Buterin Calls for Smarter DAO Models Beyond Token Voting

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Vitalik Buterin Calls for Smarter DAO Models Beyond Token Voting

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: January 19, 2026

Key Takeaways

Vitalik Buterin stated that most DAOs act like token-controlled wallets and fail to solve key coordination challenges;
He urges DAOs to focus on real infrastructure issues, such as oracles, disputes, and long-term project management;
Buterin highlights privacy and decision fatigue as major barriers to fair and effective DAO governance.

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Vitalik Buterin Calls for Smarter DAO Models Beyond Token Voting

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Ethereum ETH $3,169.51 co-founder Vitalik Buterin has urged developers to rethink how decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are built.

He said most current designs act as simple token-controlled wallets and do not solve the deeper coordination problems that blockchains were meant to address.

In a post on X, Buterin explained that the common DAO setup, where token holders vote on how to spend shared funds, has become too limited. He said this system often leads to inefficiency and control by a few large holders.

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Instead, Buterin suggested that DAOs should focus on solving real problems in infrastructure and coordination. He pointed to areas such as better oracle systems, fair on-chain dispute resolution, and reliable project management that continues even when founding teams leave.

To explain different approaches to governance, Buterin used his earlier “convex vs concave” framework. For situations where collaboration works better than conflict, he said DAOs should gather input from many voices to reach stable outcomes.

Buterin also discussed two main barriers to better governance: lack of privacy and decision fatigue.

He said that without privacy, voting can become a social contest rather than an honest decision-making process. And when users are asked to vote too often, their engagement naturally drops.

Recently, Buterin urged the crypto industry to build decentralized stablecoins not tied to a single fiat like the US dollar. How? Read the full story.