DeSci Dictionary — the psychedelic science & web3 glossary

Plain-English definitions of the terms behind decentralized science.

Decentralized Science (DeSci)

Decentralized science uses cutting-edge technology to fund, conduct, and share research in a transparent and accesible way.

DeSci (decentralized science): Using shared treasuries, tokens, and transparent on-chain votes to fund and govern research publicly.
DAO (decentralized autonomous org): An organization that runs on shared code and is governed by its members through open, recorded votes.
Open science: Research whose data, methods, and results are public by default — so anyone can check the work or build on it.
Tokenization: Turning something — a vote, a slice of IP, a treasury holding — into a digital token that can be owned, tracked, and transferred transparently.
Smart contract: Code on a blockchain that runs a rule automatically — "release the funds only if the vote passes" — with no middleman to enforce it.
Governance token: A token that gives holders a say in a DAO's decisions.

PsyDAO funds psychedelic science, culture, and harm reduction — and decides together what to back. Here's how money actually moves.

PsyDAO: A community-owned collective funding psychedelic science, culture, and harm reduction — steered by the people who hold its tokens.
PSY (governance token): PsyDAO's governance token. 1 PSY = 1 vote over how the treasury is spent.
PSYC (membership): A non-transferable membership seat. PSYC holders steward the DAO and carry a duty of care. In short: PSY decides, PSYC stewards.
Treasury: PsyDAO's shared, on-chain funds — shown live on the homepage — spent only by community vote.
Multisig (multi-signature wallet): A shared wallet that needs several trusted signers to approve any payment, so no one person can move the money alone.
Public Benefit / For-Profit: The two funding buckets. Public Benefit backs open science and community good; For-Profit backs equity or IP with a path to revenue. The main treasury feeds them by vote.
Proposal: A written plan asking the DAO to fund or do something — refined with the community, then put to a vote.
Quorum: The minimum participation a vote needs before it counts — at PsyDAO, 1% of PSY supply.