Dapper Labs Mainstreams Community-Owned Media

Dapper Labs, which is behind hugely successful crypto projects such CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot, has been a major player in bringing NFTs to new audiences. Its mission is now evolving to make DAOs mainstream – starting with the launch of Dapper Collectives.

Led by Brud CEO Trevor McFedries, Dapper Collectives will build community ownership into Dapper Lab products, including Lil Miquela and her 10 million fans. The division will also create open-source tools to help other communities transition to decentralised ownership and governance on the Flow blockchain, which recently announced it is now “fully open and controlled by the community”. Lastly, Dapper Collectives will partner with legacy internet companies and online platforms to help them decentralise their operations and implement tokenomics (crypto economics).

Following in the footsteps of NFTs, DAOs – also known as headless brands – are fast becoming a trending topic, and represent a sizeable opportunity for brands and online platforms. These are essentially member-owned communities governed by a smart contract on the blockchain, meaning all decisions are transparent and made collectively, rather than by a top-down entity. 

Dapper Labs wants to streamline the creation and operation of DAOs for both individual creators and established companies, while fully embracing the future of Web 3.0. To understand how decentralisation is set to disrupt the relationship between creators, brands and consumers, and the apps and platforms where they meet, read our Pop Culture & Media Look Ahead 2022.