Lobby3 DAO - Bringing the voices of Web3 to Washington DC

[humanityforward]

Lobby3 DAO

Lobby3 is a new Web3 community designed to give the people a stronger voice in Washington, DC — so we can build a more prosperous economic future together.

The emergence of Web3 offers a historic opportunity — to decentralize economic opportunity, eliminate barriers to financial inclusion, combat poverty, and advance the human condition.

Unfortunately, ill-informed and poorly-designed policy can prevent Web3 from reaching its full potential.

That’s why we’re building Lobby3 — a first-of-its-kind project to fund effective policy advocacy and educate lawmakers about the positive potential of Web3.

Web3 technologies offer significant pathways to improve our economy – expanding and decentralizing economic opportunity. We are only beginning to explore the positive potential for Web3.
Here are several example use cases we plan to share with lawmakers:

Decentralizing Internet Networks

A decentralized network of blockchain-based hotspots can be created by offering crypto payments to individuals who purchase and place the hot spots.

Improving Supply Chains

Blockchain-based record keeping assists tracking and transparency at every stage of the supply chain, from material sourcing through production and delivery.

Safeguarding Medical Patients

Patients can access and own their medical data across health systems and insurers. Connected wearables can monitor vitals or find lost dementia patients.

Generating Revenue for Cities & Towns

Individual citizens can financially support their city and grow its crypto treasury. This localized approach generates revenue without tax increases.

Simplifying Financial Transactions

Direct financial transactions can occur between two parties with reduced payment fees, expedited processing times, and overall transactional freedom.

Building Transparency Into Charitable Giving

Charitable donations can be tracked through to their final destination, bypassing potentially corrupt officials to assist those in need of direct financial support.

Empowering Artists, Makers & Creators

Consumers can be connected directly to creators, providing the early-stage funds for people to start their own businesses and market their products/services.

Expanding Ownership of Data

Individuals regain ownership and control of their data with the added security of encryption. They can permit their data to be sold and receive compensation.

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Roadmap

1. Lawmaker Education

• Meet directly with bipartisan lawmakers and their senior staff
• Convene roundtables with industry experts and public service providers
• Host “Crypto 101” training series
• Offer a neutral perspective on the positive potential of Web3

2. Innovative Policy & Research Partnerships

• Gather research on Web3’s potential impact
• Conduct policy analyses and advance bipartisan legislation
• Collect, package, and deliver constituent stories to lawmakers
• Potential Partnership – Aspen Institute Financial Security Program and other innovative players

3. State & Local Partnerships

• Facilitate conversations with local elected officials such as governors, state legislators, and mayors
• Coordinate with advocacy organizations in fields that benefit from Web3
• Demonstrate the efficacy of Web3 technologies through state/local pilots and demonstrations

4. Pilot Programs

• In key states and districts across the country, our advocacy team will forge partnerships with Governors, Mayors and other local elected officials to run Web3 pilot programs.
• Demonstrate the capacity of blockchain technology to reduce poverty, lift barriers to financial inclusion, and create greater economic opportunity for marginalized communities.

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How it Works

Membership

Purchasing a Lobby3 general membership token means you’ll be supporting proactive efforts to give the people a new voice on Capitol Hill, and you’ll be joining the group of like-minded thought-leaders, innovators, and Web3 enthusiasts who will have a front row seat to shaping a collective future that advances the positive economic impact of blockchain technology.

Participation

Through community votes, roundtable discussions with policy leaders, and exclusive events, Lobby3 token holders will participate in building a new community for the Web3 ecosystem. As a community, we will prioritize and propose new policy, and aggregate new ideas that need to be top of mind for our leaders.

Token

Lobby3 tiers one and two will be available as a token. Our goal is to make this community accessible to as many people as possible, while also meaningfully moving the needle with well-resourced advocacy in Washington D.C. Each minted token adds your unique avatar to the National Mall, and as more community members join Lobby3, the National Mall will fill with our members.
Founding members of Lobby3 will be joining an exclusive group of invite-only leaders looking to put major resources to work for high-impact lobbying efforts.

