See inside a coworking space hidden inside a historic NYC building exclusively for crypto, NFT, and web3 creatives

Brittany Chang/Insider

• EmpireDAO is leasing a multi-floor space in a historic New York City building.
• Membership and access to desks can be purchased through NFTs.

Web3 — the next generation of the internet based on blockchain technology — has come to the "real" world.

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And one DAO — short for "decentralized autonomous organization" — has decided to call New York City its home with the promise of giving creators and developers in the web3 space a physical community.

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EmpireDAO is now leasing several floors in a landmarked New York City building ...

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... and it has filled the rows of rooms with plenty of desks and young web3 enthusiasts.

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Its goal is simple: facilitate and expedite the growth of web3.

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Source: EmpireDao

EmpireDAO — a concept inspired by hacker houses — first moved into the building in May after months of generating capital and interest, Mike Fraietta, the founder of EmpireDAO, told Insider.

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But nothing on the building's exterior signals the existence of a growing hub.

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The label-less entrance is covered in graffiti.

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And around the corner, there's often a line of people waiting to enter the Supreme store, which shares the historic location with EmpireDAO.

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Inside the multi-floor 34,000-square-foot space, the vintage elevator …

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… wood detailing …

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… and worn floors are a reminder of the building's historic life.

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But unlike 190 Bowery's previous life as a bank, the building is now filled with plenty of web3, crypto, and NFT enthusiasts gathered around long tables and huddled over laptops.

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Many web3 companies started out "remote-first."

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But according to Fraietta, there's value in a physical space that operates like a conference by facilitating in-person interactions with other creators in the industry.

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To do this, the space operates loosely like a WeWork.

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The building has several floors with rows of desk, kitchens, bathrooms …

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… windows with sweeping views of New York City …

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... conference rooms ...

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… a large common room, event spaces, and a rooftop.

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Members can then use EmpireDAO as an "incubator" by paying for daily or monthly access through NFTs, which allows them to book one of the roughly 280 desks.

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But unlike a traditional coworking space, EmpireDAO will have more rooms designated for creative use.

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Looking ahead, the building will soon be home to a recording studio for musicians, equipment for digital artists, a production space for video producers, and even an event and performance venue for people who want to launch their projects.

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And someday, there could also be a gym, golf simulator, and nearby Airbnb-style apartments for visitors, Fraietta said.

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Given the growing presence of DAOs, NFTs, crypto, and "decentralized finance" (DeFi) projects and startups, it should be unsurprising to hear that EmpireDAO has been receiving "hundreds" of inquiries a day, according to Fraietta.

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But don't go flocking to EmpireDAO if you operate a large company.

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It's not accepting corporations who want to station sizable teams of non-creators in the space.

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"We're not a coworking space in the sense that your company can work here," Fraietta said. "But if you have creators in your ecosystem and you wanna give them a place, that's when you come to EmpireDAO."

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EmpireDAO prioritizes independent creators and nascent small teams as long as everyone is working in web3 and, for the most part, investing in each other's work via tokens.

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"Just by working in [EmpireDAO], we all kind of incestually own each other's products," Fraietta said. "There's that kind of web3 skin in the game that's inherent here, and that's why it works."

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Several creators working out of the space were previously employed b web2 companies like Instagram and Amazon in Silicon Valley before making the switch to New York and web3 …

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… which Fraietta believes is a strategic location because the city is a meeting point between Wall Street' "interest and capital" and the creatives who are "locked up at the HBOs, Facebooks, Googles and advertising agencies."

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Of course, we can't talk about web3 projects without talking about the tumultuous crypto market.

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Crypto investors have lost plenty of money over the last few weeks.

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Source: Insider

However, this downturn doesn't really impact EmpireDAO, Fraietta said.

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"There's been zero hesitation here," Fraietta said. "[EmpireDAO] is the creative layer, and the creative layer does not care about the underlying technology."

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For now, the focus is to build a portfolio of creators like musicians, artists, and even comedians who've found success with the help of EmpireDAO's New York location.

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And despite the unpleasant crypto market, EmpireDAO has received plenty of national and international attention.

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So don't be surprised if you see an EmpireDAO space in cities like Denver, London, or Tokyo sometime in the future.

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