Imagine a world where scientific progress is unhindered by bureaucracy, endless hurdles, excruciating paperwork and absurd restrictions. A community where innovation flows freely, and collaboration knows no borders. This is the future that Mosadoluwa Fasasi envisions through Decentralized Science (DeSci), a revolutionary approach leveraging blockchain technology to democratize access to knowledge, enhance transparency, and foster global collaboration.
In recent years, Decentralized Science (DeSci) has emerged as a transformative force within tech communities across the globe. Despite its growing prominence, many individuals still grapple with the essence of the movement, asking fundamental questions such as “What exactly is DeSci?” “How does it benefit me?” and “How can I engage with it?” These inquiries reflect a broader curiosity about this innovative approach to scientific inquiry. The emergence of Decentralized Science as a coordinated movement in the 2020s represents a groundbreaking shift in the landscape of scientific research by empowering individual researchers and communities to pursue innovative projects free from conventional constraints.
Unlike Traditional Science (TradSci), which often relies on centralized institutions and funding models, DeSci empowers individual researchers and communities to pursue innovative projects free from conventional constraints. In this exclusive with The Moveee, Mosadoluwa Fasasi, a key figure in the DeSci movement and founder of DeSci NG, shares insights into the essence of DeSci, its potential to revolutionize scientific inquiry, and its transformative impact on global knowledge sharing.
The Journey into Blockchain and Science
For Mosadoluwa Fasasi, the borderless nature of the blockchain industry was what caught his attention. “The first appeal is seen in its financial services, DeFi (short for Decentralized Finance). DeFi offers a way for people to transact directly with each other even if they are continents apart without hassle. To contextualize that, you can be in Africa and receive payments from Asia for your skills, goods, or services without hassle. There is no excruciating paperwork as we see in traditional banking, and it makes the exchange of value easy,” he explains.
The second appeal, which ties to its potential in science, is decentralization and ownership. “These two ethos of the blockchain industry perfectly fit into the challenges TradSci faces. Through decentralization, more scientific communities and individual researchers are empowered to pursue novel ideas, innovate, and invent. Through ownership, they retain the right to their intellectual property even as they share their findings with the world,” Mosadoluwa adds.
Involvement with SciHub and Access to Knowledge
Mosadoluwa is a core contributor at $Scihub, a memecoin community for SciHub with over 18,000 members. His involvement circles around operations administration, global & local marketing initiatives, and overall growth of the community. $Scihub was initiated by Amazing Ang to support Sci-Hub founder, Alexandra Elbakyan. “The creation of Sci-Hub was a result of restrictions on how scientific knowledge was being shared. Publishing corporations keep academic papers behind paywalls. Some of them charge very high reading fees which isn’t sustainable for most students. Just like Alexandra Elbakyan couldn’t access academic papers to explore her interest in ‘Brain-Machine Interfaces,’ millions and millions of students and researchers around the world are unable to do likewise for their respective disciplines. That’s bad for society, and that’s bad for humanity. The world has advanced because we apply, build, and innovate on known knowledge to discover the new. As long as this model continues to be stifled, our collective prosperity will equally continue to suffer,” Mosadoluwa emphasizes.
Utilizing Blockchain Technology to Address Real-Life Issues
Sci-Hub is one of those real-life issues, and one of the ways in which DeSci has addressed this issue is through the memecoin $Scihub. Since Alexandra Elbakyan built Sci-Hub as an alternative repository of knowledge to download otherwise paywalled academic papers, she has faced many lawsuits from publishing companies, and it has taken a lot of resources to keep running the database which has over 88.3 million academic papers. Before turning to decentralized frameworks to receive donations, she received donations through PayPal, but the account was deplatformed. Now, donations are received beyond borders in cryptocurrency. DeSci through $Scihub has also given donations of 130,000,000 in $scihub (worth over $5.3M at the time of transfer). Some of these donations have been used to pay for servers to keep running the database and cover other operational costs.
