Coworking Summits at mtnDAO

Coworking summits at the mtnDAO hacker house come and go, but mtnCapital trades forever.

The monthlong Solana developer meetup will launch its token ($MTN) at the end of March, co-founders Barrett and Edgar Pavlovsky exclusively told CoinDesk. That much was always expected from a famously pro-token team. More intriguing is what the token does.

MTN is to be the flagship asset of mtnCapital, an experimental on-chain investment fund governed by a markets-centric form of governance called futarchy. A version pioneered by MetaDAO has been gaining traction among Solana maximalists since debuting at mtnDAO’s winter 2024 coworking meetup.

Believers in futarchy think it can disrupt various decision-making processes, including capital markets and nations, by placing the wisdom of markets over voters. MtnCapital aims to test whether an investment fund governed by market movements can deliver returns worth the risk.

Investment decisions will be based on the movements of the MTN token. Simply put: If traders believe a proposal (like investing $100,000 in BTC) is beneficial, they’ll push MTN higher to pass it. Conversely, if it seems detrimental, they’ll lower MTN, leading to its failure.

Gone are the days of one person, one vote. Decisions in mtnCapital will be shaped by traders with substantial investments.

Futarchic Fundraise

MtnCapital will raise its entire treasury by selling its stack of MTN tokens to the public. The management of this treasury will be dictated entirely by the market. Founders Barrett and Edgar assert they will have as much or as little influence over mtnCapital as any other trader once it launches; if they want tokens, they’ll need to buy them, as there will be no airdrop or founder allocation.

Barrett sees futarchy as the ‘holy grail of decentralization’ since founders lack control due to not holding tokens. When asked if he would bid, Barrett enthusiastically confirmed his intent.

They plan to deploy mtnCapital on MetaDAO’s recently approved futarchy fundraising launchpad. The governance system prioritizes traders’ predictive abilities over voters’ ballots. While this may concern traditional voting advocates, it resonates with the crypto-futurists attending mtnDAO events twice a year. Barrett remarks that crypto has found its product-market fit in trading, turning governance into an exchange.

Decentralized Investor

Though Barrett and Edgar refer to mtnCapital as an investment fund, its true nature will depend on the traders involved. Proposals will succeed or fail based on the trading behavior surrounding the MTN token’s price. Major investors have previously expressed interest in MetaDAO-style futarchy, with firms like Colosseum, Paradigm, and Pantera seeking access to its META token.

MtnCapital will operate alongside mtnDAO, sharing social channels and branding, but will maintain separate portfolios. In due course, mtnCapital could potentially take over the conference; however, the current focus is on decentralized investment.

Barrett believes mtnCapital’s open-decision structure will allow participation in over-the-counter deals for tokens, despite potentially missing early-stage startup rounds that often deliver better returns. Instead, he has confidence that mtnCapital’s innovative structure will better demonstrate to the investing world that traders can be more effective than traditional investment committees.

“You need to have a mechanism that excites people if you are going to have results,” he stated.