"Last December, following a legal proceeding that opened the possibility for political activist Julian Assange to be extradited to the U.S, a collective called AssangeDAO was founded. Its explicit aim was to “free” the dissident WikiLeaks founder, who spent several years locked up in Ecuador's embassy in London before being put behind bars in a U.K. prison.
The DAO is taking something of a circuitous path towards freeing Assange. Last month it raised 17,422 ether (about $56 million at the time) to bid on a non-fungible token (NFT) project that would then funnel funds towards charitable efforts supporting Assange’s legal case and (unlikely) release, run by the Wau Holland Foundation.
“This is an important moment in DAO history,” Rachel-Rose O’Leary, a core contributor of AssangeDAO (and CoinDesk writer), said at the time. The NFT project, called “Censored,” was created by influential conceptual artist Pak in collaboration with Assange and his family. The DAO bid on that collection’s big-ticket item, a one-of-one NFT called “Clock,” which tracks the number of days Assange has spent in prison."
Despite the governance difficulties, the AssangeDAO raised $56 million for Assange's legal defense fund. He can now afford private attorneys, whereas before he was relying on pro bono and public defenders.
The DAO is taking something of a circuitous path towards freeing Assange. Last month it raised 17,422 ether (about $56 million at the time) to bid on a non-fungible token (NFT) project that would then funnel funds towards charitable efforts supporting Assange’s legal case and (unlikely) release, run by the Wau Holland Foundation.
“This is an important moment in DAO history,” Rachel-Rose O’Leary, a core contributor of AssangeDAO (and CoinDesk writer), said at the time. The NFT project, called “Censored,” was created by influential conceptual artist Pak in collaboration with Assange and his family. The DAO bid on that collection’s big-ticket item, a one-of-one NFT called “Clock,” which tracks the number of days Assange has spent in prison."
Despite the governance difficulties, the AssangeDAO raised $56 million for Assange's legal defense fund. He can now afford private attorneys, whereas before he was relying on pro bono and public defenders.