Written by Pablo Gómez
Founder & CEO at Metlabs · Reviewed on October 11, 2026
A DAO defines how proposals are submitted, who can vote and which actions require approval. Votes may be weighted by tokens, membership or another criterion. Not every DAO uses fully on-chain governance.
Execution may use a Governor contract and timelock, or multisignature signers following a collective decision. Governance tokens do not necessarily control all operations or eliminate administrators.
DAO describes an organizational and technical model, not a universal legal form. Participant liability, taxation and representation depend on structure and applicable legislation.
Also known as
- DAOs
