ConstitutionDAO

2021

Date: 11-18 November 2021 · Place: Sotheby's New York · Juicebox protocol · Figures: Graham Novak, organizer · Austin Cain, organizer · Sotheby's, auction house · Ken Griffin (Citadel), winning bidder · Tags: DAO, Memetic Capital, Sotheby's 01. $47M To Buy A Constitution A group of friends decide on 11 November 2021 to try to buy one of thirteen surviving original printings of the US Constitution at a Sotheby's auction one week later. They set up a DAO on the Juicebox protocol. Contributions are 1 ETH minimum, with PEOPLE tokens returned to contributors. Within six days they raise $47M in ETH from 17,437 contributors, the largest crowdfunding sprint in internet history. The average contribution is roughly $217. The pitch is a meme: the people will buy the people's document. 02. Citadel Wins On 18 November 2021 Sotheby's hammers the lot at $43.2M. ConstitutionDAO loses. The winning bidder is Ken Griffin of Citadel, the same Citadel that routed Robinhood's order flow during the GameStop squeeze ten months earlier. The cosmic irony of the bracket is not lost on anyone. Refunds begin immediately. Gas fees mean many small contributors end up underwater on the refund. PEOPLE token, which was supposed to be defunct, instead trades up 1000% in the weeks after the loss as a memorial coin. The DAO loses the auction and accidentally ships a working memecoin. Sources • Sotheby's, Fine Books and Manuscripts auction lot (18 November 2021) • ConstitutionDAO closing statement (Mirror.xyz, November 2021) • The Verge, 'How ConstitutionDAO raised $47M to buy the Constitution' (November 2021)