Built in America, Owned by the Community—Syndicate Forms U.S. DUNA

Syndicate is betting on America’s future in crypto—and will operate transparently under U.S. law and govern the network with its community through a DUNA.

Today, Syndicate is proud to announce the formation of the Syndicate Network Collective, a Wyoming-based DUNA (Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association), marking a major step forward for both Syndicate Network and the broader crypto industry.

As one of the first blockchain networks to formally operate under this new U.S. legal framework, Syndicate Network is helping pioneer a U.S. centric model for how decentralized networks can operate transparently, compliantly, and in alignment with Syndicate's core values of giving true ownership and control to communities.

Betting on America—Building for Communities

From the beginning, the idea for Syndicate Network has been guided by the belief that the next era of the internet must be owned by the communities that power it. We’ve built Smart Rollups and Smart Sequencers infrastructure that make this possible at scale. We’ve reimagined the economics of how networks circulate value back to contributors. And now, with the DUNA, we’re extending these principles into the legal and operational foundations of Syndicate Network itself.

For years, the crypto industry has had to build around legal ambiguity. Projects were forced to adopt informal or offshore governance structures out of necessity, not preference. This only led to more problems, not less. But everything is beginning to change. With the introduction of the Wyoming DUNA law, there is now—for the first time—a legal framework in the United States designed specifically for decentralized networks governed by smart contracts and tokens.

Syndicate Network is among the first to implement the DUNA structure, and we believe it’ll redefine how crypto scales to the real world. The DUNA allows Syndicate Network to operate compliantly and transparently in the U.S. without compromising the openness and permissionlessness that make crypto powerful in the first place. Decentralized networks like Syndicate Network can now operate in the open, grounded in U.S. law, and aligned with the communities they are meant to serve.

Why DUNAs Matter

Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Associations (DUNAs) are a new legal structure designed for decentralized networks and their communities. It does what traditional and offshore structures cannot:

• Gives token holders real control over the network and its treasury. In the early stages, token holders participate in crucial votes, while a committee manages grants. Over time, we expect governance to shift fully onchain—where smart contracts control the network, keeping power where it belongs: with the community.
• Provides a legal entity for contributors and participants to interact with—including limited liability protections to token holders. The DUNA framework defines clear, legally recognized roles for all ecosystem participants, creating a transparent structure for collaboration and accountability.
• Manages the network treasury, signs contracts, and engages with traditional service providers with token holder votes and committees. The network can act in the real world—legally and operationally—while remaining governed by its tokenholders.
• Operates transparently under U.S. law and regulation by default. This is a structure designed to bring greater transparency, reporting, and accountability to the crypto industry, without compromising its core values of decentralization, privacy, and openness.
• Aligns with the future of U.S. policy. With the passage of the GENIUS Act, SEC’s Project Crypto, White House’s establishment of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile, and the proposed market structure bills that explicitly support decentralized network governance structures like DUNAs, the U.S. is building a clear legal and regulatory foundation for the crypto industry to operate openly at home, not offshore.

Importantly, the DUNA is nonprofit by default—it’s designed for networks and protocols to serve its communities of users, not shareholders. DUNAs reflect a deep commitment to build networks where decentralization isn’t just technical but core to the purpose of the network itself.

Syndicate Network will now operate under a DUNA structure with the Syndicate Network Collective, helping set a new standard for the crypto industry—where community ownership is real, governance is transparent, and compliance doesn’t come at the cost of openness or permissionlessness.

Built With Industry Leaders

To bring the Syndicate Network Collective to life, we’ve partnered with a group of legal, financial, and operational experts committed to building crypto-native networks in the U.S.:

• Cowrie on DUNA design, strategy, formation, tax, and administration
• Cooley on DUNA design, strategy, formation, and legal
• Anchorage Digital on DUNA custody
• Agora on DUNA onchain governance
• a16z crypto on strategic counsel for DUNA design
• And more to be shared soon

Syndicate Network is the first of several projects that are exploring this path: Nouns, Towns, and Uniswap Foundation have also publicly shared their plans to adopt the DUNA framework. Together, we’re helping create a new standard for how crypto networks can launch and scale in the U.S.—openly, compliantly, and in alignment with their communities and values.

Building a Community-Owned Internet in the USA

Forming a DUNA is just the beginning.

Our focus is on helping scale Syndicate Network—under U.S. law, with American ingenuity and values of democracy, openness, and freedom. The DUNA is more than a legal structure—it’s a statement that communities should own the systems they rely on, that transparency should be the default, and that the U.S. can be the home to truly decentralized networks.

This is how we build a community-owned internet.

Visit us at syndicate.io, join our community Telegram channel, and tune into our X Space on DUNAs and the Future of Crypto Made in America on Thursday, August 28th with a16z crypto, Cooley, Cowrie, Anchorage Digital, and more.