Hedge fund billionaire outbid ConstitutionDAO for a copy of the US Constitution

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It turns out that the way to defeat the collective will of the internet’s cryptocurrency fans is to have a lot more money than them. Ken Griffin, CEO and founder of Citadel, was revealed to be the winner of last night’s $ 43.2 million auction for a rare copy of the U.S. Constitution. A collective of crypto enthusiasts, calling themselves ConstitutionDAO, managed to raise $ 47 million in about a week in a pipe-dreaming attempt to win the document themselves and present it to the public for free.

Although the DAO didn’t win, they did manage to push the price up on Griffin, with both sides slowly going back and forth millions by millions at the auction last night, each looking uncertain if they could go a million. upper. with every offer of success. Finally, ConstitutionDAO threw in the towel, telling supporters they would not have had enough money to “secure, store and transport the document.”

“This copy of our Constitution will be available to all Americans and visitors”

Griffin seems to be aware that a collective of 17,000 people will be quite unhappy with him, so, perhaps it is no coincidence, he pledges to achieve roughly the same goals set for the document s ‘they had won the auction. “I intend to ensure that this copy of our Constitution will be available to all Americans and visitors to view and enjoy in our museums and other public spaces,” he said in a statement. It will start with the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, which is free to enter.

Citadel is one of the largest hedge funds in the world, and Forbes ranks it fourth on its list of richest hedge fund managers, with a net worth of $ 16.1 billion. Her auction victory can only further frustrate the internet-first finance crowd, some of whom are skeptical of Griffin’s other firm, Citadel Securities, as it pays Robinhood to execute trading orders for its users. Just this week, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Robinhood and Citadel Securities colluded to freeze trading during the GameStonk explosion in early 2021.

After losing the offer, ConstitutionDAO is in the process of dissolving itself and plans to return all funds raised to backers, less transaction fees. Organizers of the group said “this was not the outcome we were hoping for”, but they were “still in shock that we got this far”.

Correction Nov. 19, 6:10 p.m. ET: Griffin is the majority owner of Citadel and Citadel Securities, but the two companies operate independently, according to a spokesperson for Citadel Securities. This story originally indicated that Citadel Securities was a subsidiary of Citadel.

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