Before our eyes, decentralized science (DeSci) is transforming from an experiment by Web3 enthusiasts into a growing sector. The total value of public DeSci tokens is currently hovering around $609 million.
Coinpaper's editorial staff has gotten to the bottom of the DeSci phenomenon. We explain why the trend is becoming popular, how its technological architecture is organized, who is already working in this field, and how to join the movement.
What is DeSci
DeSci (decentralized science) is a set of tools and practices that move key elements of the scientific process—funding, data storage, and intellectual property circulation—to open blockchain networks managed through decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
The main idea is to replace closed journals and grant bureaucracy with a transparent, programmatically-governed economy in which data and decisions are verifiable by everyone in the network.
Why science
Low grant About 7% of proposals get funded; the rest of the time, scientists spend on paperwork.
Growth in The number of manuscripts has increased by about 70% in a decade, but the quality of validation of results is declining.
Closed data Patents are gathering dust on shelves and raw data is stored in private Excel files.
DeSci is trying to solve these problems through open-source funding, immutable data logs, and tokenized intellectual property rights.
DeSci technology "pie"
There are six typical "layers" of DeSci infrastructure—from the basic blockchain to tokenized access to laboratories. This model helps to navigate the industry and understand at what level a project is operating.
DeSci Project Life Cycle
A typical DeSci project starts with an idea from the research team and goes through five phases:
Presentation: The team posts a whitepaper and a budget estimate in the forum of a dedicated DAO.
Vote: Governance token holders decide whether to allocate a seed grant.
Tokenization of rights: An IP-NFT with legal metadata and an IP-Token is created and sold via a bonding curve (a smart contract in which the price of a token is calculated by a formula that depends on the total number of tokens already issued), allowing sponsors to buy shares of future IP.
Workflow and validation: Data is automatically uploaded to IPFS (a decentralized protocol and peer-to-peer network for file storage and distribution); reviewers or labs receive payments for validated results.
Commercialization: Success leads to a license or spin-out startup (a new company that is created to commercialize a specific scientific result, technology, or intellectual property); revenues are shared among IP-Token holders, DAOs, and authors.
What DeSci looks like today
From research DAOs to open-hardware communities, Coinpaper's editorial team has tabulated the most notable DeSci players for June 2025.
| Category | Project |
|---|---|
| Research DAOs | VitaDAO raised $4.1M, with Pfizer Ventures among investors; 24 projects, 10,000+ participants. There's also HairDAO, AthenaDAO |
| Infrastructure | LabDAO raised $3.6M, released the PLEX cloud computing client |
| Publications | ResearchHub pays $150 to the RSC for a full peer-review |
| Open-hardware | OpenFlexure offers basic microscope assembly for less than $100 when purchased in bulk |
There are other projects as well. For example, ResearchHub and a number of new protocols pay rewards in tokens only after replications and raw data are uploaded, and meta-reviewers get a share of the reward. Such a system incentivizes verification of results and reduces the flow of unverifiable "noise."
Risks
Working with DeSci can involve a number of risks.
| Scope | Content |
|---|---|
| Speculation | Speculative memcoins divert capital away from research and can be vulnerable to exploits. |
| Data quality | The "publish - get a token" mechanism generates low-quality results with weak moderation. |
| Regulation | Until specific regulations are in place, IP-NFTs may be treated as securities, which will make commercialization more difficult. |
| Bonding-curve economics | Additional IP-Token issuance dilutes early stakes if there are no constraints. |
How to become a part of DeSci
Create a non-custodial wallet and buy a small amount of governance tokens (e.g., VITA) to participate in voting.
Publish a preprint or conduct a review on ResearchHub and get paid in RSC.
Test Catalyst β: exchange USDC for an IP-Token and participate in licensing decisions.
If you have a patent, tokenize it through Molecule, retaining the royalty override (the right of the original intellectual property (IP) owner to receive a fixed percentage of future revenues from commercialization of the technology).
Conclusion
DeSci has passed the stage of being an interesting startup genre and has evolved into a working infrastructure with DAO treasuries, commercial offerings, and initial regulatory frameworks.
A transparent "data ↔ token ↔ solution" scheme accelerates the transition of discovery from lab to patient. Anyone who is willing to work openly and share the value of knowledge can join the new scientific cycle.
