DAOs flock to Wyoming

The Future. DAOs are flocking to Wyoming in order to build utopian cities on the blockchain… or at least some sort of real estate project funded through token sales. While none of these early movers may make good on their biggest ambitions, they could pave the way for micro-communities to create blockchain-based neighborhoods in existing cities… or at least turn Wyoming into the Delaware of crypto.

If you blockchain it, they will come
CityDAO wants to “build the future of real estate ownership on chain.”

• The decentralized autonomous organization, which has already raised $7 million from its 10,000 members, owns a 40-acre plot of land near Cody, Wyoming — dubbed “Parcel Zero.”
• Although many people think CityDAO wants to build an actual city on that land, it actually hasn’t settled on what project will eventually be constructed.
• Ideas range from building a weather tower to hosting a large DAO festival to simply being part of “network cities that can exist over wide areas.”
• Either way, member CityDAO “citizen” Justin Kalland describes the project as a “proof of concept” in mass governance.

Of note, CityDAO’s land is described by a member as “wild and inhospitable,” overrun with rattlesnakes, and subject to frequent 100mph winds… so it’s maybe not the best place for a city. Alternatively, CityDAO could have more success if it bought Kanye West’s 4,000-acre ranch in Clark, which many members are interested in.

Crypto cowboys
CityDao is not the only blockchain community trying to homestead in Wyoming. Kitchen Lands DAO has already bought land, and decentralized venture capital organization Jade Protocol is considering it. Kitchen Lands member Max Gravitt says that the eventual benefit of real estate on the blockchain is that it’s “highly liquid and global” because he can sell his land to anyone, including someone they’ve just met online, by simply selling the corresponding token.

But why Wyoming? The Cowboy State has come forward as the bastion of cryptocurrency freedom. Specifically, Wyoming has codified digital token sales, passed laws to create cryptocurrency banks, and allowed DAOs to register as LLCs to give them more legal protections. The state probably hopes that catering to the crypto community will bring in more tax revenue… and maybe even more residents.