A new chapter in the Aragon Project

We have an important update for all stakeholders in the Aragon project.

The Association of Aragon (AA), the legal custodian of Aragon’s treasury, assets and missions, has passed the following resolution:

1. Most treasuries are deployed to allow all ANT holders to redeem their ANT for ETH.
2. Dissolve AA.
3. We continue our mission with a product-centered structure.

Token holders can exchange ANT for ETH at a fixed rate. 0.0025376 ETH/ANT. AA is deploying. 86,343ETH A redemption contract is entered into for this purpose on the Ethereum mainnet. Token holders can participate in redemption here. Etherescan’s smart contract deployment can be consulted here.

AA has reached the highest redemption rate achievable for all ANT holders by identifying the most compliant and tax-efficient path for the continuation and protection of the project. This decision cannot be submitted to a public vote due to legal constraints, especially regulatory risks arising from token speculation and market manipulation. The decision took into account discussions at the Aragon Forum.

Aragon was founded in 2016 with the mission to create better organizations that are on-chain, borderless, and transparent. Since then, Aragon has democratized DAOs, reaching $1 billion in AUM for the first time with thousands of deployments.

In 2017, Aragon raised 275,000 ETH (about $25 million) through ANT sales. ANT’s ambitions were bold. In other words, it is a token used in the dispute resolution system within the Aragon Network, a new digital jurisdiction. The Fight for Freedom video brings together the most talented developers in the industry to advance this vision.

Aragon launched its grants program, Aragon Nest, in 2018. This was the second grant program launched in the Ethereum ecosystem, following seeding projects such as DAppNode and Frame from the Ethereum Foundation. It also funded Prysmatic Labs to develop Prysm, the first Ethereum 2.0 client.

Meanwhile, the initial Aragon team built most of its tooling from scratch. From the world’s first decentralized frontend, to Ethereum’s first on-chain package manager, to aragonOS, a DAO framework that experiments with governance at software speed. Today, aragonOS supports DAOs native to Ethereum, such as Lido and Curve, helping these projects manage over $16 billion in assets.

We have succeeded at many things and failed at others.

We tried, but failed, to launch a court system that would allow DAOs to leverage human judgment.

We tried and failed to launch an appchain on Cosmos when Ethereum gas fees threatened product adoption.

We tried and failed to find a way to transform the DAO framework from a common good to a protocol with value capture capabilities.

The AA was created to oversee the project’s finances, assets, and multiple teams. We have attempted to balance these obligations by giving ANT holders and the community more control over the project. AA’s objective has always been to provide ongoing support to the Aragonese mission.

Over the years, AA has experimented with various governance initiatives, including decentralizing the project across multiple teams, implementing the Aragon governance proposal process, and creating a parallel optimistic governance DAO for the community. Although treasury has increased significantly after several bull markets, bureaucratic complexity, stakeholder disagreements, and failed attempts to fix governance have heightened tensions within the project.

This led AA to make a hasty attempt to place financial control directly in the hands of ANT holders. However, after years of product transition, there were too few ANTs in the hands of users, partners, and builders, and a precarious gap existed between financial value and token market capitalization. This puts Aragorn’s mission in jeopardy.

Rather than continue down our current path, we have concluded after several months of deep reflection that the shaky foundations of our current structure are beyond repair and have been hindering the project for too long. Neither AA nor ANT are suitable for managing current projects. A fresh start is required and nothing will be done except a full reset.

Now is the time for a new chapter, under new leadership and a leaner, more product-centric structure that not only protects but advances the mission of the project.

The Aragonese Society passed the following resolution:

1. We deploy most of our treasury so that all token holders can redeem their ANT for ETH. 86,343ETH Repurchase agreements (87% of treasury held in non-original assets)
2. Dissolution of AA – Commits US$11 million to meet outstanding obligations and mitigate regulatory uncertainty.
3. We continue to execute our mission in a product-centric structure, devoting remaining funds to product development.

