DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) is an organization that is governed by its members through a transparent and democratic process using blockchain technology.

Here are some of the key characteristics of DAOs:

1. Decentralization: DAOs do not have a central authority or hierarchy. Instead, they are governed by their members, who hold tokens that give them voting rights on important decisions.

2. Transparency: All of a DAO's decisions and transactions are recorded on a blockchain, which is a public and distributed ledger. This makes DAOs very transparent and accountable.

3. Autonomy: DAOs are governed by smart contracts, which are self-executing contracts that live on the blockchain. This makes DAOs autonomous and able to operate without the need for human intervention.