Aragon Dissolves Association, Offers $155 Million Token Buyback

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The Aragon project is dissolving its governing body, the Aragon Association, and offering token holders the chance to redeem their ANT tokens for ETH.

The decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) framework provider said it would deploy $155 million worth of ETH to allow holders of its ANT governance token to redeem their tokens at a fixed rate. The buyback offer represents 87% of Aragon’s Treasury held in assets other than ETH.

Aragon said the move comes after years of failed attempts to find an effective governance structure for the project and its assets. Neither the association nor the ANT token were well-suited to govern the project going forward, the team said in an announcement.

“Rather than continuing down the current path, after several months of deep introspection we have concluded that the shaky foundations underlying the current structure cannot be fixed and have been holding back the project for too long,” the announcement said.

The token redemption aims to allow a fresh start for the project under new leadership focused solely on developing Aragon’s software products for decentralized governance. The association will dissolve completely after the buyback, leaving key project assets like intellectual property and remaining funds to a new nonprofit structure.

Aragon pioneered concepts like DAO frameworks and on-chain governance in the early days of Ethereum. However, it struggled to balance obligations to token holders with supporting its broader mission of enabling decentralized organizations.

The new structure will remove the association and refocus on a “product council” of industry experts guiding the development of Aragon’s technology. The overhaul seeks to hand over control to those most invested in the project’s success – its users and partners.

The buyback aims to incentivize holders to redeem their tokens, removing the distraction of ANT speculation from Aragon’s mission going forward. Token holders have until late 2024 to participate in the redemption before the remaining ether is allocated to advance development.

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