12 Best DAO Projects To Invest in 2025

MakerDAO is one of the largest and most well-established dApps on the Ethereum blockchain, and it holds a considerable percentage of the total liquidity in the DeFi ecosystem. MakerDAO and its native token, MKR, are some of the most popular in the cryptocurrency space. MakerDAO forms part of a global community, and it is used for lending the stablecoin, DAI. This is done when users deposit supported ETH into the Maker Vault, generating a loan that is represented in DAI and can subsequently accrue interest.

By using “liquidity pools,” Uniswap eliminates the need for a conventional order book. Uniswap’s liquidity pools allow anyone to deposit their idle ERC-20 tokens and earn interest. Although returns differ based on the token, they are typically much higher than those found in conventional savings accounts.

The Internet Computer (ICP) is a revolutionary blockchain project developed by the DFINITY Foundation, with a motive to extend the functionality of the public Internet so that it can host software and services without the need for traditional IT infrastructure. It runs at web speed with lower costs because of its unique Chain Key Technology, which allows the network to add new nodes seamlessly without affecting the overall performance. This technology also enables the IC to achieve impressive transaction speeds, processing thousands of transactions per second (TPS).

The IC’s governance is managed through the Network Nervous System (NNS), a decentralized, algorithmic system that allows token holders to vote on proposals affecting the network. ICP has a strong market cap of over $3.59B and regular 24-hour trading volume of $62M. It has a circulating supply of $466.15M ICP tokens.

Arbitrum is a Layer 2 scaling solution for the Ethereum blockchain, developed by Offchain Labs, aimed at addressing Ethereum’s scalability and high transaction fee issues. It uses Optimistic Rollups, a technology that enables it to handle transactions off-chain while maintaining the security. As of mid-2023, Arbitrum has gained considerable traction in the crypto space, with over 1 billion transactions processed and more than $3.3 billion in circulating supply across various dApps and DeFi platforms operating on its network.

With its strong performance metrics and growing adoption, Arbitrum is one of the key players in the Ethereum ecosystem, offering a scalable and cost-effective solution to the blockchain’s current limitations. It has a market cap of over $2.26 billion and a total supply of 10 billion ARB tokens.

Aave is a defi lending platform for cryptocurrencies and an open-source liquidity protocol. When ETHlend made its mainnet debut in 2017, it became the first DeFi lending protocol. Aave was first created to operate on the Ethereum network using ERC20 tokens, which it also uses to process transactions. Finnish word aave means “ghost.” The initial business was founded by Stani Kulechov in 2017, and he soon developed a strong desire to collaborate with top developers from other DeFi projects.

Aragon is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that makes it simple for third parties to establish their own DAOs. A set of pre-programmed smart contracts is made available to users by the platform. Aragon provides DAO templates as well, based on the DAO’s intended use—as a charity, corporation, etc. The Aragon network is run by holders of ANT tokens.

People can borrow and lend cryptocurrency in the liquidity pools using Compound, an Ethereum-based platform. Users can lend or borrow cryptocurrencies using this kind of decentralized exchange, which operates on the automated market maker principle, without the need for a middleman.

0X changed its name to 0X DAO and adopted the DAO governance model. Peer-to-peer services and transactions are provided by the DAO, which essentially operates as a decentralized network. 0X has its own native currency, ZRX, even though it operates on the Ethereum network. That being said, ZRX’s value has decreased considerably in comparison to other, more well-known cryptocurrency tokens.

A very familiar name for NFT aficionados and now making its name in DAO industry too. It is does has its closeness to Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) but isn’t created by them. Apecoin. The ApeCoin community is basically governs ApeCoin DAO. Its decentralized governance framework backs up the Ecosystem Fund. It follows a proposal process for voting about the fund distribution. The APE Foundation to promote a diverse and self-sustaining ecosystem.

Dash, a well-known DAO and digital currency well-known for its speed and privacy features, was first introduced as XCoin in 2014. A novel form of decentralized budgeting and governance system—wherein master nodes cast votes on proposals—was introduced by Dash.

Dash sets itself apart with its “PrivateSend” feature, which allows users to mix transactions to make them private. Its “InstantSend” function makes transactions practically instantaneous, which is quite unusual in the industry.

A decentralized, autonomous staking protocol called Lido DAO was introduced in 2020. One more unique feature of Lido DAO is that it is a multi-chain liquid staking solution because it supports liquid staking for proof-of-stake blockchains like Terra and Solana in addition to Ethereum.