On 10 & 11 June, the Molecule HQ transformed into a dynamic forum for the future of science, where real-world applications and visionary ideas in decentralized science took center stage.

This year’s gathering was marked by a clear sense of purpose and visible traction. Progress in decentralized clinical trials, tokenized IP frameworks, and new infrastructure tools was front and center in keynotes, panels, and discussions; highlighting how DeSci has been moving from theory to real-world impact.

Let’s look back at some of the key moments and takeaways from this year’s event.
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Paul Kohlhaas: Science needs a system upgrade

Molecule & BIO’s CEO Paul Kohlhaas opened the conference with a keynote that challenged the status quo. He called out the structural inefficiencies baked into traditional science, from funding bottlenecks to perverse incentives that disincentivize cures.

Drawing a line from Bitcoin’s challenge to centralized finance, Paul positioned DeSci as the necessary reinvention of the scientific ecosystem. He emphasized that the future of science is permissionless, built on open, decentralized infrastructure that anyone can contribute to.

Key highlights from his talk focused on how to scale DeSci sustainably. Paul stressed the importance of avoiding redundancy by encouraging collaboration across the ecosystem, rather than siloed replication. He advocated for building and sharing core primitives like tokenized IP, a concept pioneered by Molecule through the implementation of IP-NFT and IPTs, and DAO tooling, an area where BIO is actively supporting the growth of the BioDAO ecosystem, to create a stable foundation. He also called for a stronger focus on the demand side of science, ensuring projects deliver clear value to funders and end users. Finally, he highlighted AI’s growing role in accelerating discovery and the importance of metrics-based, data-driven development.

His message was clear: for DeSci to thrive, it must stay collaborative, accountable, and aligned with real impact.

Biotech bottlenecks, unpacked

In the panel "Breaking the Bottlenecks: What’s Stalling Biotech Innovation?" Kai Uwe Bindseiler, Chris Lewis, and Hannah Payette Peterson joined Shriya Bhat to dissect what’s holding biotech back.

They pointed to familiar blockers: slow tech transfer, funding gaps, risk-averse academic culture, and bureaucratic friction. However, the panel struck a hopeful tone. Cultural change, better support for early founders, and advances in AI were highlighted as ways to unlock stalled potential.

DeSci was framed as part of the solution by enabling faster funding, leaner coordination, and community-driven experimentation. Emerging areas like neurotech, preventative health, and longevity were highlighted as ripe for this model.

The message: change is possible, but it takes intentional shifts in both structure and mindset.

Molecule Labs launched at DeSci.Berlin

Kevin Noessler, Chief Product Officer at Molecule, unveiled Molecule Labs for the first time at DeSci.Berlin, marking a major leap forward for transparency in the DeSci ecosystem. The announcement was met with genuine excitement from the room, as attendees recognized the significance of what this unlocks for onchain science.

The platform brings scientific work onchain, turning static updates into dynamic, verifiable logs. With versioning, access control, and decentralized storage, project leads now can publish milestones in real time while communities track progress transparently. Built for BioDAOs and research teams, Molecule Labs streamlines data management, tokenization, and fundraising from a single hub. It also integrates with the DeSci Screener to align research milestones with crypto-native incentives.

Positioned as a “GitHub for DeSci” Molecule Labs lays the groundwork for a more open, accountable, and coordinated research ecosystem. Several projects, CLAW, HEMPY, VITARNA, and PSYMARK have already begun sharing progress updates through the platform.

DeSci from the Investor Seat

The panel "DeSci from the Investor Seat" featured moderator John Spies in conversation with Jakub Rusiecki, Patrick Mayr, and Dr. Georg Stricker, offering investors’ views on how DeSci fits into today’s evolving landscape.

They highlighted DeSci’s ability to bridge crypto-native models with real-world scientific outcomes.

A recurring theme was the need for better infrastructure to support growth and participation. Dr. Stricker noted that, like early open-source software, science needs a modern tech stack to scale. Genomics, consumer health, and AI-driven experimentation were seen as especially promising.

The next wave of success in DeSci, they suggested, will come from projects that combine scientific credibility with crypto-native coordination and deliver clear, measurable outcomes, from therapeutic breakthroughs to new models for funding and ownership.

Pitch, Vote, Build: Nucleate Pitch Competition

As part of the ongoing Molecule x Nucleate partnership, DeSci.Berlin 2025 hosted a high-energy pitch competition featuring four standout teams from Nucleate Germany’s Activator program. These early-stage biotech ventures, led by academic founders turned entrepreneurs, took to the stage to share bold visions; ranging from tumor avatars powered by AI (Oncera), to personalized deficiency monitoring (Keynostic), to low-cost early cancer detection (ExoSphere), and safer antifungal drug delivery (Aulixir Therapeutics).

