DAC (Decentralized Autonomous Cooperative)
16/04/2026
A DAC (Decentralized Autonomous Cooperative) is a blockchain-based organization that combines the decentralized governance of a DAO with a cooperative ownership model. Members are both participants and economic stakeholders — they share in the profits generated by the organization, not just its governance.
DAC vs DAO
| DAO | DAC | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | Governance, decision-making | Economic participation + governance |
| Member relationship | Voter / token holder | Co-owner / profit sharer |
| Analogy | Democracy | Worker cooperative |
Concept origin
The term DAC was popularized by Daniel Larimer (creator of BitShares, Steemit, EOS) in the early 2010s as a framework for thinking about blockchain-based companies where shareholders are also the workforce and profit recipients.
Relevance to mining
Mining pools structured as DACs or cooperatives would distribute not just block rewards but also pool revenue among contributing miners proportionally — going beyond typical PPS/PPLNS payouts to include governance rights over pool parameters.