The DAO

We want to build not only a world-class lobbying operation, but also create an infrastructure for the web3 community to share ideas and concerns to our leaders in DC.

Thus, the Lobby3 DAO is designed for any community member to contribute policy ideas, vote on where the community stands, and voice their opinion on where a portion of funds raised should go.

Primary areas of focus for the DAO:

1. Policy Suggestions

The DAO will be regularly polled about policy priorities and concerns and the outcomes of these polls will help set the lobbying agenda. Members are also welcome to introduce proposals for action around particular issue areas.

Of course, given the sensitive nature of lobbying (and due to certain legal restrictions), it is impossible to have community input on every legislative decision. It is important that the lobbying experts/infrastructure we build have the latitude needed to make decisions based on private information.

Thus, policy proposals approved by the DAO will be used as priority guidance for any lobbying efforts to decentralize economic opportunity for the people and advance Web3 on Capitol Hill. In situations where the infrastructure itself cannot adequately take on a particular issue voted on by the DAO, other avenues for supporting an issue will be explored.

2. Speaker Requests / Events

Lobby3 DAO members can propose and vote on guests they’d like to invite to community events and Andrew Yang and his team will do their best to gain access to these individuals.

Town hall meetings with teams from the House, Senate, and elsewhere in government are expected.

3. Treasury

Once Lobby3 Tier I and II token members have raised enough funding to set up the initial national advocacy infrastructure (approximately $3 million), the remaining funds raised for lobbying efforts will be put into the DAO treasury, which will be overseen by token holders. Funds will be spent according to how the community votes—IRL meet-ups and events, support for other lobbying efforts, or other relevant, proposed DAO activities.

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Pricing Structure

Tier : Member

Mint Total: Unlimited (minting period has concluded)
Priced: .07 ETH

Membership to the Lobby3 DAO gives you access to our community. Benefits include:

1. Discord Access

Access to the member discord, where we will gather like-minded innovators and leaders in the Web3 space.

2. Status Updates

Updates on advocacy efforts directly from Andrew Yang, as well as from policy experts working in the trenches

3. AMAs w/ Andrew Yang

Frequent Ask-Me-Anything or various Q&A events with Andrew Yang and other leaders in the community.

4. Events & Merch

Early access and discounted rates on community events, merchandise, and other perks.

5. Voting

One token = one vote on community issues, guest speakers, policy suggestions, and more.

Tier : Advocate

Mint Total: 2000 (minting period has concluded)
Priced: 1 ETH

Advocates in the Lobby3 DAO have the ability to contribute to the direction and voice of this community. Benefits include:

1. Exclusive Leadership Access

Advocates will be invited to monthly virtual (and when possible, in-person) meetings with special guests, partner organizations, and Web3 leaders to ask questions and help shape our community’s policy priorities for the movement.

2. VIP Event Access

Advocate token holders will have free access to exclusive in-person events the Lobby3 DAO will host, including an invitation to the first Andrew Yang Web3 VIP event at Bitcoin 2022 in April 2022.

3. Exclusive Merch & NFTs

All Advocates will receive an exclusive pin upon purchase (provided you are willing to provide us a mailing address), in addition to future AirDrops.

4. Website Recognition

Advocate token holders will have their names (or aliases) on the Lobby3 website as founding members.

5. All Level 1 Perks

Tier Founder

Group Total: 100
Priced: 40 ETH

These are founding members of Lobby3, joining an exclusive group of invite-only leaders looking to put major resources to work for high-impact lobbying efforts. Click below to request an invitation. Benefits include:

1. One-on-one access to Andrew Yang and the Lobby3 Team

Founders will become part of a group of 100 leaders in the Web3 space, interacting directly with Andrew Yang and the Lobby3 team.

