What is ConstitutionDAO (PEOPLE)?

Deep Dive

1. Origin & Purpose

ConstitutionDAO was a short-lived decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) created in November 2021. Its sole mission was to pool Ethereum (ETH) from 17,000+ contributors to bid on a rare 1787 U.S. Constitution copy at a Sotheby’s auction. Despite raising $47M, it lost to billionaire Ken Griffin. The project disbanded post-auction, refunding donations via its PEOPLE token (CoinMarketCap).

2. Token Mechanics

The PEOPLE token was initially a receipt for ETH contributions, with a 1:1,000,000 redemption ratio via a Juicebox smart contract. After refunds, the token retained no governance rights or utility. However, holders began trading it as a symbol of grassroots coordination, morphing into a “PolitiFi” memecoin tied to U.S. political themes (NullTX).

3. Key Differentiators

Unlike functional DAOs like MakerDAO, ConstitutionDAO had no long-term roadmap. Its legacy lies in demonstrating DAOs’ potential for cultural preservation efforts and the unpredictable lifecycle of governance tokens. The token’s endurance reflects crypto’s tendency to repurpose assets as speculative vehicles despite expired original purposes.

Conclusion

ConstitutionDAO’s PEOPLE token is a cultural artifact of crypto’s crowdfunding ambitions, now sustained by community nostalgia and memecoin dynamics. While its DAO structure achieved historic fundraising speed, its post-mission identity raises questions: Can tokens outlive their initial purpose without becoming purely speculative instruments?