With the crowd acting as jury, attendees casted live votes, ultimately selecting ExoSphere, pitched by Negar Shahmoradi, as the winner.

Blockchain infra for real-world science

The cross-chain panel brought together voices from Ethereum Foundation, Solana, Gnosis, MetaMask, and BIO. Dr. Friederike Ernst highlighted the misalignment between academic incentives and public good outcomes, arguing that DAOs offer a path to realign them.

Theodor Beutel cautioned against using blockchain for its own sake, urging focus on real problems. Tools like zk-tech, encryption, and modular coordination were seen as more immediately useful than fully onchain systems.

Patricia Albrecht shared how Solana’s Superteam model helps early-stage builders, while the panel emphasized that targeted experimentation, especially in areas like rare diseases, will define what scalable DeSci looks like.

Marco de Rossi laid out five areas where crypto infra adds value: discovery, problem definition, reproducibility, privacy, and incentives. The challenge now is stitching those Legos together with clear UX and clear intent.

Tokenized IP: building faster, sharing smarter

In the panel on tokenized IP, representatives from VitaDAO, ValleyDAO, and PsyDAO shared how BioDAOs are reshaping biotech fundraising and research ownership.

Each DAO outlined its distinct approach: ValleyDAO proactively scouts climate biotech projects, PsyDAO uses a cooperative token structure to decentralize decision-making, and VitaDAO blends inbound applications with a fellowship program to support early-stage ideas.

The discussion emphasized how tokenized IP accelerates funding, enables research pivots, and fosters better cultural alignment.

Examples included precision fermentation, preclinical RNA therapies launched with under $400k, and ethical frameworks in psychedelic research that honor indigenous rights while reducing due diligence costs.

Clinical trials, reimagined

One of the most grounded conversations happened in the decentralized clinical trials panel. Panelists from Molecule, Reputable Health, CerebrumDAO, Welshare, and Future4Care shared how token-based incentives, wearables, and remote diagnostics are reshaping clinical research.

It was discussed how teams are now running pilot trials in months, not years, with budgets under $100k, using tools like biomarker tracking, cognitive assessments, and privacy-aware recruitment to enable faster, more inclusive studies.

Stefan Adolf from Welshare stressed that decentralization alone isn’t a privacy solution, but paired with encryption, decentralized identifiers, and thoughtful UX, it puts control back in patients’ hands. While pharma hesitancy remains, the path forward is clear: transparency, speed, and community involvement are shifting the model.

Workshops at Westberlin Café

While the main stage brought the big ideas, the workshops at Westberlin Café were where builders rolled up their sleeves. These hands-on sessions gave participants practical tools, frameworks, and space to collaborate. Nour Karoui led a session on registering Proof of Innovation, while Paula Vulić shared strategies for marketing DeSci projects. Si Maclennan helped founders refine their messaging to better communicate complex ideas.

On Day 2, Sean Brennan and Aakaash Meduri from BIO explored how AI agents can speed up research workflows, and Edvard Hübinette and Erik Van Winkle walked through decentralized publishing. One of the most packed sessions covered tokenized clinical trial infrastructure, led by Aaron Weaver, Stefan Adolf, and Erik Van Winkle.

These workshops made one thing clear: DeSci doesn’t offer just a vision, but a toolkit ready to use.

That’s a Wrap on DeSci.Berlin 2025

DeSci.Berlin 2025 was a checkpoint in the movement that's been accelerating. The energy was high, and the vibe was extremely positive.

Beyond the insightful talks, dynamic panels and practical workshops, the heart of the event was in the connections; reuniting with old friends, meeting new ones, exchanging ideas, and co-creating what comes next. The spontaneous conversations, spirited debates, and brainstorms were just as impactful as anything on the stage.

To everyone who joined us at the Molecule HQ or tuned in from around the world: thank you. Your energy and contributions push this ecosystem forward.

Missed DeSci Berlin 2025? No worries. All main stage talks are being uploaded to the Molecule YouTube channel.
And if you want to relive the vibe or spot yourself in the crowd: browse the full event photo set.

Stay connected, keep building, and let’s carry this momentum into the next chapter of DeSci.

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We built the infrastructure to tokenize science. Now we’re giving that science a home.

Introducing Molecule Labs - a new interface designed specifically for the researchers and project leads behind tokenized IP. It’s a data hub, a communication layer, and a project management tool, purpose-built for the onchain research era.

With Molecule Labs, project teams finally have a single place to publish updates, manage files, and build a public track record of their work. 

