This post is taking part in the Nouns x Kiwi writing contest.
Prologue: The Mask That Revealed Crypto's True Face
“The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming.” – Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight (2008)
Nouns DAO. First presented as an “on-chain avatar community.” Now labeled the “experiment for rich crypto dudes.”
The project was born in mid-2021, seemingly out of the mind of a mad scientist: launching a decentralized, Open Source brand, developed and owned by the community.
From Nouns’ website:
“Behold, an infinite work of art! Nouns is a community-owned brand that makes a positive impact by funding ideas and fostering collaboration. From collectors and technologists, to non-profits and brands, Nouns is for everyone.”
The idea was to auction off a unique NFT, a Noun, every day until the end of time. The buyer would receive, in addition to a 32x32 pixel image, a voting right within the DAO. The funds raised with the sale would feed a community treasury, used to sponsor artists and projects helping develop the brand.
Three years later, while many crypto projects have faded into oblivion, Nouns DAO still stands. But has this promise of revolutionizing the world of brands and decentralized governance been fulfilled?
Today, Seneca challenges us: “Can Nouns be the face of crypto? What would it mean for the industry at large if Nouns were to become a household name?”
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I. From Symbol to Shadow: The Evolution of a Hero
“Ain't it funny? All everyone wants to do is unmask you, but they're missing the point. You and I both know I'm looking at the real you right now. My mask allowed me to be myself completely. No shame, no limits.” – The Riddler, Batman (2022)
Like Batman for Gotham, Nouns DAO has become much more than just a symbol - it's the mask behind which the crypto community reveals its true nature, hopes, and demons. This is the story, in three acts, that we're about to explore.
A. Origins: Birth of a Symbol
“You start pretending to have fun, you might even have a little by accident.” – Alfred, Batman Begins (2005)
The idea of Nouns DAO was born from dreamers, utopians. It is the symptom of the rift between the people and decision-makers: we no longer recognize ourselves in these companies where the shareholder is always right; green-washing, rainbow-washing, business as usual. Power systems that no longer represent us, whose interests are drifting further and further from those at the bottom—us.
That’s also how blockchain initially appeared: the vision of an ideal of “neutrality,” “sovereignty,” “community.”
It was within this idea that Nouns DAO was forged, developing a brand owned by the community, without centralized authority, no shadowy profiteers. And in a sense, on that day, the crypto community chose to wear the mask of Nouns DAO, like a vigilante taking to the dark, corrupted streets of Web2.
B. The Bull Knight Rises
“You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain” – Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight (2008)
Unfortunately, around the same time, the tsunami of the bull market was crashing into the community, pushing Nouns DAO into a forced growth, a teenage crisis: for the first time, the world had its eyes truly fixed on crypto, and behind the Nouns mask, the community showed itself as it truly was.
Extravagant spending (tens of millions in marketing, the infamous case of spending $90k for Nouns' glassfrog,...), FOMO (buying Nouns for up to 140 ETH), the party was in full swing like a college freshman's induction night.
BTC and ETH were only going up; we felt invincible, and the song was never going to stop.
C. The Fire Rises: When the DAO Broke
« Peace Has Cost You Your Strength! » – Bane, The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
It was high time to grow up. The bear market arrived, taking away the joy, confidence, and euphoria of the crypto community.
This period of hardship and disillusion invited political discourse and discord to tear apart this community who had been partying so hard just a year before. However, the crypto space was actually maturing, and the Nounders took responsibility and came up with a solution: a fork.
People disagreeing with the DAO could “rage-quit,” retrieving their share of the treasury in exchange for their Noun NFT, and consequently, their participation in the DAO as well. The first executed fork was a reality check for the entire community.
Just as the DAO Raiders attack was.
Arbitrageurs were accumulating the cheapest Nouns in the shadow only to be able to rage-quit for a profit, at the expense of the other holders. Indeed, this event was a wake-up call: some actors are not aligned with our ideals. If there’s an opportunity to profit financially from a situation, it will be exploited. These Raiders walked away with a significant portion of the treasury (around $27 millions) and the hopes and dreams of the community at large.
That being said, almost a year later, Nouns DAO is still standing. Proposals are still flying, Nouns are still being minted every day: the community hasn’t given up. This acceptance of the tough decision taken by the Nounders proves that the crypto community is maturing alongside the DAO.
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II. The future of Nouns: Owning the Mask
« This city just showed you that it's full of people ready to believe in good. » – Batman, The Dark Knight (2008)
Nouns DAO, with its instantly recognizable visual branding (⌐◨-◨), daily community engagement through auctions, and a proven track record of both innovation and resilience, has been and could continue to be the face of crypto. This brand can continue to thrive, and has the potential to become a household name, if it allows the community space to express itself.
A. From the Shadows: Lessons in the Dark
“Why do we fall? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.” – Alfred, Batman Begins (2005)
Just as Batman fought his own reflection in each villain, Nouns DAO faced its darkest shadows during the bear market.
- The Bear Market: Our Scarecrow
“There's nothing to fear, but fear itself! And I'm here to help!” – Scarecrow, Batman Begins (2005)
The bear market was our fear toxin, a brutal reminder that we weren't invincible. Gone were the days of 140 ETH Nouns and exuberant proposals. Like citizens of Gotham choking on Scarecrow's poison, we watched helplessly as our confidence evaporated with each red candle. Some fled. Others got stronger.
- The DAO Raiders: Our Bane
“Let the games begin!” – Bane, The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
They came prepared. They played by the rules – our rules. Like Bane studying Batman's every move before their confrontation, the Raiders patiently accumulated Nouns, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. When they did, they walked away with $27M of our treasury, leaving us broken but not defeated.
