Wyoming Just Flipped the Script on DAO Regulation—Here's Why It Matters

Wyoming didn’t just pass another crypto-friendly bill. On March 7, Governor signed the Decentralized Nonprofit Association Act (DUNA), and it’s fundamentally different from how most states treat DAOs.

What Changed?

Previously, Wyoming treated DAOs as Limited Liability Companies (LLCs)—basically forcing them into a traditional business structure that doesn’t fit. The new law? It actually acknowledges how DAOs actually work: blockchain governance, transferable voting tokens, anonymous members, the whole deal.

Instead of cramming DAOs into the LLC box, DUNA lets nonprofits use distributed ledger technology (DLT), smart contracts, and digital assets to build governance systems from the ground up. Community votes happen on-chain through cryptographic tokens. No forced intermediaries, no legacy framework headaches.

Why the Industry Is Hyped

a16z dropped a statement saying they’ll push all their portfolio companies with decentralized structures to incorporate in Wyoming—and some are now required to. Their take? “This could become the industry standard for blockchain networks built in the U.S.”

Coinbase’s chief legal officer Paul Grewal chimed in: Wyoming proved that individual states can foster both decentralization AND regulation without killing each other.

The Bigger Picture

Attorney Preston Byrne nailed it—this abandons the broken LLC model that Vermont and Tennessee still use. Why does that matter? DAOs are fundamentally different from traditional businesses. Anonymous members, decentralized decision-making, no central point of failure. Treating them like an LLC creates compliance nightmares and regulatory friction.

Wyoming just proved you don’t need to compromise—you can legislate DAOs as DAOs.

Effective date: July 1, 2024