Webinar: TRM Talks DAOs by TRM Labs

A conversation with experts from Tribute Labs, 28th Street Ventures, and TRM Labs.

About This Webinar

A DAO, or “Decentralized Autonomous Organization,” is a community-governed entity with no central authority. Imagine a corporation — made up of a network of individuals with a common interest — where the governance rules and decision-making are executed by software programs and the community shares a bank account funded with cryptocurrency for the purpose of fulfilling their shared vision. We have seen DAOs form to bid on an original copy of the U.S. Constitution, to buy an NBA team, and to facilitate financial services.

In this month’s TRM Talk, we’re joined by leading experts to unpack the Tao of a DAO: Aaron Wright, Professor at Cardozo School of Law and co-founder and CEO of Tribute Labs; Graham Novak, Partner at 28th Street Ventures who launched ConstitutionDAO; and Patrick South, Director of Business Development at TRM Labs.

Join us to learn:
- What a DAO is and how they are operating today
- How DAOs are thinking about compliance and security
- How other businesses can engage with or invest in DAOs; can you "Know-Your-DAO"?
- The outlook for DAO-related disruption

This webinar is hosted by TRM Labs, a blockchain analytics company. We work with crypto businesses, financial institutions and government agencies to monitor, detect and investigate fraud and financial crime in crypto.

Aaron Wright

Co-Founder & CEO, Tribute Labs

Aaron Wright is the co-founder and CEO of Tribute Labs (formerly known as OpenLaw) and a Professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (where he is currently on leave). He played a role helping to launch Ethereum and has worked closely with a number of different prominent blockchain projects over the past several years.

At Tribute Labs, Wright leads a team that structures, conceives of, and supports the largest network of DAOs, including The LAO, Flamingo DAO, Neptune, Red DAO, Ready Player DAO, Neon DAO, and Dark Horse DAO. These DAOs have supported over 100 projects, acquired thousands of NFTs, and have deployed millions of dollars into DeFI.

Outside of Tribute Labs, Wright's academic research has focused on smart contracts and the regulation of blockchain-based systems. His first book, Blockchain and the Law: The Rule of Code (Harvard University Press, co-authored with Primavera De Filippi) was published in 2018. His other academic works have appeared in publications from Oxford University Press and the Hastings Law Journal. Professor Wright has testified before Congress on issues related to blockchain technology, served on the Technical Advisory Committee of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and his work has been reviewed or excerpted by the The New York Times and Slate.

Graham Novak

Partner, 28th Street Ventures

Graham Novak is a Partner at 28th Street Ventures where he leads the crypto investment strategy. His first foray into crypto was in 2017 when he attempted to arbitrage Litecoin & Bitcoin on a Zimbabwean exchange called Golix before the country banned cryptocurrencies. Most recently, he launched ConstitutionDAO, which raised ~12,000 ETH(~$47+ million) in 72 hours from 17,000+ crypto-contributors. He advises multiple DAOs including Kimbal Musk's Big Green DAO. He's currently expanding 28th Street's crypto investment strategy.

Patrick South

Head of Business Development, TRM Labs

Patrick South leads the Business Development team at TRM Labs. Prior to joining TRM, he was the Chief Development Officer at the Chamber of Digital Commerce, where he grew the association’s membership base to include global financial services entities, leading cryptocurrency businesses, and some of the largest professional services firms. In addition to development, Mr. South focused on organizational strategy and member relations. Prior to his experience at the Chamber, Mr. South was an Executive at Accenture, where he managed a portfolio of programs across the defense and intelligence sectors and oversaw their federal blockchain practice.

Ari Redbord (moderator)

Head of Legal and Government Affairs, TRM Labs

Ari Redbord is Head of Legal and Government Affairs at TRM Labs, a blockchain analytics company. Prior to joining TRM Labs, he served as a Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary and the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the United States Department of Treasury. In this capacity, he worked with teams from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and other Treasury and interagency components on issues related to sanctions, the Bank Secrecy Act, cryptocurrency, and anti-money laundering strategies.

Previously, Mr. Redbord served as a Senior Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, where he investigated and prosecuted cases related to cryptocurrency, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, export control, child exploitation and human trafficking. He has received numerous awards from FinCEN, the FBI, and the United States Attorney's Office, including the Attorney General's Award for leading an interagency task force dedicated to prosecuting those who abuse and exploit children.