Another example of how DeSci utilizes blockchain technology to address real-life issues is the case of the Tech Entrepreneur, Siqi Chen, whose daughter, Mira, was diagnosed with a brain tumor, Craniopharyngioma. He tried crowdfunding for $200K to fund research endeavors due to the rarity of the diagnosis, but shortly after, a memecoin in the name of his daughter, $MIRA, launched and raised over $1M, surpassing his original goal. Now, Mira has an even greater chance to fight!
Creating DeSci NG and Its Impact on the Nigerian Scientific Community
The origin story of Sci-Hub is Mosadoluwa’s inspiration for creating DeSci NG. “The ripple effect of allowing students and independent researchers to have access to otherwise restricted/paywalled knowledge is infinite. While Sci-Hub is already taking the heavy blows for providing these papers, DeSci NG serves as a hub to coalesce some of the impact of their decade-long fight for knowledge freedom. DeSci NG is positioned to connect students and researchers to these resources. Ideally, what we should begin to see afterwards is deepened knowledge across disciplines, with subject-matter experts who will begin to innovate on known knowledge and invent custom-made solutions for our landscape. As a ready hub, we will incubate some of these projects that directly contribute to our immediate environment and Africa at large,” Mosadoluwa explains.
Significant Milestones and Achievements of DeSci NG
Since its inception, DeSci NG has partnered with two DeSci projects and one NGO. The first project is Vitamin C, which focuses on supporting Vitamin C deficient communities. The project featured a virtual event garnering over 350 live listeners with the theme “Unlocking Public Good with Vitamin C: Health, Impact & Big Ideas.” In attendance were notable web3 leaders in Nigeria and a medical doctor, Motolani Oladotun, who provided a proper medical understanding of Vitamin C.
The second project is the $Scihub Community, where they are currently running the “Project Showcase” initiative. Final-year students and independent researchers in Nigeria are eligible to apply, and some of the best projects will be selected and supported from a prize pool of $1000. “This is the first of its kind, and we have plans to keep exploring this model.” Mosadoluwa assured.
The third partner is ThriveRise Africa, an NGO committed to promoting decent work and economic growth from the grassroots through formal, informal, vocational, and technical education. They kicked off 2025 with an event themed “Breaking Barriers in Education.”
Community Engagement and Transparency
Mosadoluwa believes that community engagement plays a crucial role in the success of the SciHub and DeSci projects. “The blockchain industry in Nigeria and Africa is still in its infancy and viewed with skepticism. However, as we progress and show proof of what DeSci has to offer, community engagement will increase. For now, we are looking at partnerships with more traditional NGOs focused on quality education, economic growth, and innovation. Engaging traditional NGOs bolsters our offering and, by extension, our trust with the community,” he notes.
Transparency is one of the core features of the blockchain. “Transactions are easily verifiable on-chain by contributing parties, ensuring trust in the funding process through decentralized platforms,” Mosadoluwa adds.
Balancing Innovation with Ethical Considerations
The blockchain industry is governed by principles of transparency, consensus mechanisms, and security. These principles act as foundational safeguards for innovation in DeSci, ensuring research integrity and reducing malicious intent to the barest minimum. Transparency allows for public verification of research and funding, while consensus mechanisms align participants’ interests with ethical standards. Additionally, decentralized governance models such as DAOs can further enhance ethical oversight, ensuring responsible innovation without compromising progress.
Advice for Aspiring Scientists and Innovators
For those interested in exploring decentralized science, Mosadoluwa advises them to dive right in. “There are different DeSci protocols supporting various initiatives, and the opportunities that await them are endless,” he encourages.
Supporting the Mission of DeSci NG
Individuals can contribute to the mission of DeSci NG by making donations, spreading the word, and connecting them to NGOs and aligned partners. “The team is always open to reaching out and collaborating with like-minded individuals and organizations,” Mosadoluwa concludes.
