A look at ConstitutionDAO, which has taken $4M+ in crypto donations to bid at an auction on one of the original copies of the US Constitution, printed in 1787
and it's all organic and across the www https://twitter.com/... Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : Are you buying a copy of the constitution by donating to @ConstitutionDAO? Nope. You're buying a governance token so you can vote on what should be done with the copy of the constitution bought with your crypto. This is web3 and the future of the web, or so we've been told. https://twitter.com/... Jeremiah Owyang / @jowyang : Yup, I'm part of this DAO that is planning to purchase the US Constitution with crypto. Yes, this is for real. No, I am not the AsianNick Cage. Yes, we will create NFTs of the Constitution to preserve it on chain —and, memes. @ConstitutionDAO #web3 https://www.theblockcrypto.com/ ... Hunter Horsley / @hhorsley : 1 ETH Deposited A fun reminder that blockchains are a technical innovation, but also an organizational one https://twitter.com/... @constitutiondao : We have now collected over 3M USD 🤯 Alex Rocca / @alexdrocca : I didn't think Crypto people could be any more insufferable, but I was wrong: They've now decided to be Nicolas Cage in National Treasure by purchasing the *checks notes* Constitution of the United States & mansplaining said document on Twitter. They've truly outdone themselves! https://twitter.com/... Packy McCormick / @packym : Thanks for your email. I may be slow to respond for the next few days as I am literally buying the United States Constitution with 5,840 people I met on the internet. If it's urgent, hit up @ConstitutionDAO. (📜,📜), Packy @brouhaha : They are trying to wrap the srandard NFT stupidity in a cloak of patriotism. Creating the NFTs doesn't “preserve” anything, and buying the NFTs doesn't convey legal ownership of anything. It's the usual NFT scam. Don't waste your money on this. https://twitter.com/... Timcopeland.Eth / @timccopeland : This is insanely ambitious in such a short time period but the momentum they have suggests they might have a shot. if they succeed, this will be huge https://www.theblockcrypto.com/ ... Morgan Housel / @morganhousel : I love this @packyM piece on the DAO that's trying to buy a copy of the U.S. Constitution, including where it will live: https://www.notboring.co/... https://twitter.com/... Drew Dickson / @albertbridgecap : Nic Cage and National Treasure are going to be trending all day, aren't they? Good luck @packyM and crew. Now I have to figure out how to explain this to my dad. https://www.notboring.co/... Alex Lieberman / @businessbarista : I could go on & on, but I always find the best way to learn is to dive in & do. If you want a longer breakdown, check out @packyM's piece on it: https://www.notboring.co/... If you want to get involved, go to @constitutionDAO's site: https://www.constitutiondao.com/ Jim OShaughnessy / @jposhaughnessy : I really kinda love this, hope they're able to pull it off Let's Buy the US Constitution, by @packyM https://www.notboring.co/... BashCo / @bashco_ : Another huge fucking scam. https://twitter.com/... Alex Lieberman / @businessbarista : It sounds crazy. But it just might work. As of this thread, $3,206,309 has been raised in less than 24 hours. 2,400 people have contributed so far and the community discord channel is up to 8,800. Remember, this idea is just 5 days old (!) https://twitter.com/... Alex Lieberman / @businessbarista : Enter ConstitutionDAO. Austin Cain & Graham Novak are friends from Atlanta. Recently, Graham texted Austin, “I have a whacky idea.” “I like whacky ideas, hit me,” Austin responded. The idea: Put The Constitution in the hands of the people, by buying it together https://twitter.com/... Alex Lieberman / @businessbarista : Now, let's fast forward. Today, ~11 of 500 originals of The Constitution remain. Just 1 (of 11) is owned by an individual. That individual is Howard Goldman. In 1988, he bought the doc for $165,000. Howard has since passed and is survived by his wife, Dorothy Goldman. https://twitter.com/... Jason Koebler / @jason_koebler : so good https://www.vice.com/... @crypto_texan : Just contributed to @ConstitutionDAO! Let's buy the US Constitution! #wgbtc “we the $PEOPLE ” https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/... @programmer : Anyone who backs @ConstitutionDAO will be a Funding Father Matt Ξsparza / @matthewesp : .