Following the summer 2013 announcement by the Committee to form DATA, the Digital Asset Transfer Authority, work has been underway to accomplish a structure for the organization. The Committee met September 30, 2013 in San Francisco, where it was voted to pursue formation of a 501(c)6 Delaware based organisation with primary bases in Washington D.C. and London.
DATA Membership
Membership to DATA is now open to digital asset companies and related organisations in tiers beginning with Friends of DATA, Junior and Full Members. Full members receive voting rights within DATA, while the Junior Member programme provides participation for startup and emerging digital asset companies. A Patron programme provides limited sponsorship benefits for related companies that wish to support DATA efforts at large.
DATA dues are payable in traditional fiat currency, Bitcoin or Ven.
FRIENDS $1,000
Individuals, organisations and others who advise or support DATA.
MEMBER FULL $8,000
Digital Asset Companies with more than $250,000 in revenue and/or funding.
MEMBER JUNIOR $2,000
Digital Asset Startups with less than $250,000 in revenue and/or funding.
PATRON $50,000
Includes public benefits, limited sponsorship and membership for established businesses/organisations that want to publicly support DATA, but don’t necessarily have a direct stake in digital assets.
The initial focus of DATA membership benefits are fourfold:
1. Best Practices – setting standards and issues best practices, with initial self certification, an AML handbook and roadmap.
2. Seal of Approval – A certification of membership tied to review and audits
3. Organisational Setup – establishing 501(c)6 legal status, accounting, executive direction and public relations activity
4. Communications – meetings, agenda settings, research and information dissemination to digital asset stakeholders, regulators, lawmakers and the finance industry.
Design Principles
To form a truly modern and 21st Century Regulatory Organisation, DATA has adopted British researcher Elinor Ostrom’s Nobel Prize winning theories on institutional design.
Ostroms’ Design Principles for sustainable common-pool resource management include the following guidelines to be incorporated into DATA’s charter:
• Clearly defined boundaries
• Congruence between appropriation and provision rules and the state of the prevailing local environment
• Collective choice arrangements
• Monitoring by appointed agencies
• Flexible scale of graduated sanctions
• Access to fast, cheap conflict resolution mechanisms
• Systems of systems (holonics)
A series of working groups made of DATA’s founding members are currently working on Membership, Best Practices, Compliance, Public Relations and Research initiatives. Election of Committee Chairs is scheduled for 1 November 2013, with regional coordinators for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America also to be announced in November.
Further announcements following official setup will be released at www.DATAuthority.org