Small Town DAO Makes Big Bets: Wall Street Gets a Taste of Crypto Cash

Now, in that peculiar way of men and machines hunting for certainty, the initiative stumbled onto the dusty road—part of the STEP program, which folks say aims to open the town gates to sensible, yield-bearing real-world assets. You know, the sort of thing your grandpa called “government bonds” and the neighbor insists is as thrilling as damp toast. 😏

After squinting at over fifty applicants—the pitchmen, the dreamers, the money-farmers—the DAO, with the usual amount of jawing and suspicion, picked out three old hands at this business: Franklin Templeton (sounds like a fellow who owns a general store, but richer), Spiko (which probably sells pitchforks), and WisdomTree (makes the best lemonade, no doubt). Each gets a gentle whiff of the 35 million ARB loaf, with their onchain Treasury stew now set to ballast Arbitrum’s treasure chest. 🏦

And if you think there was any drama—well, there wasn’t. The vote rolled in like harvest rain: nearly 89% on board. Even the sheep in the pasture bawled approval. Franklin and Spiko split the pie, 35% each, while WisdomTree takes home a salami slice—30%. The town’s selection committee weighed things like fees, risk, and whether these city slickers would fit in at Sunday supper. All of it watched over by the STEP committee, who were elected—fair or otherwise—by the townsfolk of the DAO.

This is just another turn in Arbitrum’s long, dust-blown road; another step (if you’ll pardon the pun) in wrangling those stiff-collared financial types into crypto’s saloon. Since the cows started grazing six months ago, the STEP program pocketed over $650,000 in passive interest—enough to buy a few rounds, anyway. The big fish and big hats behind the curtain call it a breakthrough; maybe it is, or maybe they just found a new place to spin their yarn.🐟

The folks who didn’t get picked—well, they’re welcome to come back next time, hats in hand. But make no mistake: with this new crew laying track, Arbitrum’s already carving a bridge between the wild west of DeFi and those cardigan-clad institutions that never quite trust the weather forecast.

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2025-05-09 12:06