A group of crypto investors that describe themselves as “a collective of cypherpunks fighting for the liberation of Julian Assange” has raised over $47 million in Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) for the cause.
What Happened: The AssangeDAO – a decentralized autonomous organization – aims to raise ETH in return for the $JUSTICE governance token to bid on a 1/1 NFT produced by digital artist Pak in collaboration with Assange.
Proceeds raised from the NFT sale will reportedly go towards Assange's defense fund for legal fees, as well as a campaign to raise awareness about the WikiLeaks founder’s extradition case. Assange faces a 175-year prison sentence if he is extradited to the United States.
As of Tuesday morning, the DAO had raised 15,368 ETH worth $47,188,058.72 at current prices.
The large sum was raised in under a week making AssangeDAO the most successful JuiceBox DAO raise in history. JuiceBox is the community funding platform that is hosting the campaign.
AssangeDAO is now the largest JuiceBox DAO raise in History exceeding that of ConstitutionDAO.
— AssangeDAO (@AssangeDAO) February 6, 2022
Congrats everyone this seriously exceeded our wildest expectations!#FreeAssangeNOW pic.twitter.com/MqhZv6CWTK
FreeRossDAO, which raised $12 million to free Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, served as the inspiration for the formation of AssangeDAO.
The fundraiser saw participation from several big names in the crypto space, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin who donated 10 ETH worth $31,000.
As did I.https://t.co/o4iPyva68Z
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) February 7, 2022
National Security Agency whistle-blower Edward Snowden also commented on the rate at which AssangeDAO had managed to raise funds, saying it looked very much like a “protest vote against the White House's abuse of the Espionage Act.”
The Assange NFT is doing real numbers. Very much looks like a protest vote against the White House's abuse of the Espionage Act. https://t.co/taQDbCGOkc
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) February 6, 2022
Photo: Courtesy of Anarchimedia on Flickr
