Author: YBB Capital Researcher Ac-Core
TL;DR
The birth of the DeSci hotspot mainly stems from Binance Labs’ investment in BIO Protocol. CZ’s new direction speech involved biotech adoption. CZ and Vitalik discussed DeSci together. A16z led the investment in the DeSci project AmionChain.
If DeSci is viewed as a meme, its fundamentals are more in need of strong narratives and character support than memes in different directions such as zoos, AI, and art, and it also has greater potential to break out of the circle;
From a practical perspective, the economic volume currently available in the DeSci market is not enough to support the expenditure of scientific research funds. DeSci is still in the early stages of its "market value dream", and hot speculation is a necessity.
1. Background
1.1 What is DeSci
The more official explanation is that DeSci (Decentralized Science) is decentralized science, which aims to build a public infrastructure for scientific research through the fair and equal use of Web3 technology, focusing on solving problems such as review, scientific research funding, intellectual property management, and data transparency and review. Mechanisms and other issues.
In plain language, DeSci is to endow the pure speculation of the cryptocurrency circle with the zero speculation of scientific research. However, DeSci is not a new concept that has only appeared this year. VitaDAO, which focuses on funding and promoting early longevity scientific research, was established as early as 2021. It has been established and even received investment from the world-renowned pharmaceutical company Pfizer. However, DeSci has been developing slowly and has not received much attention from the market until recently when Binance Labs announced its investment in BIO Protocol and CZ and Vitalik jointly participated in the DeSci conference. This has brought the track back into the public eye.
1.2 The emergence of hot spots
Binance Labs exclusively invests in BIO Protocol:
BIO Protocol can be seen as a crowdfunding platform for raising funds for scientific projects. Funds are obtained through token sales and used to support and promote the development of biotechnology projects. Intellectual property rights are represented by IPT (Intellectual Property Rights) of Molecule Protocol. Tokens) and are shared by participants.
The proceeds from BioDAO’s intellectual property and product sales will flow back into BioDAO’s coffers to fund the next generation of research and development projects. Binance Labs said: “BIO can be seen as the Y Combinator of on-chain science.” The total value of the 100 startups with the highest market capitalization has exceeded 100 billion US dollars, including well-known companies such as Airbnb, Coinbase, Stripe, and Reddit.
CZ's new direction speech includes biotechnology and a discussion with Vitalik on DeSci:
In his first speech after being released from prison at Binance Blockchain Week 2024 in Dubai, CZ described his relationship with artificial intelligence and biotechnology in this way: “Right now I’m mainly doing two things: one is Google Academy, and the other is One is investment. The investment is mainly concentrated in the three fields of blockchain, artificial intelligence and biotechnology. " CZ then attended the DeSci Day event held by Binance in Bangkok and discussed DeSci with Vitalik. This move triggered market speculation. Hotly discussed, the prices of various DeSci project tokens have risen sharply.
a16z leads the investment in DeSci project AmionChain:
Recently, AminoChain announced that it has received a $5 million seed round of financing led by a16z. Together with the previous investment from private funds such as Cercano, the total amount of financing has reached $7.8 million. Its vision is to build a decentralized blockchain on L2. Centralized “biobanks” allow researchers to easily find and access samples, while patients retain control and receive compensation for the use of their data.
Image source: X (@BinanceLabs)
2. Real needs and real use cases of DeSci
2.1 DeSci: Funding requirements for scientific research
According to the 2024 report of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), the United States' research and development expenditure in 2023 is estimated to be US$710 billion, and its R&D expenditure in 2022 is close to US$700 billion. , among which corporate R&D dominates, with about 78% of R&D investment coming from the private sector, especially in areas such as information technology and pharmaceuticals.
In 2021, in addition to China and the United States, the other countries that performed best in terms of scientific research spending were Japan ($177 billion), Germany ($154 billion) and South Korea ($120 billion). In 2021, the United States' R&D spending was equivalent to GDP. The R&D intensity of higher education is 3.5% of the value, Israel and South Korea are over 4%, Taiwan, Japan and Germany are between 3% and 4%, and the UK and China are over 2%. In 2022, the R&D investment of higher education in the United States ranked second. Funding for life science research was the highest among science and engineering fields, at $42 billion (44% of the total), with the majority coming from the Department of Health and Human Services (see extended link 1 for data).
Image source: See extended link 1
China’s R&D expenditure is expected to exceed RMB 3.3 trillion (US$458.5 billion) in 2023, up 8.1% year-on-year
Among them, the investment in basic research was 221.2 billion yuan, an increase of 9.3%. Compared with the past, China has maintained a relatively high growth rate in recent years, especially in high-tech and basic scientific research, showing the driving force of the strategy of building a strong country in science and technology. (See extended link 2 for data).
