In a time of tectonic shifts within global finance, few concepts embody both the promise and peril of innovation as thoroughly as decentralized finance (DeFi) and its organizational counterpart, the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). At the intersection of digital assets and traditional banking, Dan Liebau—founder of Lightbulb Capital and affiliate faculty member at Singapore Management University—is one of the field’s most pragmatic yet forward-thinking voices in the DeFi and DAO research space.
In a recent conversation on the BFRR Podcast—a show that explores the overlapping worlds of Bitcoin, fiat currency, and rock-and-roll themes of financial disruption—Liebau offered a compelling account of his journey from trading system engineer to blockchain educator, and why DAOs may one day become clients of, or competitors to, conventional financial institutions.
A Fintech Career That Preceded the Term
Liebau’s career began in Frankfurt in the late 1990s, before the term “FinTech” was even coined. Opting out of a position at Compaq to join RTS, a then-niche real-time trading systems firm, Liebau became immersed in the infrastructure of financial markets. That technical foundation laid the groundwork for his eventual role on the board of HSBC Securities in Singapore and ultimately, the creation of Lightbulb Capital—an innovation-focused firm centered on blockchain technologies.
Yet it wasn’t until 2016 that blockchain truly captured his intellectual and professional focus. Encouraged by a colleague at SMU to investigate the then-nascent world of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), Liebau began experimenting directly: “The first thing I do when I look at some new phenomenon is I set up the wallet and I try it,” he noted, underscoring his practitioner-first research philosophy.
Differentiating the Token Landscape
Among his earliest and most cited academic works is a paper delineating the critical differences between utility tokens—vouchers for platform access—and security tokens, which represent actual investment products. Co-authored with academics from Erasmus University, the paper became a reference point largely for a single table: a side-by-side comparison of the two token types that addressed one of crypto’s foundational regulatory questions—what constitutes a security?
Security tokens, Liebau explained, are often misunderstood or overlooked, yet their potential remains significant. “The idea of native digital securities—NDS—where securities are created and maintained directly on blockchain infrastructure, could radically reduce friction in capital markets,” he said. Yet, most jurisdictions still view blockchains as mere representations of asset ownership, rather than definitive registries.
From DeFi Speculation to Financial Literacy
Liebau’s more recent work includes a forward-looking survey on DeFi literacy, forecasting the skills financial professionals will require by 2034. The findings were revealing: despite low current adoption in traditional finance, a majority of 109 surveyed experts—including regulators, DeFi practitioners, and academics—believe DeFi will be an integral part of finance within a decade.
Crucially, technical acumen alone will not suffice. “It takes much more for an organization to become DeFi literate,” Liebau explained, citing strategic thinking, ethical considerations, and cybersecurity as equally vital. As jurisdictions begin to explore regulated access to DeFi protocols, these non-technical competencies may prove decisive.
DAOs: A New Organizational Frontier
Liebau and co-author Sandeep Oh have channeled these insights into a new book that seeks to demystify DAOs for the financial sector. Titled DAOs and Finance, the work attempts to bridge the philosophical and practical divide between legacy finance and blockchain-based collectives.
DAOs, by design, invert traditional organizational hierarchies. Yet Liebau is under no illusions about their complexity. “Some founders genuinely want to build public digital goods. Others just want to raise money. The reality lies somewhere in between,” he noted. The DAO space is an evolving landscape of motivations—idealism meets opportunism, often within the same project.
His research also touches on governance, highlighting the problem of centralization within so-called decentralized systems. In studies of Uniswap and MakerDAO, voting power was often concentrated in the hands of a few large token holders, undermining the very premise of decentralized governance. A paradox emerges: DAOs must mature to function like companies, while preserving the grassroots structures that define them.
The Road to Institutional Integration
For DAOs to become viable financial actors, several hurdles remain. Chief among them is the absence of legal personality in most jurisdictions. Without clear frameworks, financial institutions are often reluctant to engage. Liebau suggests a hybrid approach may offer a path forward: centralized legal wrappers combined with decentralized governance modules.
Experiments in this direction are already underway. Some corporations are exploring internal DAOs for employee engagement and decision-making, while others explore integration with public DeFi protocols under controlled conditions. “Both sides are moving toward each other,” Liebau said, pointing to emerging standards in digital securities and the growing use of zero-knowledge cryptography to solve identity and compliance challenges.
A Pragmatic Vision for the Future
Liebau’s philosophy stands in contrast to the evangelism that often surrounds blockchain discourse. He is neither utopian nor dismissive. “Not everything has to be a DAO, but some things can be,” he offered, suggesting that digital public goods like decentralized exchanges are uniquely suited to the model, while custody and compliance-heavy services may still warrant central control.
Ultimately, what makes Liebau’s voice distinctive is his emphasis on utility over ideology, pragmatism over purity. He straddles the worlds of academia and application with uncommon ease, urging stakeholders to experiment—but also to understand.
In a financial world that increasingly resembles a decentralized puzzle, that balanced approach may be the clearest roadmap yet.
Lambert, T., Liebau, D. & Roosenboom, P. Security token offerings. Small Bus Econ 59, 299–325 (2022)
Liebau, Daniel and Liebau, Daniel, Decentralized Finance: Impact on Financial Services and required DeFi Literacy in 2034 (October 14, 2024)
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations: Daniel Liebau (Singapore Management University, Singapore) and Sandy Oh (Singapore Management University, Singapore) Singapore University of Social Sciences – World Scientific Future Economy Series. January 2025
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