• Andrew Yang said Web3 technologies present “the most profound opportunity to fight poverty”
  • Membership in the Lobby3 DAO costs 0.07 ETH, while becoming an “advocate” in the community is priced at one ETH

Former presidential and NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang is aiming to launch a DAO to get lobbying dollars and the lawmakers they influence on board with Web3.

Yang announced the initiative, called Lobby3, in a Twitter post Thursday. After its lobbying infrastructure is built, a portion of the proceeds will fund a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization). The minting of Lobby3 tokens is set for Feb. 28.

It is a blockchain-driven pivot from Humanity Forward, a nonprofit launched by Yang in 2020 focused on anti-poverty measures, including the child tax credit.

“But now I’ve realized that the most profound opportunity to fight poverty lies in Web3 technologies,” he said in the Twitter video. “Unfortunately our leaders in DC don’t really get these technologies — they’re a little bit nervous about them, so that’s what we have to change.”

Lobby3 token holders can participate in community votes, roundtable discussions with policy leaders and exclusive events.

Baseline DAO membership costs 0.07 ether, while becoming an “advocate” — with additional access to certain virtual and in-person events — is priced at one ETH.

Lobby3 intends to fund advocacy organizations in DC to form relationships with lawmakers and educate them on Web3. It’s also looking to recruit governors and mayors to run Web3 pilots to show how blockchain technology can boost financial inclusion and reduce poverty.

Yang previously told Blockworks that Web3 must become a vital source of money, media and votes.

“Let’s say that we were to do a cryptocurrency pilot in a Black neighborhood in Ohio, and then the Democratic senator, Sherrod Brown, was to see that some of his constituents are able to access financial services in a way that they weren’t able to before,” Yang said. “Then, when he gets asked about the technology, he has a completely different perspective and outlook on it.”

Brown called crypto “a shady, diffuse network of online funny money” in July.

The launch of Lobby3 comes as spending on crypto lobbying grew to nearly $5 million in 2021, according to a Crypto Head analysis of OpenSecrets data — a 116% increase from 2020.

Coinbase, the Blockchain Association, Ripple Labs and Robinhood have each spent more than $1 million for crypto lobbying over the past five years, the report found.

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  • Ben Strack is a Denver-based reporter covering macro and crypto-native funds, financial advisors, structured products, and the integration of digital assets and decentralized finance (DeFi) into traditional finance. Prior to joining Blockworks, he covered the asset management industry for Fund Intelligence and was a reporter and editor for various local newspapers on Long Island. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in journalism. Contact Ben via email at [email protected]