The Internet has grown rapidly over the years and with it, the demand for IP addresses. An IP address is a unique numerical label assigned to each device connected to the Internet. The original system for assigning these addresses is called IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) and it has a limited number of addresses available.
As more and more devices connect to the Internet, we run out of IPv4 addresses. The last block was distributed in 2019. This is known as IPv4 exhaustion. One solution to this problem is to transition to a new system called IPv6 which has many more addresses available. However, this transition takes time and resources and is unlikely to happen in the next 10-20 years.
Currently, most IPv4 addresses are distributed amongst corporations or government organizations. They are also distributed unevenly between different regions. This leads to centralization and inefficient use of this resource. However, IPv4DAO is working towards decentralizing IP subnet ownership and governance.
IPv4DAO is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that aims to create a decentralized pool of IPv4 addresses. Governance tokens are a key component of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) like IPv4DAO. These tokens give their owners voting power in the decision-making process of the organization. In the case of IPv4DAO, their governance tokens are called Root Tokens.
Owners of Root Tokens can participate in DAO governance and help decide how to use their pool of IPv4 addresses. This decentralized approach to decision-making allows for a fairer distribution of resources and empowers the community to have a say in how the organization operates.
By prioritizing projects with a bigger impact on Internet development and sharing resources from our pool with those who cannot afford to own IP subnets, IPv4DAO strives to make the Internet more decentralized and empower the community.
Our mission is not only to help fight IP scarcity but also to support network researchers in their research and make the Internet fairer for everyone.
Joining IPv4DAO waitlist at https://ipv4dao.io/whitelist/ gives you an opportunity to buy Root Tokens and participate in DAO governance.
In conclusion, DAOs like IPv4DAO offer an innovative solution to help solve the problem of IPv4 exhaustion by making better use of remaining resources while we transition towards newer systems like IPv6. By decentralizing IP management, they we to bring fairness and efficiency back into the system.
