ShapeShift was the first established corporation to fully transform itself from a centralized entity into a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). More than six months in, we sat down with three of the visionaries that prompted this move to see if the reality matches their expectations for how the DAO structure could improve the organization, the platform’s user experience, and the community that builds it.
Our series continues with an interview of Jon ShapeShift, previously Chief Product Officer and co-founder of ShapeShift. After having dedicated decades to advancing innovation in crypto, Jon is intimately engaged with the DAO and enthusiastic about seeing it succeed.
Q: What were your initial thoughts or inspirations behind transitioning ShapeShift into a DAO?
I strongly believed this would be the path for ShapeShift to stay true to its ethos of being a non-custodial protocol that connects blockchains. Global DeFi protocols inspired the idea, and becoming a DAO was the next natural phase for ShapeShift. The speed at which decentralized companies can accomplish various projects is impressive; we wanted that agility. It has been proven more effective than any of us could have hoped. The DAO has done many things that centralized ShapeShift could never do. Legal review has historically been where great ideas die due to legal barriers. The absence of that fear of legal challenges allows ideas to grow and morph into even more innovative projects than any centralized company would be able to support.
Q: Six months into decentralizing, the DAO unveils new projects almost weekly. This growth and agility has been exciting to be a part of and to witness. How has this transition changed your relationship with ShapeShift?
Wow, this whole thing has moved faster and produced more than any of us could have anticipated. It has been amazing to watch and has been the most fun I have had in crypto in over five years! It is super refreshing to witness and experience old community members and new people from around the globe buying into the mission; I could not be more excited. Our DAO is a true meritocracy in action: everyone is on the same level, and sure, reputations exist and can be built, while at the same time, anyone in the world can show up and have a voice.
Q: Your thread 10 Lessons from DAO land for the new year on Twitter was exceptionally well received and has inspired other articles. That must be fun for you?
Yes, it was pretty well received, with many personal connections from across the industry. The industry appreciates general discussions about DAO culture and not always highly technical information.
Q: One aspect your post addresses is conflicts within the DAO and conflict resolution. This structure does not have any procedures for conflict resolution; how has the DAO managed these challenges?
Without a human resources department, the DAO structure forces individuals to develop skills to communicate effectively and find positive methods to resolve conflicts; thus, causing people to talk to each other and understand that most people come from a place of good intention. Some have no skills or experience with this, as traditional corporations actively discourage individuals from resolving conflict without HR involvement. So far, it appears that the ShapeShift DAO has been quite successful with this, although we do know of others that have struggled.
Conflict is not always negative — it can lead to great things. Most productive teams and ideas can be grown from conflict and competition.
Q: What’s next for ShapeShift DAO?
I could have given you a direct concrete answer last year, but now I don’t 100% know because it is not up to me. Developments are being proposed all of the time; with more DeFi opportunities and ancillary ideas, we are building the FOXChain and all sorts of things that I don’t even know about yet. Watch the DAO work. Within six months of its existence, the DAO treasury is profitable. It is hard to see three to six months in the future in the crypto space; this has never been more true than today for ShapeShift. ShapeShift is agile enough and fast enough to move wherever crypto is moving.
Join our Discord server and get involved with the ShapeShift DAO today!
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