@ConstitutionDAO: “it's called a DAO, where a bunch of us on the internet raised $20 million to buy one of the original 11 constitutions, and we all each own a part of it using cryptocurrency...” https://twitter.com/... Edwin / @edwinwee : It was there the whole time. @ConstitutionDAO https://twitter.com/... Alex Lieberman / @businessbarista : Web3 is daunting as shit. If you want an on-ramp, here it is. There are 11 remaining originals of the Constitution. Only 1 is privately owned. It is being auctioned by @Sothebys on Thurs. @ConstitutionDAO is using community/tokens to buy it. We're buying...the Constitution. Cswenberg.Eth / @cswenberg_ : Gm. Latest update from @ConstitutionDAO: we have confirmation from Sotheby's that they will accept an ethereum address as proof of funds! The catch is we have to verify before the auction begins at 6pm ET on 11/18. Our Juicebox to pool funds is also almost ready! lfg wgbtc Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : Another footnote to my thesis that the defining characteristic of the Internet in the 2020s is the increased ease with which online movements are harnessed to have real world impact. The policy challenge is that when things go awry we no longer have big tech necks to choke. https://twitter.com/... @chrismessina : We the people will buy the thing (📜,📜) https://twitter.com/... Grady Booch / @grady_booch : Who of the DAO gets to hang it up in their bedroom? Will the DAO pay to preserve and to insure the physical artifact? And, the DAO and every one of its members will pay all the appropriate taxes if it is ever sold - even in partial ways - right? Right? https://twitter.com/...
Not BoringPacky McCormick
Context & Ripple Effects
ConstitutionDAO turned an online crypto pool into a credible auction participant: Sotheby's agreed to accept an Ethereum address as proof of funds, and the campaign later grew past $40M before losing the auction.
The attempt exposed the gap between collective fundraising and owning a physical work. Related coverage focused on payment, custody, ownership, and display questions that a token-holding community would have had to resolve after a win.
First-order effects
ConstitutionDAO gains the funds and auction-house recognition needed to pursue the Constitution, while contributors receive governance participation rather than a direct ownership claim to the document.
Sotheby's accommodates crypto-native proof of funds, bringing an Ethereum-funded group into its conventional auction process.
Second-order effects
The DAO's proposed governance token and Constitution-related NFTs separate participation from custody, making decisions over an acquired physical asset the central operational challenge.
The later $43.2M loss shows that rapid crypto crowdfunding can create a serious bidder but does not remove price competition from established buyers.
Third-order effects
If similar groups recur, auction markets will need clearer ways to handle pooled crypto funds alongside conventional rules for title, custody, and representation.
ConstitutionDAO's subsequent Discord wind-down underscores a structural limit of event-driven DAOs: a community assembled for one purchase can lose its purpose when the transaction fails.
The trend: Crypto communities are testing governance-token crowdfunding as a route into traditional asset markets, with off-chain ownership and administration setting the practical boundary.
We are going to buy the Constitution. (📜,📜) @ConstitutionDAO is not a moment, it's a movement: - Started Thursday - 8k people in the Discord - $3M committed in 12 hrs - $10M+ in soft commits - Sotheby's auction Thursday night - Nic Cage wagbtc https://www.notboring.co/...
FTX will gladly exchange the crypto raised by @ConstitutionDAO into dollars to facilitate purchase of The Constitution at @Sothebys! (📜,📜) https://twitter.com/...
📜 My friends and I are buying one of the 11 surviving copies of the US Constitution, and you can help! Introducing @ConstitutionDAO, a project to “rescue” the Constitution from the hands of private collectors, and put it back into the hands of The People. WTF is going on? 👇
The interest we have garnered has been incredible... But let us not forget, we must raise $20,000,000 to purchase The Constitution of the United States on 11/18/2021. Let's build. (📜,📜).