Comparison of research expenditure growth: China's research expenditure has grown rapidly, especially in the field of basic research, which shows the country's determination to innovate in science and technology and its emphasis on high-end science and technology. Although the absolute amount of the United States is higher, its growth rate is relatively stable. , focusing on investing in areas that have long-term technological cutting-edge advantages.
From the actual application of DeSci, it is currently more at the stage of Meme narrative, and it is difficult to directly promote the development of science and technology. Whether it is donations driven by narrative empathy or market flows brought about by speculative transactions, the current economic scale is still far from enough. To support the huge expenditure required for scientific research. Therefore, DeSci is still in the early stages of its "market value dream". If DeSci wants to be truly implemented in the future, it must not only meet regulatory requirements, but also obtain the continued support of powerful and influential people.
2.2 DeSci’s real-life academic finance case: South Korea’s LK-99 room-temperature superconductivity incident
Image source: Taj Quantum - Taj Quantum official website
2023 is known as the "Year of Room-Temperature Superconductivity" mainly due to several studies claiming to have discovered room-temperature superconductors, which has attracted widespread attention from the global scientific community. However, as subsequent investigations have deepened, these discoveries have proven to be seriously flawed. The problem even caused an academic scandal.
It all started when physicist Ranga Dias of the University of Rochester in New York published a paper in the journal Nature announcing the discovery of a material that could achieve superconductivity at room temperature. This is a major breakthrough, as the emergence of room-temperature superconductors could revolutionize the development of technologies in energy transmission, medical equipment, and electronic components. Usually, superconductors need to work at extremely low temperatures (below -196 degrees Celsius), while those that can operate at room temperature are very difficult to operate. Superconductors have always been a goal pursued by the scientific community. However, Dias's research has been questioned since its release, especially since his academic reputation was controversial in 2020 due to similar research.
Back in 2020, Dias became famous for a paper on room-temperature superconductors, but the paper was retracted by Nature two years later. Despite this, Dias published similar research again in 2023. , which has once again attracted attention. However, many of his peers accused him of manipulating data and even plagiarizing his doctoral dissertation. Several well-known media, including the Wall Street Journal and Science magazine, have launched investigations on him, revealing the The University of Rochester also launched multiple internal investigations into Dias, and eventually external experts confirmed that his papers had "data reliability issues," which led to the revocation of his authority to manage laboratories and students. 》 magazine officially withdrew his latest research paper on room-temperature superconductors.
The inside story behind this scandal gradually surfaced. According to the investigation of the Nature magazine news team, members of Dias' research team did not observe the key superconducting phenomenon "Meissner effect" in the experiment, but in the short term The graduate students received the manuscript from Dias within a certain period of time and were asked to cooperate in submitting it. These graduate students were puzzled by some experimental data in the paper, but under the authority and pressure of their supervisor, they did not question these issues publicly in the end. Subsequently, more reviewers and experts expressed doubts about Dias' experimental data and found that his data may have been tampered with.
While Dias’ first paper was being questioned, he claimed to have discovered room-temperature superconductivity in another material (a compound of lutetium and hydrogen, LuH). But the measurement data for this study was also full of problems, and many students were dissatisfied. They pointed out that there were systematic errors in the experimental results, and they even thought they were "deceiving themselves." Faced with increasing doubts, Dias still chose to push forward with the publication of the paper, but 8 of the 11 co-authors finally decided to withdraw the paper. draft.
This series of academic scandals not only dealt a serious blow to Dias's reputation, but also affected the entire scientific research field. The career prospects of many young scientists have become uncertain due to their participation in these studies, and the trust of the academic community has also been damaged. Paul Canfield, a physicist at Iowa State University, said, "This scandal has damaged the careers of young scientists, especially those in the field of superconductivity."
At the same time, another protagonist in the field of room-temperature superconductivity, the South Korean LK-99 team, was also involved in a similar controversy. Although they claimed to have discovered a new "room-temperature superconductor" - PCPOSOS in 2024, many scientists The authenticity of their research was questioned. The data presented by the team at the academic conference was similar to the previous LK-99 study and lacked sufficient verification support.
Image source: Bloomberg
After the news of the breakthrough in superconductor technology was released, some Korean stocks related to superconductivity in the stock market attracted a large number of investors. Korean superconductor concept small-cap stocks such as Duksung Co. and Sunam Co. rose by 30% for the third consecutive trading day. Sunam Co. has surged about 260% in the past six trading days, while Duksung has risen 170%. Mobiis Co. surged 30% on Thursday, while Shinsung Delta Tech Co. briefly surged 21% to a record high.
Later in the incident, the Korean Society of Superconductors Verification Committee stated that LK-99 did not show the Meissner effect and could not be proved to be a superconductor. This news caused fluctuations in Chinese superconducting concept stocks, and the share prices of Fasten and Zhongfu Industrial fell sharply. The latter only provided site and equipment support and did not get involved in superconducting technology. Meanwhile, AMSC's stock price fell 29%, and Sumitomo Electric Industries also declined due to poor performance.
