While the product foundered, funds from the token launch were managed by the Aragon Association, a Swiss nonprofit, and grew to over $200 million in value due to the rally in eth. During a planned governance transition from the Aragon Association to the Aragon DAO, some activist investors (or “governance raiders,” as some like to call them) bought up control of the DAO and started lobbying for the liquidation of the treasury controlled by the nonprofit. This attack — exacerbated by internal tensions in the nonprofit board — triggered some complex legal and financial maneuvers, resulting recently in the exit of about $75 million from the ecosystem as well as the effective liquidation of the nonprofit, the DAO and the token. For now, a diminished Aragon lives on in the form of a new nonprofit to be funded by a reserve of funds from the liquidation.
Learning About DAO Governance From Aragon’s Crisis
