There was no happy ending to a movie story: ConstitutionDAO did not achieve the goal of buying the last original copy of the United States Constitution in private hands . In a chaotic auction, the autonomous decentralized organization could not keep the long-awaited document, which sold for more than 43 million dollars ($ 43,173,000, to be more specific).
But despite the fact that the group did not meet its goal, the end result of this story is fascinating. First, because it taught many what a DAO is, how it is formed, and what it is capable of achieving; and second, because ConstitutionDAO managed to raise tens of millions of dollars in a very small handful of days , thanks to the input of thousands of enthusiasts around the world.
In addition, the initiative of the organization caused a large number of people to enter the world of cryptocurrencies for the first time – Ethereum, in particular -, and learn about the potential of the web3.
ConstitutionDAO achieves a historic crowdfunding
As we told you a couple of days ago, ConstitutionDAO was incorporated on Thursday of last week. The initiative was born with the news that the last original copy of the United States Constitution that remained in private hands would be auctioned. The DAO set out to acquire it, but to do so it would require the support of many people.
With the help of Discord and Twitter, the group achieved immediate international exposure; and what at first seemed crazy was no longer. The initial financial goal was about 25 million dollars, but the final collection was 11,600 ETH; that is, the equivalent of 48.2 million dollars . The craziest thing about this story is that as of Tuesday morning they had received about $ 5 million. This means that they received more than 40 million in the 48 hours before the auction.
In this way, ConstitutionDAO achieved the largest crowdfunding initiative ever carried out for the purchase of a physical object, either cryptocurrencies or fiat money.
A chaotic auction
The expectation for the auction was such that thousands of people were attentive to streaming, and any advertisement that appeared on social networks. Many assumed that ConstitutionDAO would buy the document without meeting much resistance from other stakeholders. However, the story was different.
The price to pay for the United States Constitution quickly rose to $ 30 million. And then there was a permanent “round trip” between two representatives of potential buyers; until the value closed above 43 million dollars .
The confusion arose because no one knew who, if any, of those participating in the auction represented ConstitutionDAO. This led to the emergence of many tweets that wrongly claimed that the DAO had bought the document, when it had not.
Shortly after, the clarification came with a statement that the organization published both on Discord and on Twitter, indicating that they had not achieved the objective.
Why did ConstitutionDAO not win the auction and what will happen to the money collected?
As we mentioned earlier, the group raised the equivalent of more than $ 48 million worth of Ethereum. So if the US Constitution auction closed at $ 43 million, why didn't ConstitutionDAO keep the document? The answer is very simple: because the money was not enough to cover the extra expenses , in addition to the value of the object.
As published by Sotheby's on its Twitter account, the organization made a direct offer that was not enough to tip the balance in its favor . Subsequently, the DAO explained on Discord that if they made a higher bid, they could possibly run out of money to pay for insurance, transport and storage of the document.
While the end result of the negotiation may be a disappointment to many, the impact of ConstitutionDAO is truly incalculable. That thousands of people around the world are able to come together in less than a week to raise tens of millions of dollars and make some of the richest individuals in the world uncomfortable, undoubtedly paints a very interesting picture for us for the future. Regarding the money collected, ConstitutionDAO announced that it will return it to each of the taxpayers of the collection . Those who contributed money will receive it back in their wallets, less the cost of gas, which is the fee paid for transactions on the Ethereum network.
The message to the enthusiasts who participated in the project
“We've educated a whole cohort of people around the world – from museum curators and art directors, to our grandmothers who asked us what ETH is when they read about us in the news – about the possibilities of the web3. On the other hand, many of you have learned what it means to manage an asset like the United States Constitution in museums and collections, or have seen an art auction for the first time, “posted from ConstitutionDAO.
The historic collective financing to buy the US Constitution had more than 17 thousand contributors , with an average donation equivalent to 206 dollars. According to ConstitutionDAO, a “significant percentage” of transactions were made from wallets used for the first time.
