Merit Circle is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) focused on blockchain gaming. Founded in 2021 and based in the Netherlands, it launched during the play-to-earn boom as a scholarship program for Axie Infinity players in emerging markets. Members pooled assets, lent in-game NFTs to players ("scholars"), and split the resulting token earnings. That model gave Merit Circle early capital and a community base, which the DAO later redirected toward direct investment and project incubation across the broader blockchain gaming sector.
The organization operates through on-chain governance: MC token holders vote on treasury allocations, partnerships, and strategic direction. At its peak in 2021–2022 the treasury held assets worth over $100 million, though market downturns significantly reduced that figure alongside the wider crypto gaming contraction. Merit Circle has since repositioned from scholarship operations toward a venture-style portfolio of early-stage gaming projects, infrastructure, and gaming guilds. The DAO's legal wrapper is registered in the Netherlands, making it one of the few gaming DAOs with a defined European domicile.
A notable governance episode in 2022 drew public attention: a community proposal sought to return an early investment made with Yield Guild Games (YGG), citing poor performance alignment. The proposal passed, illustrating both the responsiveness and the bluntness of token-based governance. The incident became a reference point in broader discussions about DAO investment accountability.
Notable investments
- Illuvium – open-world RPG built on Ethereum; one of Merit Circle's higher-profile early bets in the AAA blockchain gaming segment
- The Sandbox (SAND) – virtual world and metaverse platform; Merit Circle held SAND as part of its gaming ecosystem exposure
- Pixels – farming and social game on Ronin; gained significant user traction in 2023–2024
- Ember Sword – MMORPG targeting traditional gamers; Merit Circle participated in an early funding round
- Big Time – action RPG with NFT cosmetics; received backing as part of Merit Circle's AAA gaming thesis
- Sipher – multiplayer action RPG; an early portfolio addition from the DAO's initial investment phase
Public information about exact deal sizes and the complete list of 15 portfolio companies is limited. Merit Circle has not published a comprehensive AUM figure or a full audited portfolio breakdown as of the latest available data.
Team
Merit Circle operates as a DAO, so formal "founders" are partially obscured by the collective structure. Jasper de Gooijer is publicly associated with the project's early formation. Beyond that, the core contributors operate through pseudonymous or semi-public community roles. Public information about the full founding team and individual backgrounds is limited – the DAO does not maintain a standard team page with biographies in the manner of a traditional venture fund.
Recent activity
From 2023 onward, Merit Circle moved away from active Axie scholarship operations as play-to-earn yields compressed. The DAO shifted treasury management toward fewer, higher-conviction gaming investments and began exploring gaming infrastructure – tools, launchpads, and SDK layers that support game developers rather than purely end-user gaming. In 2024 the organization maintained a lower public profile compared to its 2021–2022 peak, consistent with broader gaming DAO consolidation across the industry.
Merit Circle remains one of the largest gaming-focused DAOs by historical treasury size and community reach. Its long-term relevance depends on whether its portfolio projects – particularly in the AAA segment – deliver playable products that attract non-crypto audiences. The DAO's Netherlands base and on-chain governance structure give it a degree of structural legitimacy that purely informal crypto collectives lack, but it faces the same challenge as every gaming investor: most blockchain games have yet to demonstrate retention beyond their initial token incentive phase.