3. Overview of DeSci Ecosystem
3.1 BIO Protocol
BIO Protocol, which has received investment from Binance Labs, has been named the "on-chain scientific version of Y Combinator", which is used to incubate early-stage companies and provide funds and resources to accelerate project development. According to the content of "TechFlow", the main components include BioDAO , curatorial system, liquidity and IP, and incentive mechanism.
Image source: TechFlow - Interpretation of BIO Protocol - BioDAO
$VITA (VitaDAO): Founded in 2021, VitaDAO is focused on funding and promoting early longevity science research with the goal of extending human healthy life span and is managed by $VITA holders;
$RSC (ResearchCoin): Used to reward users’ contributions on the ResearchHub platform, it aims to accelerate scientific research by incentivizing contributions within the community. Anyone can earn $RSC by sharing, curating and discussing academic science within ResearchHub. ;
$ATH(AthenaDAO): AthenaDAO is a decentralized community of researchers, funders, and advocates dedicated to advancing women’s health research, education, and funding;
$GROW (ValleyDAO): A decentralized organization focusing on anti-aging drugs and life longevity projects.
3.2 Pump Science
Solana Ecosystem DeSci Platform Molecule DAO is a Meme launch platform launched at the Solana Breakpoint 2024 conference. Pump.science will issue Meme tokens representing drugs on Pump.fun. Its related concept tokens are:
$RIF : Rifampicin (rifampicin), according to the official website: "Rifampicin is an antibiotic that has attracted attention for its surprising effects on aging. In Caenorhabditis elegans (a model often used in aging research), In microorganisms such as bacteria (such as bacteria), rifampicin has been shown to activate the cell's natural defense mechanisms to resist stress and damage. Imagine it as a kind of 'cell coach', by protecting cells from harmful oxidative stress and maintaining cell "This increases the quality of proteins within the worms, encouraging cells to remain healthy and resilient. These protective effects help the worms live longer and healthier lives."
$URO : Urolithin A, according to the official website: "This is a compound that your body produces when you eat foods rich in ellagitannins, such as pomegranates. What's special about Urolithin A is that it does 'spring cleaning' for your cells. It helps clear out old, dysfunctional mitochondria (the energy factories of your cells) so that fresh, healthy mitochondria can thrive. This process is called mitophagy, and studies have shown that it can extend the lifespan of C. elegans by making cells more efficient and vigorous.”
3.3 Donation Concept
$Scihub: An unofficial token donated by @0xAA_Science, which aims to support open source scientific research paper websites. The token direction is derived from the Sci-Hub shadow library and is only a community Meme token. Sci-Hub is a non-profit, A non-governmental academic website that provides free downloads of academic papers. In addition to resources such as Google Scholar, Sci-Hub, LibGen and PubMed, it also integrates a series of other Chinese and English academic resources that are publicly available on the Internet, allowing one-stop search and Free download of domestic and foreign literature, patents, books and other academic materials.
3.4 DeSci Quantum Meme
$ANTI- Antitoken and $PRO - Protoken: These two are a pair of tokens that express support and opposition to Meme Token respectively. They were created by algorithm engineer and mathematical physics expert @sshmatrix_. 1 $ANTI = 1 $PRO. Rise and fall.
4. How long can the elixir on the chain last?
DeSci is not a concept that has only appeared this year. Its sudden popularity is mainly due to the three factors that Binance Labs invested in BIO Protocol, CZ and Vitalik discussed DeSci together, and a16z led the investment in the DeSci project AmionChain. The market also needs to "pull the market and Looking at the current market, DeSci is still driven by Meme as a whole, but its fundamental attributes are different from other Meme logics.
Different from other memes: Compared with memes of different directions such as AI, zoos, and art, DeSci needs a strong and influential person to "promote the product". It may be difficult to support it with only traffic within the circle, and it needs more influence from the circle. Other real-life figures with “scientific research” attributes;
The valuation of leading projects needs to continue to rise: At present, the DeSci track has not yet produced a leading project with a market value of 1 billion. Compared with other tracks, Meme still has great market potential, and mainstream centralized exchanges have not yet listed. There has been no large-scale financing at the primary level through related tokens;
DeSci may have more potential to break through the circle: the current PVP market is highly competitive, but if an outsider with a "scientist" background uses DeSci's narrative to donate or raise funds, there will be more room for development. Similar to crowdfunding to buy a rare original copy of the U.S. Constitution $PEOPLE, and the NFT of "Everyday: The First 5000 Days" sold at a high price of $69.34 million at Christie's, Musk took $DOGE to the moon. DeSci and these cases all show similar core logic, and the marketing effect is impressive. For example, Jia Yueting held up a PPT plan to build a car in the cryptocurrency circle.
Extension Links:
(1) https://www.nsf.gov/nsb/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=309719&org=NSB
(2) https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202403/05/content_WS65e6ff4dc6d0868f4e8e4b66.html
