The ConstitutionDAO group did not win its bid to buy a copy of the US Constitution, however, amassing the $40 million USD in Etherium cost them $1 million in transaction fees, and assumedly will cost similar to return the, now-lesser valued, coin.
THE FUTURE IS NOW, SHEEPLE!
The 17,000+ cryptocurrency enthusiasts who collectively funded a losing $40 million bid to purchase a copy of the U.S. Constitution last week face a new hurdle in getting their money back: transaction fees.
How it works: The ConstitutionDAO group used Ethereum to build its war chest, and contributors paid "gas fees" — essentially, network transaction costs — that observers estimated to run about $50 per transaction.
That didn't mean much to big-ticket participants, but took a big bite out of smaller contributors.
The median contribution size was a little over $200, according to the ConstitutionDAO site.
Participants in the bid collectively spent nearly $1 million on the gas fees, according to one estimate.
The catch: Organizers announced over the weekend that they'd be returning contributors' Ether contributions, but each participant would have to pony up another gas fee for this new transaction.