2. Andrew Yang Event Attendance / Participation

The group will vote to bring Andrew Yang as a keynote speaker and/or attendee to five events of their choice per year (subject to scheduling and minimal exceptions). These can include casual meals, small roundtables, or formal keynote speeches

3. VIP Intimate Access Group Meetings

Off-the-record group meetings with policy leaders, to get involved in shaping advocacy efforts to decentralize economic opportunity.

4. Exclusive Network

Join a network of 100 other Web3 influencers and players in the space with an aligned mission of building a positive, decentralized economic future for all

5. All Level 1 Perks

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Team & Partners

Multisig

0x40756ceAfE359B4ac2D820Ca77f56D4e3F737152

Andrew Yang
Co-Founder Lobby3
Founder Humanity Forward, Founder Forward Party

Zach Graumann
Co-Founder Lobby3
Entrepreneur, Author, Former Presidential Campaign Manager for Andrew Yang

Carly Reilly
Host Overpriced JPEGs at Bankless
Chief Of Staff at BLOCK::BLOCK, Former Head Of Communications at Kairos, Former National Finance Director at Yang 2020

Patrick Lu
Founder Quant Five
Co-Founder at AMPLI, Founder at Munch, y-combinator fellowship

Jonathan D Chang
Senior Concept Artist at OnChain Studios
Former Creative Director at Launchmode Design

Paolo Mastrangelo
Head of Policy & Government Affairs, Humanity Forward
Former Member of Holland & Knight, Former Congressional Staffer - House Financial Services Committee

Reginald Darby
Senior Director of Government Relations, Humanity Forward
Former Congressional Staffer - House Financial Services Committee

David Coffield
Director of Government Affairs, Humanity Forward
Former Congressional Staffer - House Financial Services Committee

Justin Williams
Director of Development, Humanity Forward
Former Finance for Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Former Regional Organizing Director at Yang 2020

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External links

Welcome to Lobby3

https://twitter.com/Lobby3D

What is Lobby3? | Forward with Andrew Yang

Join the Lobby 3 Legacy Server Discord Server!

[humanityforward]

(post deleted by author)

[HarmonyUniverse]

Hello and welcome. Assigning to team member @Sam to review.

[lij]

this is one of @Zi_Wang’s project x from ethdenver. he’ll reply shortly.

[frwrdslosh]

So freaking excited to see this proposal here!

Big ups to @Zi_Wang and the Lobby3 DAO for making this partnership work

I, personally, am a huge fan.

@lij @Sam

[z_timeless]

Lobby3 will deliver Web3 a more powerful voice in DC and connect builders with policymakers to secure a healthy Web3 ecosystem. Harmony and the community are excited to start the journey with Andrew and the team.

In the meantime, I encourage the Lobby3 DAO team to share a more detailed roadmap on how to integrate with Harmony in the coming weeks.

Congrats to the team; the proposal is approved.

[eddnorris]

Proud to be Lobby3 Advocate #92!

Very excited to see what comes from #Lobby3 from here and now especially so with this outright support!

Thank you @z_timeless!

What do we need to do from here? @humanityforward #ForwardParty

[humanityforward]

Thank you Zi! We are so excited to have the Harmony community on board as a partner in our mission to give the Web3 community a stronger voice in DC.

Just this past week, Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee Sen. Toomey (R-Pa.) announced a new bill to regulate stablecoin issuers. The FDIC issued a letter for institutions to submit notifications of their crypto activities. Treasury Secretary Yellen reiterated the President’s Working Group’s recommendation that Congress regulate stablecoins similarly to traditional banking institutions.

The work in DC is underway!

[humanityforward]

Thank you so much for joining as an Advocate at #92! We are currently getting the infrastructure in place on The Hill thanks to all the members of Lobby3. One thing that would be incredibly helpful is use case examples of projects happening on Web3 to help us speak to the utility of the technology on Web3. My discord handle is LeftForwardRight#5017

[Failapotmaus]

I see that this proposal was approved, but I’m having trouble seeing how much funding this DAO was given and what milestones they need to reach to receive funding.

