A community can adapt a DAO and program it according to its own goals. So the code can be used to create a set of rules, or a governance structure by which the community agrees to abide by. Tokens are used to help people vote on topics such as fund allocation.

The more a member contributes to a community, the more his/her/their vote can be increased.

Why start a DAO?

Think of DAOs as a toolbox that allows anyone to create a business structure that is designed to be simple and flexible. As a result, DAOs come in all shapes and sizes. From flat to hierarchical, from open to anyone to members-only; you get to decide how you want to govern your community.

For example:

Grants Giving – Vote and collectively decide what people and projects to fund.
For businesses – Keep track of owners’ equity and elect managers to make day-to-day decisions.
For investors – Pool funds and vote on strategy and transactions.
For clubs of any kind – Elect leaders and decide where to spend group funds.