A DAO wants to buy Blockbuster and turn it into a decentralized film streaming service

Just weeks after a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) tried to buy an original copy of the US Constitution, another historical artifact has become theof a DAO: the defunct movie rental business Blockbuster. 

The new DAO’s name is, aptly, BlockbusterDAO. According to a Twitter thread posted on December 25, BlockbusterDAO seeks to govern the Blockbuster brand and create a decentralized film streaming service out of it — with plans for movie financing and production down the road. 

To achieve its goals, BlockbusterDAO intends to raise $5 million to purchase Blockbuster from Dish Network, an American television provider that bought the movie rental company in 2011. BlockbusterDAO aims to raise the cash by selling BlockbusterDAO NFTs for 0.13 ETH (about $530 USD). 

“One reported offer 'low-balled' $1.8 million for the brand, but it seems that the price tag is going to be higher to beat out any counter-offers,” wrote the DAO’s creator on Twitter.

DAOs gained prominence in 2021 as a way for groups to democratically make decisions and achieve a common goal. They often use NFTs, governance tokens or other forms of cryptocurrency to vote on these decisions and raise funds for the DAO. 

Recent prominent DAOs include ConstitutionDAO, which raised $11 million in a failed attempt to buy a rare copy of the United States Constitution, and the prison reform advocacy group striving to release the Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht from incarceration called FreeRossDAO.