ConstitutionDAOConstitutionDAO ár 

PEOPLE

Constitution DAO was another instance of an internet-based grassroots movement taking on establishment symbols with the help of cryptocurrencies. Similar to what happened with GameStop, Constitution DAO channeled the virtual power of the masses to only narrowly miss out on making real-world history.

The DAO published its first tweet on November 12, only six days before the Sotheby’s auction on November 18. The copy of the Constitution was the last remaining privately-owned copy, and the first time a copy of the Constitution went on sale in 33 years. Within hours, the DAO’s Discord server grew several thousand people strong and eventually reached 20,000 members within a little over a week.

Relying on a mix of Nicolas Cage memes, inspired by a movie in which Cage is trying to steal the Constitution, and the crypto-specific (x,x) meme first popularized by Olympus (OHM), the attempt quickly went viral on Crypto Twitter. The DAO used Juicebox to receive donations in Ether and collected a sum north of $47 million, which would have easily been enough to win the auction, had it not been for the auction house fees and storage costs for the document that were not accounted for by the DAO. Ironically, Ken Griffin, a declared opponent of Bitcoin, won the auction.

In the aftermath of this saga, Constitution DAO announced it would dissolve as it had planned in case of failure from the very beginning. It cited technical and administrative requirements as reasons for doing so, and donations can be reclaimed for an indefinite period of time via the project’s website.

Check out Olympus (OHM) — the origin of the (3,3) meme.

Check out Curve DAO (CRV) — the biggest stablecoin protocol in decentralized finance.

Read our news bulletin about Constitution DAO losing the Sotheby's auction.

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