Could someone please point me to this information. Thanks

[Failapotmaus]

@z_timeless please see the above message

[Failapotmaus]

@lij @Sam just following up on this

[humanityforward]

Humanity Forward / Lobby3 May Update

HUMANITY FORWARD APPLAUDS BLOCKCHAIN RESOLUTION INTRODUCED AT US CONFERENCE OF MAYORS

Humanity Forward applauds the introduction of a bipartisan resolution in the US Conference of Mayors recognizing the potential of blockchain technology to create unique opportunities for communities across America to grow their economies and create jobs. The US Conference of Mayors (USCM) is the largest national organization representing mayors of America’s largest cities.

As blockchain expands and grows exponentially, a bipartisan group of mayors is calling for “direct and coherent guidelines for the testing, adoption, and use of technologies” that both protects consumers and fosters the growing innovation and vast potential of the emerging technology.

“It’s critical that families and communities across the country begin to understand blockchain’s actual potential and tangible impacts,” said Paolo Mastrangelo, Humanity Forward’s Head of Policy & Government Affairs. “We applaud this bipartisan group of leaders for their efforts to help Americans to better understand the potentially enormous socio-economic benefits that these emerging technologies can provide.”

“There has never been a more opportune time to embrace technologies that enhance government services and stimulate local economies,” said Mayor Hillary Schieve of Reno, Nevada, the second Vice President of the USCM, and a cosponsor of the resolution. “This resolution seeks to lay the groundwork for measures that bring blockchain technology to our cities in a safe, accessible way.”

“We are only beginning to see the potential for blockchain technologies,” said Mayor Steve Williams of Huntington, West Virginia. “Cities across the nation can experience benefits as far ranging as expanded internet access and improved supply chains.”

The resolution notes that Blockchain has the potential to “provide tools for cities to innovate, to streamline operations, functions, and to better deliver public services and increased access to opportunity for businesses and families.” However it also notes that it is “increasingly clear that there needs to be direct and coherent guidelines for the testing, adoption, and use of technologies built on blockchains in a safe, transparent manner that protects consumers and businesses.”

Additional co-sponsors include Mayors Cavalier Johnson of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Regina Romero of Tucson, Arizona, John Giles of Mesa, Arizona, and Sam Liccardo of San Jose, California, the nation’s tenth largest city.

The US Conference of Mayors Annual meeting will take place in Reno from June 3-6.

Bipartisan Policy Center and Humanity Forward will work together to educate policymakers and improve their knowledge and understanding of blockchain and cryptocurrency – through staff/member briefings and public events.

Humanity Forward has partnered with Planet Reimagined 2022 New Futures Fellows. Cohorts in Climate and Web3, will collaborate to produce research papers and advocacy campaigns including policy, media, and educational initiatives. We will be posting more about progress over the summer.

Humanity Forward attended the DC Blockchain Summit. The event covered a variety of different subjects and featured some important figures in the digital asset policymaking realm — including lawmakers, agency leaders, and other thought leaders. If you were unable to attend, below are some highlights from the day.

BREAKING DOWN THE EXECUTIVE ORDER ON DIGITAL ASSETS

• Perianne Boring, President of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, looked at a U.S. spot-Bitcoin ETF and debates surrounding regulatory clarity for digital assets as being the primary items to monitor going forward.

  • The spot-Bitcoin ETF topic has been particularly contentious since other countries — such as Canada and Australia — have already approved their own spot-Bitcoin ETFs. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has rejected previous applications due to concerns about market manipulation due to the comparatively small market capitalization of Bitcoin. Some industry advocates are hopeful that the SEC has laid out a path to approving a spot-Bitcoin ETF after it recently gave the green light to a Bitcoin-futures ETF, but this is likely to remain a contentious topic since SEC Chair Gary Gensler seems generally opposed.

STABLECOINS AND THE FUTURE OF MONEY

• When the panelists were asked whether an entirely new dedicated regulator for digital assets is necessary, they all resoundingly answered no. There was broad agreement that the expertise, authorities, and jurisdictions brought to the fore by the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are sufficient to regulate the nascent asset class.

