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Case Study: How BanklessDAO Built a Global Workforce Without Offices, Titles, or Contracts

A deep dive into one of the most ambitious decentralized work experiments on the internet.

Author

Scott Kasten
May 08, 2025

Introduction

In May 2021, when BanklessDAO launched with a token airdrop and a mission to “onboard one billion people to crypto,” it sounded bold—but a little idealistic.

Three years later, it’s grown into one of the largest decentralized workforces in Web3, with contributors from over 100 countries, dozens of active guilds, and an entire internal economy built on its BANK token.

This isn’t just a community. It’s a workplace. A messy, chaotic, fascinating workplace—one that’s reshaping what it means to build and earn in the decentralized age.

From Airdrop to Ecosystem

BanklessDAO was born out of the popular Bankless podcast and newsletter, which focused on educating the world about Ethereum and decentralized finance (DeFi). Instead of keeping control centralized, the founding team handed ownership to the community via a token drop.

No VC. No corporate entity. Just a smart contract, a shared mission, and a Discord server.

In the days and weeks that followed, contributors organically formed guilds (working groups like “Writers Guild” and “Design Guild”) and started proposing projects—some educational, some technical, some revenue-generating.

And here’s the kicker: no one had a formal job title. You joined. You showed up. You contributed. You earned.

How the DAO Works (and Pays)

BanklessDAO runs on community coordination and token incentives. Here’s how it works in practice:

  1. Guilds & Projects: Contributors join guilds based on skills (e.g., analytics, developers, writers), and may also join temporary teams for specific projects (e.g., building a tool or running an event).

  2. Seasonal Planning: The DAO operates in “seasons” (typically 3-month blocks) where guilds and projects submit budgets and proposals for funding.

  3. Compensation: Contributors are paid in BANK tokens—often based on bounties (task-based), coordinape rounds (peer-based recognition), or recurring roles (like guild coordinators).

  4. Governance: Anyone holding BANK tokens can vote on proposals, budgets, and major decisions using Snapshot.

🌍 A Global, Pseudonymous Team

One of the most fascinating aspects of BanklessDAO is that you don’t need to reveal your real identity to work and earn. Many core contributors go by pseudonyms like “Links,” “Eagle,” or “FrankAmerica,” and some have never met IRL.

Yet the DAO keeps moving. Articles get published. Podcasts drop weekly. Tools like the Bankless Academy and Bankless Card are under active development.

The organization isn’t fast. It isn’t clean. But it is real—and resilient.

💡 Successes & Growing Pains

Successes:

  • Launched dozens of internal projects, including newsletters, media hubs, and educational platforms.

  • Attracted and retained a strong contributor base across design, writing, dev, and ops.

  • Became a role model for other DAOs looking to build working structures.

Challenges:

  • Coordination overload: Without formal management, progress depends on motivated volunteers and shared alignment—which can be hard to maintain.

  • Token volatility: BANK’s fluctuating price makes stable compensation difficult.

  • Newcomer onboarding: Many new contributors struggle to find where and how to contribute.

🎯 Key Takeaways for Future Web3 Workers

  1. Don’t wait to be hired. Start contributing.
    Show up in the Discord. Join calls. Find bounties.

  2. Be self-directed.
    No one will manage you in a DAO—you have to manage yourself.

  3. Value alignment matters.
    You’re not just working for money. You’re part of a mission-driven economy.

  4. Reputation is currency.
    Your consistency, communication, and contributions are how you build influence in the system.

🎯 Final Thought

BanklessDAO is still experimenting. It hasn’t figured everything out. But it’s proven that it’s possible to build a functioning organization—one that creates content, develops tools, and pays hundreds of people—without the corporate scaffolding we once assumed was essential.

That might just be the most radical part of the future of work.

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