NounsDAO is on the verge of a treasury split in one week’s time as a significant number of owners of the adorable and vibrant digital collectibles have initiated a “rage quit” in the crypto world’s latest trend. These holders, who possess 25% of all Nouns NFTs, are defying the project by opting not to sell their NFTs on the struggling open market. Instead, they are seeking a better price directly from the project’s stash of ether tokens.

According to the newly implemented rage quit rules within the crypto community, if 20% of Nouns NFTs call for a “fork,” they can separate from the main group and claim their portion of the project’s 30,620 ether tokens, valued at approximately $50 million. Each Nouns NFT holds a book value of around 36.5 ETH ($59,600), resulting in the current fork having a treasury of 7,598 ETH (approximately $12.4 million).

The price of Nouns has now reached this level for the first time since last December, driven by traders seeking to profit from arbitrage opportunities. Among these traders are well-known figures in the crypto market’s “risk-free value” trading subculture, including the pseudonymous DCFGod, who owns 28 Nouns.

This situation is the latest example of “rage quits” that highlight how decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) handle factions of investors who lose confidence in their vision and demand refunds. Projects with assets priced below their book value are particularly attractive to activist traders aiming to unlock the value of those assets.

In the case of NounsDAO, the mechanism for unlocking this value is relatively new. Last month, the DAO approved a comprehensive upgrade known as v3, which introduced forking as a means for dissatisfied investors to peacefully rage quit.

“Every DAO requires a minority protection mechanism,” stated DAO contributor Elad in a recent YouTube video explaining the process.