---
title: "What is Decentralized Science (DeSci)"
path: "/contents/tech/desci/what-is-desci"
version: "1.2.0"
author: "Hydrate"
createdAt: "2026-02-24T18:25:47.940Z"
updatedAt: "2026-03-16T18:21:01.150Z"
---

# What is Decentralized Science (DeSci)

<Infobox>
| **Topic** | Decentralized Science (DeSci) |
| **Key Innovation** | Open funding, transparent peer review, IP tokenization |
| **Related** | [IP-NFTs](/contents/tech/desci/ip-nfts), [DeSci DAOs](/contents/tech/desci/desci-daos) |
</Infobox>

## Overview

**Decentralized Science (DeSci)** is a movement to reform how science is funded, published, and governed using blockchain technology, DAOs, and token economics. It addresses systemic problems in traditional science: closed-access publishing, opaque peer review, misaligned funding incentives, and intellectual property monopolization.

### Core Principles

  - **Open Access** — Research published on-chain or through decentralized storage, freely accessible

  - **Community Governance** — [DeSci DAOs](/contents/tech/desci/desci-daos) let token holders vote on which research gets funded

  - **IP Tokenization** — [IP-NFTs](/contents/tech/desci/ip-nfts) represent intellectual property rights, enabling fractional ownership and trading

  - **Transparent Review** — On-chain peer review with reviewer reputation tracking

  - **Novel Funding** — [Quadratic funding, retroactive funding, and token-curated grants](/contents/tech/desci/desci-funding)

### Relevance to Radix

Radix's [asset-oriented programming](/contents/tech/core-concepts/asset-oriented-programming) is particularly suited for DeSci: IP-[NFTs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-fungible_token) are native resources (not contract state), DAOs benefit from [engine-level access rules](/contents/tech/core-concepts/access-rules-and-auth-zones), and complex funding mechanisms can be composed atomically via [transaction manifests](/contents/tech/core-protocols/transaction-manifests).