Rare U.S. Constitution copy draws $46.6 mln crypto group bid at Sotheby's auction

Avalon Advanced Materials

18/11/2021 22:30

LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - An online group has raised more
than $46.6 million in cryptocurrency funds to bid on an original
copy of the U.S. Constitution for sale at Sotheby's auction
house on Thursday. 
    The group, called "ConstitutionDAO", set up a crowdfunding
page in which people can pay in the digital currency ether to
contribute to the funds, which they say will be used to bid on a
rare copy of the U.S. Constitution at Sotheby's. 
    The extremely rare official first-edition printed copy of
the U.S. Constitution, which was adopted by America's founding
fathers in Philadelphia in 1787, is estimated by Sotheby's to be
worth $15 million to $20 million. The auction begins at 7 p.m.
EST.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2QJ03A
    The ConstitutionDAO website says that those who contribute
funds will become members of the Decentralised Autonomous
Organisation, or DAO, but will not themselves have an ownership
stake in the document if the group has the winning bid.
    A DAO is a kind of online community which can use blockchain
technology to allow members to suggest and vote on decisions
about how it is run, for example by using crypto tokens to cast
votes.
    ConstitutionDAO's website says that the people who
contributed would not receive fractionalised ownership of the
valuable item itself, but instead a "governance token", which
will give them the ability to "advise" on what happens to it.
    More than $46.6 million worth of funds, or 11,513 ether, had
been paid into the project so far as of 3:26 p.m. EST, according
to the crowdfunding website Juicebox. Juicebox's website said
its crypto crowdfunding is "experimental software" and advised
user caution.
    "The total raised will not be reflected here, nor on any
other sites related to this project, until after the auction is
over," the ConstitutionDAO website said. 
    One of the people behind the project, Alice Ma, told Reuters
the fundraising was set up by a group of 34 people listed on the
ConstitutionDAO website. Some of these are listed under
pseudonyms.
    The bidding will be done by the group's "fiscal sponsor",
called Endaoment, which will take "interim legal ownership" of
the document, a set of FAQs by ConstitutionDAO said.
    "After the initial purchase, the community will be able to
restructure ownership to best reflect the mission and values of
the DAO," the FAQs said.
    The ConstitutionDAO website said the funds raised will be
kept in a wallet jointly-controlled by 13 team members and would
be returned for refunds if the group loses the auction.

 (Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Alden Bentley and
Diane Craft)
 ((Elizabeth.Howcroft@thomsonreuters.com; +44 02075427104;))