But here’s what makes it powerful: everything pipes directly into the Molecule platform. That means token holders - and anyone else - can track real-time research progress right from the existing IP token pages on molecule.xyz.

One interface for project teams.
One interface for the public.
A connected view of onchain science.

What Is Molecule Labs?

Think of it as the GitHub for decentralized science.

It gives research leads a control panel to:

• Upload files and updates (pitch decks, results, datasets, milestones, lab pics, conference presentations, and more)
• Create structured progress timelines that live on beyond Snapshot proposals or Discord threads
• Link project updates to their Telegram groups & send real-time updates to their IPT community 
• Manage all their data using decentralized storage
• And coming soon: token-gated updates and completely confidential encrypted updates, so they can choose what to share publicly, and what to share with their token community

How It Connects 

While Molecule Labs is built for project leads, it’s fully integrated into the existing Molecule platform. Every update, file, and data point can be surfaced directly on the corresponding token’s page.

This means:

• Token holders can view real-time updates without needing to ask or dig
• The public can explore science projects through actual progress, not just metadata
• Visibility increases - and with it, credibility

We’re taking the crypto ethos of “don’t trust, verify” and applying it to the scientific process.

Why It Matters

For project leads, Molecule Labs provides structure, storage, and communication. It's a place to show your work, engage your community, and build a track record that can support future fundraising.

For token holders, it brings clarity: which projects are building, which are shipping, and what the actual science looks like.

And for Molecule, it brings together everything we’ve built, tokens, funding rails, discovery, and now real-time open data, into one connected ecosystem. We’re really excited.

Project updates are already live on Molecule.xyz

Molecule Labs launched during the 4th edition of DeSci.Berlin and is now live for a whitelisted set of projects, including those from CerebrumDAO, VitaDAO and ValleyDAO. Navigate to the token pages to see what's new. 

As more teams begin publishing updates through Molecule Labs, their token pages on molecule.xyz will begin to reflect their activity automatically.

Explore Molecule Labs in Action

It’s time to view real-time updates for IP tokens! Visit molecule.xyz and explore the project pages.

About Molecule

Molecule is dedicated to advancing scientific research through democratized funding and the tokenization of intellectual property (IP). By transforming IP into liquid, onchain assets, Molecule aligns the incentives of researchers and funders, fostering a more collaborative and efficient research ecosystem.

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The DeSci Ecosystem is Growing, and So Are We

When we started building Molecule, we were driven by a simple yet powerful belief: scientific research deserves a new model, one that places discoveries in the commons, empowers researchers, and meaningfully engages global communities.  

We believed blockchain technology could enable a new model for how scientific research is supported and stewarded, making breakthrough discoveries transparent, accessible, and scalable.That belief hasn’t changed, but the ecosystem has grown dramatically. Over the past two years, intellectual property (IP) tokens have evolved from theory to reality. We’ve seen DAO-led biotech funds take shape, early-stage projects tokenize their research, and entire scientific communities begin to organize around programmable IP. But navigating this emerging landscape has been difficult due to fragmented information and limited visibility. That’s about to change. 

Your New Command Centre for Decentralized Science

We’ve rebuilt Molecule from the ground up to serve as a discovery engine for tokenized scientific IP. 

• Explore the IP token ecosystem
  Search by research areas or filter by chain. Quickly surface trending projects and market movements.
  
• Trade IP tokens directly
  Connect your wallet and seamlessly manage your tokenized IP portfolio all in one place.
  
• Track token data, volume, and holders
  Get real-time insights into what’s moving - and who’s backing it.
  
• Dive deeper into projects
  Understand the science, funding, and communities behind every token.

It’s a simple interface representing an emerging ecosystem. And it’s built not just for today, but ready to grow along DeSci itself. 

Built for the Community, Shaped by the Community.

Exploring scientific IP tokens should be as intuitive as browsing DeFi protocols or an NFT marketplace. That means making the ecosystem data visible, understandable, and actionable - not fragmented and buried in PDFs or block explorers. It means helping curious researchers become contributors, helping token holders become stewards, and helping scientific communities coordinate around shared incentives.

We’re starting simple: a clear map of the IP token ecosystem, updated in real-time, available to everyone. But we’re building toward much more.

We’re launching this as a public beta—open access, open feedback, open collaboration. Whether you already hold IP tokens or you're simply DeSci-curious, we want your input to shape the future of this platform. Start exploring Molecule.xyz.

About Molecule

Molecule is dedicated to advancing scientific research through democratized funding and the tokenization of intellectual property (IP). By transforming IP into liquid, onchain assets, Molecule aligns the incentives of researchers and funders, fostering a more collaborative and efficient research ecosystem.

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