Stay connected with BizTech Community—follow us on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news and reviews delivered straight to you.
Nepal’s Gen Z protesters turned Discord into an impromptu “Parliament of Nepal” in September 2025, when the government banned social media. This finally led to the appointment of an interim prime minister. This never-before-seen event, which caused violent riots, the resignation of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, and the appointment of former Chief Justice Sushila Karki, shows how powerful decentralized, online cooperation can be.
The Discord assembly’s open debates, polls, and consensus-building are similar to the main ideas behind Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), which are groups that govern themselves without a central authority. DAOs manage more than $22.5 billion in treasuries for more than 2,500 active companies. Nepal’s crisis poses important questions: Can DAOs adapt to handle real-world political stakes with the same ease and speed? This article looks at the events, compares them to how DAOs work, and talks about what experts think might happen next.
The Day of Kathmandu Lost Patience
Nepal was thrown into chaos on September 4, 2025, when the government banned major social media sites like Facebook, YouTube, Reddit, X (previously Twitter), Instagram, WhatsApp, and others because they didn’t follow new registration standards set by the Social Media Bill 2025. Officials wanted to stop “harmful” information and make sure that tech companies had offices in Nepal, but for the 14.3 million Facebook users and millions more on other platforms—where 80% of internet traffic flows—the decision cut off important sources of news, business, and activism.
Gen Z was furious over the ban because they saw it as an attack on free expression in the face of other problems including corruption, wealth inequality, and a stagnant economy. Youth unemployment is around 20%, and “Nepo Kids”—the kids of politicians who show off their wealth on banned apps—are a sign of how the rich get away with things. On September 8, protests broke out, with thousands of people gathering in Kathmandu’s Maitighar Mandala and New Baneshwor to call for transparency for the ban to be lifted. Tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets, and live bullets were used by security forces, killing at least 19 people by the end of the day. Some accounts say that as many as 51 people died across the country.
On September 9, things got worse: demonstrators set fire to Singha Durbar (the government headquarters), broke windows at the Supreme Court, and fought outside the prime minister’s house. The violence spread to other cities even though there were curfews. The upheaval showed how bad things were in the system, and the ban sparked demands for more than just digital rights. Oli stepped down that night, parliament was dissolved, and Nepal was left without a government. This led the military to send in soldiers. The ban was overturned soon after, but not before it changed how Nepalis organized.
Discord as the New Parliament
With established platforms down, protesters turned to Discord, a gaming chat program that wasn’t banned. They set up servers that grew to over 145,000 users, gaining the name “Parliament of Nepal.” Hami Nepal, a civic group, monitored channels for logistics, first aid, fact-checking, and leadership discussions. These channels were full of live debates, polls, and live streaming.
The server turned into an assembly: Thousands of people voted for interim leaders, and five of them stood out: Dharan Mayor Harka Sampang, innovator Mahabir Pun, politician Sagar Dhakal, lawyer Rastra Bimochan Timalsina, and former Chief Justice Sushila Karki. Karki, who jailed a corrupt minister in 2012 and fought impeachment in 2017, did well in the September 11 votes, thanks in part to support from people like Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah. There were pro-monarchy trolls who tried to get in touch with candidates live, but the open format made people trust the process more than traditional politics.
By September 12, after the army and president had talked about it, Discord’s consensus had a big impact: Karki was named temporary prime minister and given the job of holding elections by March 2026. This shift from digital to real life, with more than 100,000 people molding the results, was similar to DAO’s goals for coordination without borders or leaders, but it was off-chain and not binding.
DAOs and Discord: How They Work and What They Can Do
DAOs, which started in the crypto world, promise automated, open governance through blockchain smart contracts and governance tokens. DeepDAO keeps track of more over 50,000 launched companies as of September 15, 2025. Of these, 2,500 are still operating, managing $22.5 billion in treasuries and engaging 11 million token holders. But Nepal’s Discord experiment shows the difference between what is ideal and what is actual.
The best thing about Discord was how easy it was to use: Anyone could join right away, which led to disputes with 145,000 members and low barriers but high sybil hazards (for example, having more than one account). DAOs bring structure, like wallets and tokens for voting, on-chain proposals with quorums (1–4% supply), and smart contract execution, but they also often give too much power to a few people. A Chainalysis research from 2022 indicated that less than 1% of holders control 90% of votes in major DAOs. This tendency will continue until 2025.
For example, ENS DAO: A study from 2024 (Q2 2023 to Q1 2024) found a Gini coefficient of 0.89, which means that there is a lot of inequality. The top 1% of holders have 62.4% of the voting power, while 97% of small holders only have 2.1%. Proposal thresholds (0.1–1% supply) make it even harder to get in, which is unlike from Discord, where anyone may join.
DAOs also have little participation. A research in 2024 of Ethereum-based systems including Compound, Uniswap, and ENS found that less than 10% of tokens (15% of the total supply) were used in votes. This is much lower than Nepal’s real-time engagement. Another problem is legitimacy: Discord had an effect but didn’t enforce; DAOs aren’t recognized by law outside of Wyoming or the Marshall Islands, therefore votes are only suggestions.
Expert Opinions on Precedent Crypto.news asked DAO experts for advice on what Nepal may learn from its mistakes. Paulo Fonseca, an Arbitrum DAO Delegate, underlined the importance of enforcement: “Those who control the means decide legitimacy…” Karki came to light on Discord, but the president and army made it happen. Joël Valenzuela, the Dash Director, sees DAOs as self-executing: “If votes automatically release funds or control channels, there is no need for legal enforcement.” Andreas Melhede, co-founder of Elata Bio DAO, says that DAOs rule communities, not societies, and that they could become “talking shops” if they aren’t legally recognized.
Fonseca supports identification tools against sybils when it comes to accessibility: “Discord is easy but not safe; DAOs can make elections fair for everyone.” “Open early, token-gated later” is what Melhede says about phased voting. Valenzuela says, “Wallet signing is easy for people who know how to use crypto.”
Melhede characterizes DAOs by decentralization for maturity: “Strong foundations enable powerful voting.” Fonseca talks about tooling: “On-chain infrastructure has been tested in battle for billions.” Valenzuela quotes Dash: “DAOs manage hundreds of billions—ready for the big leagues.”