- Internal Division: Our Two-Face
“I took Gotham's white knight... and I brought him down to our level. It wasn't hard. See, madness, as you know... is like gravity. All it takes is a little push.” – The Joker about Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight (2008)
The fork wasn't just a technical solution – it was our Harvey Dent moment. The community that once stood united now had to choose sides. Like Gotham watching its White Knight fall, we witnessed our ideals of perfect decentralization crumble. But maybe, like Two-Face's coin, we needed this brutal reminder that nothing is ever just black or white in crypto.
Like Bruce Wayne's journey through the League of Shadows, Nouns DAO's trial by fire has taught invaluable lessons; but rather than defeat, these challenges have become stepping stones to evolution.
The fork mechanism, initially seen as a failure, can emerge as a pioneering solution in DAO governance. It could provide a blueprint for other DAOs facing similar challenges, proving that sometimes, division is necessary for growth.
B. Nouns DAO, the Hero We Didn’t Know We Needed
“It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.” – Batman, Batman Begins (2005)
After living through both bull and bear markets, after the DAO Raiders attack and the fork implementation, Nouns DAO has proven its resilience. But resilience isn't enough - we need to build, experiment, and grow, all while keeping our weird, punk spirit alive. Here's my vision for how Nouns could evolve while staying true to its roots.
Knowledge & Education
Nouns is not only a brand, art, or DAO. It is a community, an identity. To expand, Nouns DAO could become a noob-friendly place, where new explorers of Web3 can feel safe on their first expedition.
- Nouns Academy: Nouns could launch Creative Commons Workshops. It would be resources like documentation, videos, and interactive games about digital/pixel art, meme creation and viral marketing, brand building through community, proposal writing and storytelling, open source mindset, etc.
- Documentation Hub: We need to document our journey, successes and failures alike. Monthly case studies would analyze both successful and failed proposals, with maybe interviews with builders and proposal creators, thus teaching valuable lessons to future builders. All this knowledge would contribute to the “Nounish Philosophy” book, a living document tracking our evolution.
Governance Innovation
Nouns DAO is the symptom of a coming change. More than just a brand or art, it could be the driver of something bigger: our current decision-making systems, like democracy, are centralized and suboptimal. Nouns DAO’s fork opened our eyes and taught us that the same issues exist in decentralized communities and one-vote-per-NFT systems.
In my opinion, it’s crucial for Nouns to study and experiment with other voting systems, like Quadratic Voting, Futarchy, Pluralism. Beyond protecting its own DAO, this could become the foundation for all future DAOs, possibly even the beginning of Network States.
- The Governance Laboratory: There could be new categories for proposals that use and experiment with new voting systems. To limit risks but still add incentives for exploitation and learning, we could top the funding for those proposals to 1ETH. Nouns could write monthly retrospectives on what worked/failed.
- Governance Toolkit Development: The community should build open-source voting mechanisms that anyone can understand and implement. The system should be easy to fork and adapt, maintaining our commitment to experimentation and fun. This isn't about building complex systems - it's about creating simple, effective tools that keep governance punk and accessible. Everything would be built by the community, for the community.
Cultural Expansion
Let's not forget that a very important aspect of the blockchain movement is giving back to the community. But beyond just doing good, Nouns needs to spread its culture, its spirit of creative chaos. Whether through guerrilla marketing or public goods initiatives, Nouns DAO can show that a brand can both grow and do good in the broader world, all while keeping its punk identity intact.
- Mainstream Infiltration (The Punk Way): Instead of traditional marketing, Nouns should appear in unexpected places through guerrilla tactics. Pop-up events would bring Nouns into public spaces, creating memorable experiences. By collaborating with underground artists, we'd maintain our authenticity while reaching new audiences. Growth should be organic and viral, never forced or corporate.
- Chaotic good social impact: social impact shouldn't become corporate or predictable. Each new public good project should maintain that chaotic-good energy that makes Nouns special (like the “Free Glasses For Kids” program). Rather than trying to solve every problem, the DAO should pick quirky, unexpected ways to help people - ways that make the establishment scratch their heads while actually getting stuff done. The key is to stay weird and memorable with every initiative, documenting success through memes and street art rather than annual reports. When someone asks “Why would a DAO of pixel art characters do that?”, we know we're on the right track.
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Conclusion: Nouns DAO, the Symbol Crypto Deserves
“I’m whatever Gotham needs me to be.” – Batman, The Dark Knight (2008)
Nouns DAO has always been the face of crypto. It was born with the same hopes, grew with the same delusions as us, and is now arriving at a decisive turning point in its evolution: realization. That the world isn’t black or white. That everything remains to be done, and nothing is guaranteed.
It, or we can embrace this whole experience: not mistakes, but lessons in life. To do this, Nouns DAO can create incentives and work on new DAO management methods, while taking care to educate and mentor new arrivals in the crypto community, teaching them from its rich experience. As people get nourished by Nouns’ state of mind and culture, the Nounish identity will thrive.
Nouns DAO becoming a household name would mean more than just mainstream recognition - it would validate that a community-owned brand can compete with traditional corporations, that DAOs can evolve and innovate through crisis, and that Web3 can deliver tangible value beyond speculation. Like Batman's symbol evolved from striking fear to inspiring hope, Nouns could transform from a crypto experiment into the bridge between Web3 and mainstream culture. Through education, governance innovation, and public goods, Nouns shows that crypto isn't just about “stonks go up” – it's about building something greater than ourselves.
Thanks for reading!
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