Meme Coins Are What DAOs Were Supposed to Be
In the summer of 2022, I wrote my master’s thesis on how DAOs could foster a greater sense of belonging in sports communities. Over two years later, I find myself reflecting on how far we’ve come, how far we still have to go, and how in many ways meme coins have unexpectedly delivered on what DAOs once promised.
To set the scene, let’s talk about the Coinbase DAO pitch—the one that never stood a chance.
Imagine this: a star engineer at Coinbase proposes turning the Fortune 500 company into a DAO. Standing before the executive team, Jesse Pollak asked for $1 billion and a team of 60 employees to make it happen. The response? “We love your energy—but this is not it.”
The rejection of Pollak’s pitch wasn’t just about the money—it reflected a broader issue: DAOs, despite their potential, lacked a clear product-market fit. The vision for decentralized communities that DAOs overcomplicated? Meme coins made it happen—by accident.
Meme Coins Steal the Spotlight
Fast forward to today—meme coins, not DAOs, are driving the community-first energy Web3 promised.
Meme coins did what DAOs were supposed to—build communities through ownership and shared incentives. The difference? They ditched the bureaucracy and made it fun.
Where meme coins shine is in their ability to tap into emotion, virality, and sheer fun—things that DAOs, bogged down by their convoluted governance structures have largely failed to deliver.
This isn’t to say DAOs are obsolete. The real issue isn’t the idea of DAOs—it’s the execution. Instead of focusing on endless governance layers, DAOs need to adopt what meme tokens do best:
✅ Make participation effortless
✅ Create shared incentives that feel rewarding
✅ Tie digital ownership to real-world value
Imagine a world where a meme token powers real-world engagement:
1️⃣ Hold a token, get access to an exclusive event.
2️⃣ Earn tokens by completing a community-driven challenge.
3️⃣ Trade digital assets for real-world perks, creating an ecosystem where digital ownership translates into tangible experiences.
This isn’t just theoretical; it’s a model that could transform how we think about fan engagement.
Why VCs Can’t Wrap Their Heads Around This
Venture capital isn’t built for meme coins. And they don’t need to be.
Meme coins, by design, are antithetical to the VC playbook. You can’t hold a fixed percentage of a meme coin at a fixed price and expect predictable profits. The entire value proposition—community-driven, fluid, and often chaotic—undermines the traditional investment models.
But that doesn’t mean there’s no money to be made. VCs just need to rethink their approach.
We’re already seeing this shift. Take JellyJelly, a video-sharing project from Venmo co-founder Iqram Magdon-Ismail. Instead of raising VC money, the team launched a token—letting the community fuel demand, build distribution, and drive engagement. Within hours, it peaked at a $250M market cap—not from institutional backing, but from an organic movement.
JellyJelly is a glimpse of where this is headed—where early adopters, not VCs, drive a project’s success from day one.
And this brings us back to DAOs and their untapped potential. While you can’t “monetize” a DAO in the conventional sense, you can absolutely monetize the communities they enable. Through gamified engagement, digital assets with real-world rewards, and frictionless participation—these are the pathways to unlocking true, sustainable value.
The Future of DAOs in Sports
It starts with simplicity. Sports communities don’t need another governance layer. They need a frictionless way to feel connected, involved, and rewarded.
Ultimately, the success of DAOs in sports will hinge on their ability to deliver real-world value. It’s not about reinventing the wheel; it’s about creating systems where digital ownership and physical experiences reinforce each other.
Meme tokens aren’t just a distraction—they’re a reminder of what’s possible when communities come first.
If DAOs want to matter, they need to stop obsessing over governance and start making people want to participate. The future isn’t about voting—it’s about belonging.
Let’s build for that.