Decentralized dead man's switch application Sarcophagus raised $3.67 million by selecting investors through a DAO vote.
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Decentralized dead man's switch application Sarcophagus raised $3.67 million by selecting investors through a DAO vote.
Sarcophagus has formed a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), a blockchain-based collective that reviews potential funding agreements submitted by investors and votes on who can invest in the protocol.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy: The information
Translated by: TechFlow
It's common to hear news stories about people losing access to vast fortunes because they've lost the private keys needed to access their funds. Sarcophagus, a decentralized protocol that raised $3.7 million on Tuesday, aims to prevent exactly this problem.
Launched over a year ago, Sarcophagus allows users to securely store and transmit data. The protocol is built on the Ethereum blockchain and uses the Arweave network for data storage—users create a digital "sarcophagus" containing sensitive data and set a time period after which the data will automatically be sent to a blockchain address.
Using this system, cryptocurrency holders can send themselves a copy of their private key—a long string of numbers serving as the password to access and spend their crypto assets. Owners can keep a copy on hand or pass it on to heirs, who could then access the funds after the owner’s death. Users can adjust the holding period on the Sarcophagus platform and pay fees in SARCO tokens to send their data.
Sarcophagus was incubated by Decent Labs, a Miami-based crypto-focused venture studio whose portfolio includes Celsius, a cryptocurrency lending platform, and BRD, a digital wallet company acquired by Coinbase in November. In an exclusive interview with The Information about the funding round, Decent Labs co-founder and CEO Parker McCurley said the company took a unique approach to its latest raise—by conducting it entirely on the blockchain.
The strategy represents a hybrid between VC investing and crowdfunding. Sarcophagus formed a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO)—a blockchain-based collective—to review potential investment agreements submitted by investors and vote on who gets to invest in the protocol. The DAO whitelists blockchain addresses approved to contribute funds, and in return, investors receive SARCO tokens to use on the platform.
McCurley said these blockchain addresses belong primarily to venture capital firms but also include individual investors. Unlike traditional fundraising, where different investors often receive vastly different equity terms, deal rights, and preferential treatment, in this hybrid model all investors received the same token price and deadline when the funding round concluded on Tuesday.
“No last-minute calls, no VCs trying to rush in for a better deal and mess up the dynamics for everyone else,” McCurley said.
In recent weeks, VC investments into cryptocurrency have proven controversial—especially among crypto advocates like Jack Dorsey, former CEO of Twitter. When venture firms make large-scale investments by purchasing tokens, they theoretically gain control over protocols, since tokens typically carry voting rights that help determine how platforms are governed. Concentrating power through large token holdings runs counter to the decentralized nature of these protocols, which are meant to be managed by users.
"Venture capitalists want exposure to crypto returns," McCurley said. "Crypto people don't necessarily want VCs."
McCurley said investment structures like the one used by Sarcophagus eliminate backroom deals and bring greater transparency to the fundraising process. By approving who can invest and limiting how many tokens each party can buy, the DAO governing Sarcophagus can help ensure that VCs don’t gain excessive control.
He added that newer venture firms investing in Sarcophagus—including Inflection and Infinite Capital—are focused specifically on crypto. Even though established players like Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital have poured money into crypto, McCurley said he’s more interested in venture firms that specialize in the space.
“There are so many incredible crypto-native venture firms that are truly focused on building the space we most want to work in,” he said.
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