---
type: source
title: "Introducing the Colosseum STAMP — crypto-native investment contract replacing SAFE+token warrant for MetaDAO ICOs"
author: "Colosseum (@colosseum)"
url: https://blog.colosseum.com/introducing-the-colosseum-stamp/
date: 2025-12-00
domain: internet-finance
secondary_domains: []
format: article
status: unprocessed
priority: high
tags: [stamp, investment-instrument, metadao, ownership-coins, safe, legal-structure, colosseum]
---

## Content

Colosseum introduces STAMP (Simple Token Agreement, Market Protected), developed with law firm Orrick. Key details:

**What it replaces:**
- SAFE + token warrant hybrid is "not sufficient for the next era" of crypto investing
- SAFT left equity question unaddressed
- Dual equity + token structure produces "subpar outcomes for crypto startups"
- STAMP treats token as "the sole economic unit" — no dual structure

**How it works:**
1. Startup sets up Cayman SPC/SP entity through MetaDAO interface
2. Investor signs STAMP, sends funds (typically stablecoins) to startup wallet attached to entity
3. Funds restricted to product development and operating expenses
4. Remaining balance transfers to DAO-controlled treasury upon ICO
5. Investor receives predetermined allocation capped at 20% of total supply
6. 24-month linear unlock schedule once ICO goes live
7. Prior SAFEs/notes terminated and replaced upon signing

**Key protections:**
- Legally enforceable claims on token supply during private-to-public transition
- Fixed allocations that "cannot be diluted or reinterpreted later"
- Market-protected governance via MetaDAO's decision markets post-ICO
- Removal of post-hoc renegotiation risk

**Team allocation:** Milestone-based, 10-40% of total supply
**Investor cap:** 20% maximum
**Remaining supply:** Available to ICO participants

**For existing startups:** Cayman entity enables migration from traditional equity to token-based ownership. Clean cap table consolidation.

**Positioning:** Open-source, ecosystem-wide standard — "not just for Colosseum"

## Agent Notes
**Why this matters:** STAMP is the first standardized investment instrument designed specifically for futarchy-governed entities. It solves the extraction problem by constraining pre-ICO capital use and ensuring meaningful supply reaches public markets. This is the bridge between traditional VC and ownership coins.
**What surprised me:** The 20% investor cap is aggressive — most crypto projects give 30-50% to investors. This ensures majority community ownership from day one. The mandate to terminate prior SAFEs is also bold — clean break, not gradual transition.
**What I expected but didn't find:** Specific regulatory analysis or legal opinions on STAMP's securities classification. Orrick is mentioned as partner but no legal opinion published. The Cayman SPC structure suggests offshore domicile, which may weaken US regulatory defensibility arguments.
**KB connections:** [[STAMP replaces SAFE plus token warrant by adding futarchy-governed treasury spending allowances that prevent the extraction problem that killed legacy ICOs]] — directly relevant existing claim. [[Legacy ICOs failed because team treasury control created extraction incentives that scaled with success]] — STAMP addresses this.
**Extraction hints:** New claim on standardized investment instruments for futarchy. Update to STAMP claim with specific mechanics.
**Context:** Colosseum was the first VC fund to invest in MetaDAO. Clay (Colosseum co-founder) positioned this as complementary to MetaDAO's ICO mechanism. Orrick is a top-tier tech law firm.

## Curator Notes (structured handoff for extractor)
PRIMARY CONNECTION: [[STAMP replaces SAFE plus token warrant by adding futarchy-governed treasury spending allowances that prevent the extraction problem that killed legacy ICOs]]
WHY ARCHIVED: First detailed specification of STAMP instrument. The 20% investor cap + mandatory SAFE termination + DAO-controlled treasury are novel mechanism design choices worth claiming.
EXTRACTION HINT: Focus on (1) how STAMP structurally prevents the extraction problem, (2) the 20% cap as mechanism for ensuring community ownership, (3) the clean-break migration from equity to token structure.
