Washington Post: “A group of crypto enthusiasts were unsuccessful in their attempt to buy a historic copy of the U.S. Constitution after raising millions from investors who jumped on board. The group, called ConstitutionDAO, raised the equivalent of more than $40 million to purchase the document, which Sotheby’s said is one of 13 copies of the first printing of the Constitution. But the group confirmed it did not have the winning bid in a message to members Thursday evening.
“‘While this wasn’t the outcome we hoped for, we still made history tonight with ConstitutionDAO,’ a message from the group organizers said. ‘We are so incredibly grateful to have done this together with you all and are still in shock that we even got this far.’ In a tweet, Sotheby’s said the document sold for $43.2 million. The buyer is unknown.
“More than 17,000 people donated to the DAO group to buy the document, using a cryptocurrency called Ether. In exchange, they would have received governance tokens — or, essentially, a way to vote on where and how the copy of the Constitution should be displayed. On its website, the group said it ideally wanted to find a partner that would display the document free to the public.”