Navigating the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies is, without a doubt, fascinating. Every day we come across a countless number of projects and initiatives whose purpose goes far beyond trying to make money. And many of these proposals are accompanied by a DAO, or Decentralized Autonomous Organization; that is, a decentralized autonomous organization. But today we will stop on a particular case: that of ConstitutionDAO , which was conceived with the objective of buying the Constitution of the United States .
Yes, you read that correctly. At first glance, and out of context, it sounds crazy. But as we dwell on the details, we see how things make more sense. ConstitutionDAO is an organization that was created literally overnight with a clear objective: to buy the last original copy of the US Constitution that is in private hands. The DAO was formed last Thursday, after a Reuters article, originally published in September, which reported on the auction of the historic document through Sotheby's, resurfaced on social networks.
What started with 10 people in a group chat and a video call through Zoom quickly grew into a community on Discord that brings together thousands of people. And all these enthusiasts in the “crypto” world are working against the clock to do their job. The auction is this Thursday 18 and the bid is expected to close for a millionaire figure; and in ConstitutionDAO they are more than optimistic, because in their first days of life they collected the equivalent of more than 5 million dollars in Ethereum , only with contributions from the followers of the project.
What is a DAO?
As we mentioned at the beginning, the acronym DAO comes from Decentralized Autonomous Organization. Decentralized autonomous organizations are based on the idea of a body that, honoring its name and composition, does not have a specific leading figure, as a CEO can be in a conventional company.
DAOs, like ConstitutionDAO, are governed by code. They are based on smart contracts that are executed on the Ethereum blockchain , and that are programmed to perform certain tasks, as long as specific conditions are met. In addition, DAOs are presented as transparent, open access, democratic organizations without hierarchy.
Logically, we are making a very simple summary of the characteristics of DAOs, but it is to understand the basics of your projects. Today it is very common to come across organizations of this type in the world of cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance (DeFi). Perhaps one of the most recognized cases is that of MakerDAO, which is behind the stablecoin Dai.
ConstitutionDAO wants the last original copy of the Constitution of States. United in private hands
Image: Sotheby's
The case of ConstitutionDAO sets a precedent in the world of decentralized organizations and cryptocurrencies, not only for what it is intended to achieve, but also for the short time to do it. Just a couple of days before the auction of the original copy of the US Constitution, it is unknown if the necessary sum of money will be raised.
As published by CoinDesk, the auction could require an amount greater than 25 million dollars . This figure not only reflects the price of the historic document itself, but also legal and transfer, storage and insurance expenses.
But regardless of whether or not ConstitutionDAO succeeds in buying the United States Constitution , the movement it has caused is formidable. Thousands of people joined the project in a matter of hours, and the financial contributions that were achieved in record time are also impressive.
In addition, the organization itself has had to establish the corresponding legal structures to register with Sotheby's and be part of the auction. This has also included the auction house's KYC (Know Your Customer) identification and verification procedure. And to do this, ConstitutionDAO has built on the experience behind other decentralized bodies such as PleasrDAO and SyndicateDAO.
And as DAOs display their transparency, the minds behind the purchase of the US Constitution have chosen a commensurate method to handle the funds raised. As the money is in a multisig wallet, a minimum of signatures are required to complete the movement of the money. Therefore, just as the United States Constitution was ratified by 9 of the 13 original states, ConstitutionDAO established a public list with 13 signatories, of which at least 9 must sign to approve the transactions .
What will happen to the Constitution if they manage to buy it?
“I think everyone is very excited about what we can do once we buy the Constitution. What happens next will be participatory democracy: ¿ will you go on tour? Small towns in the United States, or around the world? We will leave it in the hands of democracy, which is something that really matters to us, “said Julian Weisser, one of the promoters of ConstitutionDAO.
The auction of the United States Constitution will be held this Thursday, November 18, from 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time . This copy was purchased in 1988 by S. Howard Goldman, who owned one of the most important collections of historical books and manuscripts Since his death in 1997, his wife has been in charge of guarding the valuable document.
The money raised in the auction will go to The Dorothy Tapper Goldman Foundation, whose purpose is to finance programs educational. Will ConstitutionDAO manage to keep the desired copy? If it succeeds, it will be – by far – one of the most outstanding stories of the year.
