Unicorn Is First Web 3 Community DAO Solely Invested in Women & LGBT Artists

LOS ANGELES March 8th 2022: International Gender Equality Day

Pussy Riot’s next chapter of activism launches today with UnicornDAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization), a feminist movement aiming to tackle patriarchy in web3. UnicornDAO is an investment fund that highlights and collects NFT focused projects from women-identifying and LGBTQ+ artists, which currently only account for as little as 5% of NFT sales.

With support from the biggest names in web3 including Guy Oseary, MoonPay, World of Women, Yuga Labs, Beeple, Trippy, Jen Stark, Ppl Pleaser, VÉRITÉ, IX Shells, Flamingo DAO, The LAO, Betty of Deadfellaz, Justin Aversano, Wave Financial, Collab Currency and Gary Vee with the VaynerFund, UnicornDAO is set to revolutionize the NFT space.

UnicornDAO is co-founded by Nadya Tolokonnikova – also a founding member of Russian feminist activist group Pussy Riot, and UkraineDAO which just last week raised $6.75 million in funds for victims of the war in Ukraine initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Poetically, the launch of UnicornDAO marks the 10-year anniversary of Nadya’s arrest in Moscow for her anti-Putin protest Punk Prayer which led to her being imprisoned for 2 years.

Tolokonnikova declares: “The goal of UnicornDAO is to bring more tools, capital and power to women-identifying and LGBTQ+ people. We still have the same ethos as Pussy Riot did over 10 years ago; bringing equality, justice, and joy to communities that have been historically underrepresented.”

“Art made by women sells for 50% less than works by men. If you’re a female or LGBTQ+ identifying person, you make more compromises than your male-identified counterparts. You are scrutinized, questioned, and often your professionalism is disputed. Capital is still vastly concentrated in the hands of men–they still rule the world, and it’s not cute. UnicornDAO is here to redistribute wealth and allow women and LGBTQ+ people to empower themselves.”

Rebecca Lamis, UnicornDAO’s co-founder, states: “We believe that the present male-dominated NFT landscape can be radically changed with coordinated efforts among leaders in the space.

“Web3 and DAOs have launched an entirely new economy that can redistribute wealth and opportunities to the 99%, yet there are still immense barriers to entry standing in the way of the opportunities Web3 offers. That is why it is a priority for myself and UnicornDAO to ensure everything we do in this space is accessible and educational. It is time to redistribute the wealth, resources and opportunities to all in this space, while simultaneously onboarding historically oppressed communities”.

Yam, artist & co-founder of World of Women: “World of Women was created to remedy the lack of diversity and representation in the NFT space. While we focused on women, we always wanted to do more for the LGBTQ+ community. This is why when we heard about UnicornDAO, it really resonated with our values, and it felt obvious for us to join forces. We couldn’t have wished for a better community to pursue our mission, and together, make a difference.”

Each member of a DAO typically contributes with both capital and time. From its inception, UnicornDAO aims to implement a sponsorship program, aided by a partnership with crypto payments infrastructure provider MoonPay.

This program will ensure that leading women-identifying and LGBTQ+ creators and community builders such as Ppl Pleasr and LATASHÁ are able to participate as members of UnicornDAO without being hindered by any financial barriers to entry. MoonPay will also offer another seat, valued at 50ETH, to members of the public via a social media campaign.

Valma Tikkakoski, Director of Marketing at MoonPay, says of the partnership: ​​“For all the excitement and activity in crypto we have to remember that this industry is still in its infancy. 

We’re at a crossroads right now where we have the opportunity, as an industry and as a community, to show to women and LGBTQ+ artists that the door isn’t closed to them. That crypto is a revolution for everyone, regardless of gender, and in order to take this extraordinary technology mainstream, we need all the bright, young talent we can muster”.

Unicorn DAO will have a launch event at SXSW on March 11th, 2022 in Austin, TX, with an all-women & LGBTQ+ lineup including LATASHÁ, Venus X, Rei Ami and Pussy Riot.

To obtain more information, follow the UnicornDAO Twitter (@UnicornDAO_xyz) or Instagram page (@unicorn.dao) or visit www.unicorndao.com

About Nadya Tolokonnikova:
Conceptual artist and activist Nadya Tolokonnikova is the founding member of Pussy Riot, a global feminist protest art movement. She was sentenced in 2012 to 2 years’ imprisonment following an anti-Putin performance. She has also published a book “Read and riot: Pussy Riot’s guide to activism”.

About Pussy Riot:
Today, hundreds of people identify as a part of the Pussy Riot community. Pussy Riot stands for gender fluidity, inclusivity, matriarchy, love, laughter, decentralization, anarchy, and anti-authoritarianism.

About MoonPay:
MoonPay is a financial technology company that builds payments infrastructure for crypto. Their on-and-off-ramp suite of products provides a seamless experience for converting between fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies using all major payment methods including debit and credit card, local bank transfers, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. MoonPay is active in more than 160 countries and is trusted by 250+ leading wallets, websites, and applications to accept payments and defeat fraud. For more information visit https://www.moonpay.com/

EXTRA:
Pussy Riot releases “LAUGH IT OFF” FT VÉRITÉ & LATASHÁ HERE ON NEON GOLD RECORDS
UKRAINE DAO – press release info HERE