Digix Gold Tokens (DGX)

From CryptoWiki

Basics

  • Token of the DigixDAO
  • "On-chain proof of auditing; no fractional reserve; fully allocated"
  • Each token represents 1 gram of 99.99% LBMA standard gold and secured in Safehouse vaults

Components:

Audit

End of a DAO

  • Digix created the DigixDAO in 2016.
  • Had it's DAO liquidated by vote (20-1-2020):

"Project Ragnarok, a measure to return ether to ICO investors from the Digix project’s treasury – which was held independently of the company in a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), DigixDAO – has passed with over 95 percent support. Only 52 votes were cast, according to the proposal on the Digix community site.

As CoinDesk reported this winter, Digix’s CEO Kai Cheng Chng offered to dissolve the DAO following community requests. "One recurring comment was for a mechanism for dissatisfied DGD token holders to make a clean break from DigixDAO,” he wrote in a Digix blog post. Digix itself does not plan on closing up shop given the results of the vote, however. Digix abstained from voting on the proposal as it was not in favor of liquidating the fund, according to the blog post."

  • From this post-liquidation article (28-1-2020):

"There are three main mechanisms controlling people's behaviour in this system and keeping it all from spiralling out of control:

  1. Moderators. Individuals who hold a certain amount of DGD tokens automatically become moderators. The idea is that people with a larger stake in the success of the DigixDAO ecosystem can be trusted with additional responsibility.
  2. Rewards. Moderators and other active participants are entitled to DGX rewards, taken from DGX transaction fees and pulled from the plumbing of other network money sinks.
  3. Underlying incentives. Whether you're requesting funding, voting or moderating, DGD holdings are required for all participants. The assumption is that this aligns everyone's incentives.

The idea was for Project Ragnarok to recur each quarter, providing periodic opportunities for community members to pull the plug. It didn't come to that though, as the apocalypse passed with overwhelming approval the first time it was put to vote.

The final count was about 670,000 DGD (over $20 million) for yes and 20,000 DGD (about $620,000) for no.

 It's quite clear that DigixDAO really doesn't need to maintain a $65 million treasury. Keeping it in the treasury is simply not a good use of money when it could be earning interest instead. Without actually crunching the numbers, it looks like the potential interest earned on $65 million would have been more than enough to fund every request the DigixDAO ever approved.

And with DigixDAO as an example, it's also clear that there are potential issues with small groups, consolidation of power and economic unsustainability in DAOs. There are over 11,000 DGD addresses, but the apocalypse was passed with only 58 votes. Despite the rewards for doing so, the vast majority of people still elect not to participate."