AssangeDAO, the decentralised autonomous organisation set up to support Julian Assange’s legal battles, has raised $53M ($75M AUD).
What happened to Julian Assange?
Julian Assange is a somewhat controversial figure in the crypto space.
Some regard him as a great ambassador for crypto, wronged by authorities and unfairly persecuted by authorities. Others claim he is doing more harm than good in his battle to regain freedom, although many admit that the US government is making an example out of him. As is often the case, the truth may be somewhere in the middle.
Roughly two months ago, The United States won an appeal of a British court that ruled out Assange’s extradition to the US. The same day, the AssangeDAO began its work, warning that the Wikileaks founder is facing 175 years in prison for publishing “truthful information.” That, of course, referred to the information leaked from US Army Intelligence Officer Chelsea Manning.
Following the leak, Assange sought asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for seven years before a new government revoked his stay. For the last three years Assange has been held in London’s Belmarsh prison, becoming an icon of free speech for some and a traitor for others. With Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, privacy and the right to own your own data has resurfaced in the public discourse and so has Assange’s legal struggle.
AssangeDAO fills its coffers
Even though some in crypto may see Assange’s presence as harmful for the space, its recent fundraise still marked an impressive milestone.
The AssangeDAO concluded a raise dedicated to the Wikileaks founder’s legal battles by raising 17,422 Ether from 10,000 people, with all funds dedicated to bid on an NFT from a drop called “Censored.” This one-of-one NFT from digital artist Pak, created in collaboration with Assange, will be auctioned, with proceeds going to Assange’s defence fund and awareness campaigns to battle his extradition to the United States.
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“One Thousand Thirty Four,” as the drop is called, stood at a top bid of 4,242.42 Ether at the time of writing. It includes an open edition with unlimited mints within a specific time frame. Pak states that proceeds will be donated to “information freedom, digital privacy, education, health, and human and animal rights” organisations.” According to the artist, the message’s focus is censorship and how to return censored content to the people.
The 17,422 Ether raised by the AssangeDAO was the largest ever amount raised from DAO through Juicebox, a community funding platform. It surpassed the previous best (11,613 Ether) set by ConstitutionDAO, which narrowly missed out on buying a copy of the 1st edition United States Constitution. The strong support from the 10,000 participants in the raise suggests that Assange’s case continues to be of interest for many in the cryptocurrency space. The participants will also receive a JUSTICE governance token, giving them the right to influence the DAO’s future direction. Whether JUSTICE could eventually become a hotly-traded commodity like the PEOPLE token from ConstitutionDAO remains to be seen.
