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Definition: ConstitutionDAO


A single-purpose decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) founded to collect funds to bid on one of the last copies of the original U.S. Constitution printed in 1787. Contributors received one million ConstitutionDAO tokens ($PEOPLE tokens) for each ether (ETH) donated. The auction took place at Sotheby's in November 2021.

ConstitutionDAO Lost the Bid
Although more than $40M was raised on the Juicebox crowdfunding platform from thousands of people, ConstitutionDAO did not win the bid, which went to hedge fund manager Kenneth Griffin for $43.2M. Had it won, contributors, as members of the DAO, would have voted on where the parchment should be exhibited and for how long. Many contributors got their money back minus high transaction fees for both buying and selling their tokens. However, within a few days, $PEOPLE tokens were up 4,000% from $0.0004 to $0.16, but down to $0.08 a couple months later. Some token holders hope they will be incorporated into future projects.

Not Really Decentralized Governance
Although a DAO is supposed to give every member a vote, the handling of the matter after the failed bid was taken over by a few core members, negating the very concept of the decentralized organization. See DAO.




The U.S. Constitution
Although 500 copies of the Constitution were made in 1787, only 13 are believed to still exist. The copy at Sotheby's was one of those 13.