Yup, I'm part of this DAO that is planning to purchase the US Constitution with crypto. Yes, this is for real. No, I am not the Asian Nick Cage. Yes, we will create NFTs of the Constitution to preserve it on chain —and, memes. @ConstitutionDAO #web3 https://www.theblockcrypto.com…
This sort of thing would happen on @reddit for like a @dogecoin NASCAR sponsorship, but now it can happen for a multi-million dollar historical artifact (that anyone can actually OWN)—and it's all organic and across the www https://twitter.com/...
I didn't think Crypto people could be any more insufferable, but I was wrong: They've now decided to be Nicolas Cage in National Treasure by purchasing the *checks notes* Constitution of the United States & mansplaining said document on Twitter. They've truly outdone themselves! …
FOUR. MILLION. DOLLARS!! 💰📜 thank you so much to everyone that's contributed. your support and energy have been incredible ❤️ for those of you that haven't contributed yet, what are you waiting for? https://juicebox.money/...
Are you buying a copy of the constitution by donating to @ConstitutionDAO? Nope. You're buying a governance token so you can vote on what should be done with the copy of the constitution bought with your crypto. This is web3 and the future of the web, or so we've been told. https…
Thanks for your email. I may be slow to respond for the next few days as I am literally buying the United States Constitution with 5,840 people I met on the internet. If it's urgent, hit up @ConstitutionDAO. (📜,📜), Packy
They are trying to wrap the srandard NFT stupidity in a cloak of patriotism. Creating the NFTs doesn't “preserve” anything, and buying the NFTs doesn't convey legal ownership of anything. It's the usual NFT scam. Don't waste your money on this. https://twitter.com/...
This is insanely ambitious in such a short time period but the momentum they have suggests they might have a shot. if they succeed, this will be huge https://www.theblockcrypto.com/ ...
I love this @packyM piece on the DAO that's trying to buy a copy of the U.S. Constitution, including where it will live: https://www.notboring.co/... https://twitter.com/...
Nic Cage and National Treasure are going to be trending all day, aren't they? Good luck @packyM and crew. Now I have to figure out how to explain this to my dad. https://www.notboring.co/...
I could go on & on, but I always find the best way to learn is to dive in & do. If you want a longer breakdown, check out @packyM's piece on it: https://www.notboring.co/... If you want to get involved, go to @constitutionDAO's site: https://www.constitutiondao.com/
It sounds crazy. But it just might work. As of this thread, $3,206,309 has been raised in less than 24 hours. 2,400 people have contributed so far and the community discord channel is up to 8,800. Remember, this idea is just 5 days old (!) https://twitter.com/...
Enter ConstitutionDAO. Austin Cain & Graham Novak are friends from Atlanta. Recently, Graham texted Austin, “I have a whacky idea.” “I like whacky ideas, hit me,” Austin responded. The idea: Put The Constitution in the hands of the people, by buying it together https://twitter.co…
Now, let's fast forward. Today, ~11 of 500 originals of The Constitution remain. Just 1 (of 11) is owned by an individual. That individual is Howard Goldman. In 1988, he bought the doc for $165,000. Howard has since passed and is survived by his wife, Dorothy Goldman. https://twi…
.@ConstitutionDAO: “it's called a DAO, where a bunch of us on the internet raised $20 million to buy one of the original 11 constitutions, and we all each own a part of it using cryptocurrency...” https://twitter.com/...
Web3 is daunting as shit. If you want an on-ramp, here it is. There are 11 remaining originals of the Constitution. Only 1 is privately owned. It is being auctioned by @Sothebys on Thurs. @ConstitutionDAO is using community/tokens to buy it. We're buying...the Constitution.
Gm. Latest update from @ConstitutionDAO: we have confirmation from Sotheby's that they will accept an ethereum address as proof of funds! The catch is we have to verify before the auction begins at 6pm ET on 11/18. Our Juicebox to pool funds is also almost ready! lfg wgbtc
Another footnote to my thesis that the defining characteristic of the Internet in the 2020s is the increased ease with which online movements are harnessed to have real world impact. The policy challenge is that when things go awry we no longer have big tech necks to choke. https…
Who of the DAO gets to hang it up in their bedroom? Will the DAO pay to preserve and to insure the physical artifact? And, the DAO and every one of its members will pay all the appropriate taxes if it is ever sold - even in partial ways - right? Right? https://twitter.com/...