Unlocking Freedom: The Unique Fundraising for Julian Assange Through a DAO

The Rise of AssangeDAO

The grassroots movement to secure Julian Assange’s freedom has taken an innovative turn with the establishment of AssangeDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization. This group has astoundingly raised over 12,569 Ether (ETH), translating to an impressive $38.8 million. Talk about crowd-funding with style!

What’s the Deal with Julian?

Currently, Assange is preparing to battle an extradition order to the United States after a controversial court decision. He’s been in a London prison since 2019, making his situation quite the legal rollercoaster. On December 23, the U.S. government celebrated a significant judicial win when a UK court ruling that aimed to block his extradition was overturned. And here we thought rollercoasters were reserved for theme parks!

Donation Frenzy

As soon as donations opened up on JuiceBox, the wave of support began rapidly rolling in. Over the weekend, contributions have doubled, which means people really got into the spirit (and the Ether!). As it stands, AssangeDAO became the largest Ether raise in JuiceBox history, surpassing even the legendary ConstitutionDAO’s $49 million fundraising stunt last November. Who knew a fight for justice could make such big waves?

Tokens and The Mission

Now, you might be wondering, what is this all for? AssangeDAO is not just fishing for donations; it seeks to offer participants governance tokens in return for their ETH contributions. These tokens are called JUSTICE tokens and will be used to bid on a curated NFT collection titled “Censored” by the digital artist Pak, alongside Assange himself. Who says justice can’t be stylish and digital?

From Telegram to Action

Interestingly, the origins of AssangeDAO can be traced back to a humble Telegram group that sprang into action after the U.S. government’s victory in December. As stated on their official site, extradition could mean a staggering 175 years in prison for Assange, primarily for publishing information vital to public knowledge. Suddenly, the stakes humanize the digits, making this movement even more significant.