1. Deploy most of the treasury so that all token holders can redeem their ANT for ETH.

AA decided to deploy. 86,343ETH We offer all ANT holders the opportunity to redeem their ANT for ETH at a fixed rate. 0.0025376 ETH/ANT. The purpose of this initiative is to repay all outstanding circulating supply.

AA sends assets to a smart contract that allows all ANT holders to automatically and transparently execute redemptions on-chain. 12 months. No more funds will be transferred to Aragon DAO. There is no purpose to continue holding ANT from this moment on.

At the end of the redemption period, the redeemed ANT will be burned and the remaining ETH will be transferred to an Ethereum address with a new product-centric structure. Funding will be allocated to advance the mission through development of Aragon OSx. Token holders can participate in redemption here. Etherescan’s smart contract audit report and deployment can be found here. Questions regarding ANT reimbursement may be directed to ant@aragon.org.

Over the next 12 months, frequent communications will be published through various channels, including collaborations with exchanges, on-chain notifications, social media, the Aragon website, and weekly newsletters. Token holders November 2, 2024 23:59 UTC Exchange ANT for ETH. After this date, further redemptions will not be possible and no further token redemptions will be performed.

2. Disband AA

AA approved complete liquidation and dissolution. None of the association members have a role in the future of the project.

$11 million will be secured by the Aragon Shield Foundation (ASF) to address outstanding obligations and alleviate regulatory uncertainty following the dissolution of AA. The funds are held for a limited period of time and are immutably tied to Aragon’s mission and overseen by ASF, a Swiss foundation that reports to a supervisory authority.

Unused funds will be channeled into new product-centric structures to fund project continuity and comply with tax regulations.

3. We continue our mission with a product-centered structure.

The Aragon Project’s mission is to provide the most flexible and secure tools for creating and managing distributed organizations, allowing everyone to experiment with governance at the speed of software. To continue to advance this mission, IP, critical infrastructure, and operational runway will be transferred to a new product-centric structure.

• a product committee to receive and allocate resources; and
• The company currently consists of the Aragon OSx team, which will continue product development.

The Product Committee is comprised of product stakeholders who are industry experts who will guide the development and governance of Aragon’s DAO framework. Aragon Shield Foundation representatives and Aragon OSx team representatives will be seeded. First of all, the product committee operates as a multi-signature surrounded by non-profit associations using the Aragon app.

The criteria for participation in the new Product Committee are as follows:

• Ethereum infrastructure builder;
• You have experience building, supporting, using, or integrating Aragon products.

Promotion and recruitment will begin soon. Any ANT holder who meets the criteria mentioned above and is interested in joining the Product Committee can also contact us here.

For builders and developers, this doesn’t change anything. The Aragon Project will continue its mission by doubling down on building resilient on-chain governance tools and infrastructure.

In March 2023, the Aragon team launched a new end-to-end technology stack. Aragon OSx is a rights management framework with a secure vault at its core and a modular plug-in architecture. Aragon App is a user interface that allows anyone to deploy and manage DAOs without code. Developer tools allow you to extend and build your ecosystem across the stack to create new custom applications.

Reorganizing into a product-centric structure allows the users and partners best aligned with the project’s mission to take a leading role. The goal of this new structure is to lay a solid foundation for success by bringing on board product committee members who are long-term users of Aragon’s DAO framework and partners who align with the project’s values.

The Product Committee advises on product development priorities, allocates funding, and oversees the governance of Aragon OSx. By creating a structure where decisions are made by those most directly impacted, Aragon will be better positioned to meet industry needs and achieve long-term success.

By looking at the project’s origins, failures, and accomplishments and taking these steps, we believe Aragon will succeed in moving forward with its mission with a firm focus on putting the project back in the hands of developers and product stakeholders and building resilience. DAO framework for Ethereum and beyond.

We understand that this fundamentally changes the relationship between ANT and projects. We would like to thank those who have supported this project over the years and helped Aragon build impactful technology.

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For media inquiries regarding this announcement, the Aragon Association, and the Aragon Network Token (ANT), please contact: aragon@wachsman.com.