The Dune crypto collective is facing a reckoning

Spice DAO, the collective that bought a script bible for Alejandro Jodorowsky's never-made Dune adaptation, is still figuring out what to make of it. The collective stopped working with a core member who posted vile messages as part of a self-proclaimed internet art project. The originator of the project suggested that the group would back off their quixotic goal of creating a community-owned media powerhouse.

After winning an auction for a rare copy of Jodorowsky's Dune bible, the organization raised millions of dollars and found itself with a sizable leftover treasury. Its backers voted to launch a complicated multi-pronged media venture with the money, including a writing contest to acquire intellectual property that could be turned into an animated series. Spice DAO did not claim the series would adapt Jodorowsky's Dune.

The group signed a deal with Love, Death and Robots writer Philip Gelatt to deliver a script based on the winning entry. Frank Miller's new publishing venture was paid $1 million over three years by it. It discussed plans for a public exhibition of the Dune bible, as well as long-term storage for the physical copy.

There is a tiny core team that workshops proposals and handles logistics for essentially all operations, and Spice is far from completing its goal of making a TV series. It has an unusual amount of real-world activity for a group of people. It is one of the strangest and most elaborate ventures to come out of the hype boom, and it has so far avoided the intense meltdowns that other groups have suffered.

Just want to be very clear that I completely condemn Charlie. Remilias involvement in @TheSpiceDAO was limited and we’re working through a plan on how to allow token holders to view the book and issue a refund to make holders hole. The DAO will no longer pursue creating IP.

— soby ⛓ xNFTs (@sobylife) May 23, 2022

One of the key organizers, Charlie / Charlotte Fang, was compromised by a recent controversy. Saqib and Soban were part of the Remilia Collective, which helped launch Spice DAO. The group's strategy lead and treasurer was named after Fang, who was described in a January post as essential in the project's conceptualization and launch.

This weekend, Fang admitted to also being behind a online personality whose commentary included over-the-top bigoted rants, racial slurs, and links to online pornography. The comments were a form of critical satire made for an internet art project. Milady Maker was stepped down from because of the association being toxic baggage.

The implications for Spice DAO weren't clear at the time. On May 24th, the other core members of Spice DAO removed Fang from the list of treasury keyholders, after they questioned his continued involvement on the group's Discord server.

Saqib condemned Charlie the same day. Saqib said that they are working on a plan to allow token holders to view the book and get a refund. He implied that Spice DAO would be scaling back its plans, saying that it would no longer pursue creating intellectual property.

The DAO was rushed from the beginning and has taught Saqib a lot. The Dune Bible is being scanned. We will figure out a way for token holders to view its contents once the scans are done. He wrote that he was disgusted by the whole thing. I have learned from this that DAOs are very hard and that token are a bad way to bootstrap communities.

It's not clear what a re fund is or what the meaning is. The Spice DAO account on the social media site indicated that it is still pursuing a multi-million-dollar animated series with Gelatt. A 60-second silent animation based on another contest entry will be released soon, and members voted to pay artist Ben Clarkson $24,000 to make in March. Saqib said that the team was moving ahead with the launch of the Frank Miller NFTs, with $SPICE holders getting free token from the series. Saqib did not comment on SpiceDAO's plans in a direct message.

While Saqib isn't a member of the core team, he remains a major figurehead and holds a treasury key, which indicates a waning appetite for the group's most ambitious ideas. The description of Spice DAO's goals posted on the group's forum suggests the group is still interested in media production.

The next phase of our growth is to build a proprietary decentralized storytelling protocol. We are pioneering decentralized storytelling in Web3 as a new form of collaborative media that is directed, steered and owned by the community itself. We are a content incubator, a crypto native think tank which has been commercialized and monetized by the community that acts as collective author of each project. Spice DAO is gamifying user-created content which engages the community to actively participate in the process of creation rather than passively experiencing it.

The first project we would like to adapt using these new smart contracts is the Dune Bible. As the co-owners of edition number five of the Dune Bible every Spice DAO member belongs to a very exclusive club. Let’s work together to make the contents public once and for all!

The Dune bible would fit into the decentralized storytelling protocol, but Kortelin wouldn't say what it would include or how it would be used.

Spice DAO is dealing with the effects of a recent crash in the world of criptoms, particularly the dramatic drop in the value of criptoms, in which most of Spice DAO's funds are stored. There is a long-term plan to move to theUSDC stable coin. The group's current holdings of the digital currency would have been worth $3 million at the time of the auction. Its value is closer to $1 million today. The $SPICE token has been worthless since early 2022, and is used for voting. The Frank Miller NFT lineup could bring new funds into the treasury since Spice DAO can collect a commission if they are sold or resold. It would take a lot of money to make a full-fledged TV series, especially if Spice DAO ends up offering to refund backers' money.

The core team's proposals have been comfortably approved, despite the fact that the DAO token holders are supposed to be in control of any major decisions. A small group at the top will likely decide its future direction, with ordinary $SPICE holders along for the ride.

Saqib was proud that SpiceDAO was able to acquire the Dune Bible despite its shortcoming.