Crypto’s Constitution Crowdfund…Take Two

December 10, 2022
|In Weekend Recap
|By Osprey Team

UnumDAO Picks-up where ConstitutionDAO Left-Off

In November of 2021 a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) by the name of ConstitutionDAO made a valiant effort to purchase an original copy of the U.S. Constitution. ConstitutionDAO gained instant traction and was able to raise ~$47 million within a week but was ultimately outbid by billionaire Founder & CEO of Citadel, Ken Griffin.

When Sotheby’s announced they would be auctioning off another original copy of the Constitution UnumDAO, now dubbed “ConstitutionDAO2”, decided to give the endeavor another shot. The auditable nature of the blockchain is great in many circumstances but crowdfunding to bid at an auction is not one of them, as other bidders can view the exact value held in your coffers. Many believe Ken Griffin used this insight to swoop in with the last moment winning bid. ConstitutionDAO2 has learned from its predecessor and will allow for both public and private contributions to the cause. At the time of writing the DAO had publicly raised 138.4 ETH (~$175,000) from 212 funders in a week and says they have much more in private contributions. You can check out the public fundraising status here. The auction is set to take place in New York City on Tuesday December 13th and is estimated to go for somewhere in the range of $20-$30 million.

Osprey Gives Transparency on the OBTC Discount

This week the Osprey Team decided to publish a comprehensive explanation on the structure of the Osprey Bitcoin Trust, OBTC, and why it is currently trading at a discount. To learn more, check out the thread below.

ICP is Bringing Smart Contracts to Bitcoin

The Internet Computer (ICP) blockchain, developed by the Zurich based not-for-profit DFINITY Foundation, “is an extension of the existing internet that enables a global network of computers to provide the computing power for running application software that provides a public platform for hosting tokens and decentralized applications (dapps)”. On December 2nd DFINITY announced their execution of a proposal to integrate the Internet Computer with Bitcoin.

This integration permits the Internet Computer to act as a Layer 2 for Bitcoin, allowing smart contracts to hold, send, and receive Bitcoin natively. In the past, Bitcoin has been a most unprogrammable asset due to its rigid architecture. Developers have tried to get around this by creating programmable digital representations of BTC through techniques like wrapping or bridging through third party providers. The problem with these workarounds is that they are prone to errors and often exploited. From September 2020 to October 2022 nearly $2.5 billion in assets were lost in cross-chain bridges.

Internet Computer will use a cryptographic breakthrough known as Chain Key Technology to implement smart contracts on Bitcoin. The technology is allowing for DFINITY to create Chain-Key Bitcoin (ckBTC) which “will act as a local ledger facilitating fast transactions with low fees” that settles on the Bitcoin blockchain, creating a programmable Layer 2 on the Bitcoin network.

Podcast of the Week:

Click below to listen to Tony Edward and Caitlin Long discuss the fallout of FTX, exchanges implementing Proof-of-Reserves/Liabilities, crypto cycles and the next Bitcoin halving, the approval of a Spot Bitcoin ETF, and much more…

ICYMI:

Binance.US extends zero trading fee offerings to ETH/USD & ETH/Stablecoin trading pairs

Mazars shows a 101% collateralization ratio on Binance’s BTC after Proof-of-Reserves/Liabilities audit

FTX was in conversations with Taylor Swift over a $100 million sponsorship deal pre-implosion

Starbucks opens its web3 loyalty program and NFT community to first beta testers

Before We Go: