Token Description & Project Background

GnosisDAO is a decentralized infrastructure provider for the Ethereum ecosystem. 

It first launched in 2015, and was founded by Martin Köppelmann and Stefan George. Gnosis was one of the first projects to be supported by ConsenSys, an Ethereum-focused incubator.

In 2021, the xDAI and Gnosis communities voted to combine their ecosystems to create the Gnosis Chain.

The GnosisDAO bills itself as an ‘EVM compatible, community owned network’ that 

prioritizes ‘credible neutrality and resiliency’. They describe themselves as a ‘vibrant community’ built on the ‘values of early Ethereum’.

Gnosis Safe (multisig and programmable account), Cow Protocol (formerly CowSwap and Gnosis Protocol), Conditional Tokens (prediction markets), Gnosis Auction, and Zodiac (standard and tooling for composable DAOs) are all products which have been incubated by 

GNO is the Gnosis ecosystem’s native token. It's used for staking on the Gnosis Beacon Chain and acts as the governance token for the GnosisDAO.

Risks of GNO

Like an investment in other crypto assets, there are some general risks to investing in GNO. These include:  (i) volatility risk and liquidity risk, (ii) short history risk, (iii) demand risk, (iv) forking risk, (v) code defects, (vi) regulatory risk, (vii) electronic trading risk, and (viii) cyber security risk. For additional information of these and other general risks associated with crypto assets and Uphold’s platform, please refer to the Risks Specific to Holding Digital Assets statement.

In addition to these general risks, an investment in GNO is subject to the following specific risks:

• Gnosis is an infrastructure provider for the Ethereum ecosystem. As such, any potential success associated with the GNO token is dependent on the continued security and decentralization of the Ethereum blockchain, as well as the growth of the Gnosis and xDAI communities.

We emphasize that this Crypto Asset Statement is not an exhaustive description or summary of all risks associated with GNO. Investors should conduct their own research and perform their own assessment before trading any crypto asset to determine the appropriate level of risk for their personal circumstances.

The GNO community and core team are not under any legal or regulatory obligation to disclose material information to the public regarding its activities. Holders of GNO have no recourse to the Gnosis community, core team, or Uphold if GNO declines in value for any reason.

Changes to applicable law may adversely affect the use, transfer, exchange, or value of any of your crypto assets, and such changes may be sudden and without notice.

Uphold’s Evaluation Process

Prior to listing GNO on the Uphold Platform, Uphold performed due diligence on GNO and determined that GNO is unlikely to be a security or derivative under relevant securities legislation. Uphold’s analysis including reviewing publicly available information on the following: 

• The creation, governance, usage, and design of GNO, including ensuring the source code being open-source, audited and peer reviewed, security, and roadmap for growth in the developer community. 
• The supply, demand, maturity, utility, and liquidity of GNO.
• Marketing materials put forward by the GNO social team including, Twitter, Medium blog, LinkedIn posts, Discord and Telegram channels.
• Material technical risks associated with GNO, including any code defects, security breaches and other threats concerning GNO and its supporting blockchain (such as the susceptibility to hacking and impact of forking), or the practices and protocols that apply to them.
• Legal and regulatory risks associated with GNO, including any pending, potential, or prior civil, regulatory, criminal, or enforcement action relating to the issuance, distribution, or use of GNO. 

General

Uphold has prepared this Crypto Asset Statement based on publicly available information. Although Uphold has taken steps to obtain information from apparently reliable sources, information contained in this Crypto Asset Statement may be inaccurate, incomplete or out-of-date. This overview is a starting point for you to perform your own research prior to investing in a crypto asset.

Uphold users should read the Risks Specific To Holding Digital Assets statement for additional discussion of general risks associated with crypto assets made available through the Uphold platform.  

Canadian residents, please note that Uphold has filed an application for registration in certain Canadian jurisdictions but has not yet obtained registration. Until such time as Uphold obtains registration, Uphold has agreed to abide by the terms of an undertaking available at the following link. Please also review the Uphold Canada – Crypto Risk Statement for additional discussion of general risks associated with the crypto assets made available through Uphold Platform. Please be aware that statutory rights of action for damages or rescission in section 130.1 of the Securities Act (Ontario) and, if applicable, similar statutory rights under securities legislation in the other provinces and territories of Canada do not apply in respect of this Crypto Asset Statement or other disclosures on the Uphold website and Risks Specific To Holding Digital Assets statement. 

Last updated on June 5, 2023.