ConstitutionDAO explained

ConstitutionDAO was a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) formed in November 2021 to purchase an original copy of the United States Constitution.^[1] The group raised $47 million in Ether cryptocurrency, but lost to a bid of $43.2 million in the Sotheby's auction. The organization was disbanded later that month.^{[2] [3]}

Auction and refunds

ConstitutionDAO raised $47 million in Ether cryptocurrency, but lost to a bid of $43.2 million in the Sotheby's auction. The organizers of ConstitutionDAO believed that they would have had insufficient funding to "insure, store, and transport the document" if they had made a higher bid.

The organizers said they would refund contributions, minus Ethereum fees. Weeks after the event, around $23 million had yet to be refunded, partly due to these fees, with one contributor reported as having to pay $70 in fees to donate $200, and another $70 to get it refunded. The median contributor had donated $217 to the project,^[4] and some fees were more than the value of the donation.^[5]

The Verge put the group's effort in the lineage of Internet movements like the GameStop short squeeze earlier that year.^[6] Bloomberg News wrote that the effort "showed the power of the DAO ... has the potential to change the way people buy things, build companies, share resources and run nonprofits."^[7]

ConstitutionDAO2

Another group of crowdfunders named ConstitutionDAO2 formed in 2022 to purchase a different copy of the original constitution, which was to be auctioned by Sotheby's. The group had only publicly raised $313,000 by the time Sotheby's postponed its December 2022 auction,^[8] though the organization had also raised private funds. The group considered an offer to buy another edition of the constitution from the same printing press.^[9]

Further reading

• Web site: Patel . Nilay . From a meme to $47 million: ConstitutionDAO, crypto, and the future of crowdfunding . . 2021-12-07 . en . 2021-12-14 . mdy-all . December 14, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211214190321/https://www.theverge.com/22820563/constitution-meme-47-million-crypto-crowdfunding-blockchain-ethereum-constitution . live .
• News: Roose . Kevin . They Love Crypto. They're Trying to Buy the Constitution. . . 2021-11-17 . en-US . 0362-4331 . mdy-all . November 21, 2021 . November 21, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211121162426/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/17/business/crypto-constitution-sothebys.html . live .

Notes and References

1. Web site: Matthews . Karen . Rare first printing of US Constitution sells for record $43M . . 2021-11-19 . en . 2021-11-21 . mdy-all . November 21, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211121075145/https://apnews.com/article/cryptocurrency-technology-lifestyle-business-arts-and-entertainment-b0ab721a52cf20f2dc1a923f2dae3347 . live .
2. News: Lee . Isabelle . ConstitutionDAO disbands after losing its bid to buy a copy of the Constitution . 21 January 2023 . Markets Insider . 21 November 2021 . January 21, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230121100615/https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/constitution-dao-disbands-refund-how-us-constitution-discord-website-twitter-2021-11 . live .
3. Web site: Fox. Matthew. January 19, 2022. Tokens of the defunct DAO that failed to buy a copy of the constitution are worth $300 million even after disbanding. 2022-01-28. news.yahoo.com. en-US. January 28, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220128170837/https://news.yahoo.com/tokens-defunct-dao-failed-buy-171014991.html. live.
4. News: Kastrenakes . Jacob . Almost buying a copy of the Constitution is easy, but giving the money back is hard . The Verge . 24 November 2021 . en . March 5, 2022 . March 5, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220305123617/https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/24/22800995/constitutiondao-refund-progress-steep-gas-fees-cryptocurrency . live .
5. News: ConstitutionDAO Is Shutting Down After Unrelenting Chaos . 5 March 2022 . www.vice.com . en . March 5, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220305123616/https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvnze5/constitutiondao-is-shutting-down-after-unrelenting-chaos . live .
6. Web site: Kastrenakes . Jacob . ConstitutionDAO loses $43 million auction of rare US Constitution copy . . 2021-11-18 . en . 2021-11-21 . mdy-all . December 27, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211227113923/https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/18/22790452/constitutiondao-loses-auction-for-rare-us-constitution-copy-sothebys . live .
7. News: Kharif . Olga . Crypto Crowdfunding Goes Mainstream with ConstitutionDAO Bid . . 2021-11-20 . en . mdy-all . November 21, 2021 . December 10, 2021 . https://archive.today/20211210080249/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-20/crypto-crowdfunding-goes-mainstream-with-constitutiondao-bid . live .
8. Web site: Citing 'Strong Institutional Interest,' Sotheby's Halted Its Sale of a Rare Copy of the U.S. Constitution Just Hours Before the Auction . . 2022-12-15 . en-US . 2022-12-21 . mdy-all . December 21, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221221194226/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/sothebys-halts-sale-original-constitution-2230297 . live .
9. Web site: Mattei . Shanti Escalante-De . Sotheby's Sale of U.S. Constitution Is Suddenly Postponed, Causing Uncertainty for Crypto Enthusiasts . . 2022-12-14 . en-US . 2022-12-21 . mdy-all . December 21, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221221194851/https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/constitution-sothebys-postponed-constitutiondao-2-1234650138/ . live .