• Jason Somensatto, Acting Director of LabCFTC, added that self-regulation should be sufficient to address emergent activities in the digital asset space. However, Caitlin Long, CEO of Custodia Bank, qualified this point, arguing that a formal self-regulatory organization (SRO) is not pertinent for stablecoin issuers because being able to access cash deposits at the Federal Reserve is the best way to mitigate risk.

CRYPTO CONSENSUS: BRINGING BIPARTISANSHIP TO BLOCKCHAIN

Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) have been developing a comprehensive digital asset bill for some time now, and they offered some additional details at the event in addition to announcing that the discussion draft will be released in June.

• Sen. Gillibrand described the bill as providing “baseline” regulation for digital assets and NFTs.

  • Specifically, the bill designates the CFTC as the regulator for digital asset spot and futures markets, with digital assets being classified as securities only if they are being offered to fund a company (i.e. still utilizing the Howey Test).

  • The bill will establish a “commission” to analyze and deliver reports to Congress and regulators on new digital assets and where they might fall in the regulatory regime.

  • Digital asset miners will not be classified as broker-dealers but will have typical business jurisdiction.

• The Senators also mentioned that the bill will have at least four committees of jurisdiction, meaning it will be a slog before the bill can be brought to the floor.

• Both Senators supported Fidelity’s controversial decision to allow Bitcoin to be purchased in its 401(k) plans.

TOKEN JURISDICTION: DEEP DIVE INTO SEC AND CFTC OVERSIGHT

• CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham argued that the CFTC already has a “ready-made” framework to regulate digital assets, including some regulation over spot markets.

• Carlos Domingo, CEO of Securitize, called for regulatory clarity and more enforcement to prevent regulatory arbitrage, which is when developers add certain utilities to a digital asset to prevent having to register as a security.

• Commissioner Pham urged the SEC to “refresh” the guidance around securities laws and the Howey test, and she agreed with assertions that the SEC should make it easier for developers to understand the requirements to come into compliance.

  • Sam Brylski, Regulatory Counsel & CCO at Hedera, added onto this, supporting clarity on when a digital asset goes from a security to a non-security. He stated that the SEC has hinted at providing such clarity.

CRYPTO AND COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY WITH MICHAEL HSU

Acting Director Michael Hsu, of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), remained characteristically skeptical of digital assets, although he changed his tone slightly when he recognized the “potential” of the space.

• Specifically, Acting Director Hsu argued a few points: (1) digital assets suffer from fragmentation between blockchains; (2) contagion risks are real, as evidenced by contagion from Terra Luna to Tether with a wave of redemptions and de-pegging after the Terra ecosystem collapsed; (3) prudential regulation can help; and (4) digital asset custody and ownership rights are underdeveloped.

• Acting Director Hsu made a controversial assertion that yield farming (wherein certain digital asset protocols offer high yields to investors that lock up their digital assets) is more similar to Ponzi schemes than any other productive uses.

• He concluded that the hype and associated risks of the digital asset space make it a very risky investment for investors of modest means.

CRYPTO WITH CORY: DISCUSSING POTENTIAL OF THE BLOCKCHAIN ECOSYSTEM

• Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) offered his thoughts on the digital asset space, which he has previously been relatively quiet on. While he was concerned about diversity within the digital asset industry, Sen. Booker was very optimistic about the potential of digital assets to increase financial inclusion.

• Specifically, Sen. Booker was interested in how digital assets can disintermediate traditional financial institutions that have been historically exclusionary and continue to discriminate against low-income people of color.

• Sen. Booker was worried about black entrepreneurs’ access to capital to fund their own digital asset projects, and he encouraged the industry to craft “rules of the road” to address this.

• Finally, Sen. Booker encouraged regulatory clarity, arguing that the CFTC should “definitely” have more jurisdiction since Bitcoin and Ethereum are “clearly” commodities.