ConstitutionDAO (PEOPLE)
ConstitutionDAO is a decentralized autonomous organization, established in November 2021, with the objective of purchasing one of the thirteen surviving original copies of the U.S. Constitution at a Sotheby’s auction. The organization successfully raised $47 million in ether from nearly 17,500 contributors worldwide. Despite the impressive fundraising effort, ConstitutionDAO was ultimately outbid. Contributors were issued refunds, although the transaction fees on the Ethereum network resulted in refunds being slightly less than the original contributions.
| Ticker | PEOPLE |
| Category | Meme |
| Website | https://www.constitutiondao.com/ |
| @constitutiondao | |
| Contract Addresses | |
|---|---|
| ethereum | 0x7a...71 Copied! |
History
ConstitutionDAO was founded in November 2021 by a group of internet users who connected through social media platforms such as Reddit, Twitter, and Discord. The primary goal was to gather enough funds to bid on a rare copy of the U.S. Constitution at a Sotheby’s auction. Austin Cain and Graham Novak, finance professionals based in Atlanta, led the initiative. The DAO utilized the Juicebox platform to manage its fundraising efforts, and in less than a week, raised $47 million in ether from nearly 17,500 contributors.
Bidding and auction outcome
The Sotheby’s auction took place on November 18, 2021. ConstitutionDAO collaborated with intermediaries to convert the raised ether into U.S. dollars for the bid, as Sotheby’s did not accept cryptocurrency directly. Despite the significant funds raised, ConstitutionDAO was outbid by hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, who won the auction with a bid of $43.2 million. After some initial confusion, a formal announcement clarified that the DAO did not win the auction.
PEOPLE token
PEOPLE is an ERC-20 token issued by ConstitutionDAO on the JuiceBox decentralized crowdfunding platform. This token served as a proof-of-donation and represented governance rights within the DAO ecosystem.
Governance rights
Holders of PEOPLE tokens had the right to participate in governance decisions of ConstitutionDAO. This included voting on important matters such as where the acquired copy of the Constitution would be publicly displayed.
Crowdfunding participation
During the crowdfunding phase, contributors who donated 1 ETH were eligible to claim 1,000,000 PEOPLE tokens. This mechanism allowed participants to have a proportional stake and influence based on their contributions.
Tokenomics
The tokenomics of PEOPLE involved specific aspects related to its distribution and supply.
Initial distribution
Tokens were distributed to contributors based on their ETH donations during the fundraising period on JuiceBox.
Total supply
The total supply of PEOPLE tokens was determined by the amount of ETH raised during the crowdfunding campaign, with a fixed conversion rate of 1 ETH to 1,000,000 PEOPLE tokens.
Refunds and challenges
Following ConstitutionDAO's unsuccessful bid in the Sotheby’s auction, the organization addressed the management of ether refunds for its contributors. Two options were made available on the project’s website:
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Claim: Contributors had the opportunity to claim their unclaimed PEOPLE tokens, which would then be deposited into their respective wallets. This option enabled contributors to maintain possession of their tokens.
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Redeem: Alternatively, contributors could opt to redeem their PEOPLE tokens. Redemption involved burning both claimed and unclaimed PEOPLE tokens in exchange for ETH at a fixed ratio of 1 ETH to 1,000,000 PEOPLE. This process converted PEOPLE tokens back into their original contribution value, adjusted for Ethereum gas fees incurred during the transaction process.