Key Takeaways:
- The PEOPLE Token of ConstitutionDAO reaches an all-time high.
- ConstitutionDAO – short for “decentralized autonomous organization” – gathered massive sums of money in the Ethereum cryptocurrency to bid for an exceedingly rare privately-owned copy of the US constitution’s first printing.
ConstitutionDAO found itself in possession of $49.8 million it couldn’t spend as of late Thursday night. So instead of trying to acquire a community agreement to spend the money on anything else, the group’s leaders started the process of returning the funds to donors.
The PEOPLE token from ConstitutionDAO has risen about 200% in the last 24 hours, reaching a new all-time high of $0.033. Over the previous several hours, the price has already dropped considerably.
According to CoinGecko, PEOPLE is now trading for about $0.020.
PEOPLE’s price surge comes only days after the ConstitutionDAO shut down the business, claiming the initiative had “run its course.”
The individuals behind a botched attempt to acquire a rare original copy of the US constitution face a deluge of refunds, with some 17,000 contributors receiving up to $40 million.
The ConstitutionDAO team employed a “decentralized” strategy to accumulate the money – mainly unregulated and utilizing cryptocurrencies.
Hefty fees for such crypto-transactions, on the other hand, are chewing up large quantities of money throughout the return process.
The organization stated that giving reimbursements is its top priority. Despite initially vowing to continue, it later declared the project’s closure on its website.
However, returning so much money has proven to be a difficult task. Backers must individually seek refunds. Therefore tens of millions of dollars are still lying in ConstitutionDAO’s coffers a week later. Because all of the money was gathered in Ether, and transmitting funds through Ethereum incurs significant transaction charges, donors have found that getting their money back has become a costly prospect.
“PEOPLE ARE NEW TO THIS; IT’S DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND.”
At least not yet. The return process has not been as chaotic as its worst moments suggest. According to Andrew Hong, a data scientist working in the crypto realm, more than half of the monies received by ConstitutionDAO have already been refunded. This afternoon, about $27 million, or around 54% of the amount raised, has been returned. However, this implies that about $23 million is still waiting to be spent.
On November 11, a group of crypto aficionados agreed over a Zoom call to gather cash to purchase a first-edition copy of the United States Constitution auctioned by Sotheby’s.
Only half a week later, the DAO had raised almost $5 million from roughly 2,300 donors through the sale of PEOPLE tokens.
On the day of the auction, November 19, the DAO had raised an incredible $45 million.
