The Future of Aragon: Treasury to Transfer into a Delegated Voting DAO

On 17 June 2022, ANT Holders voted to transfer the Aragon treasury into a Delegated ANT Voting DAO. This blog post will be routinely updated with the latest developments regarding the treasury transfer,as the Aragon Association prepares new governance and technical infrastructure capable of securely executing this transition. (Last updated 23 August 2022. This blog post is not longer updated, please subscribe to The Eagle for weekly updates on the Aragon DAO).

Key Updates

• As the technical infrastructure of the Aragon Network DAO (AN DAO) does not support delegated voting, the Aragon Association is working closely with industry experts to assess alternative solutions. The technical options currently being reviewed include TAO Voting (built on AragonOS) and Open Zeppelin Governor.
• Since the new technical infrastructure requires new governance design, the Aragon Association is finalizing the first drafts of a new charter and governance guidelines to support delegated voting. We are consulting with industry experts and will be leading a stakeholder-based consultation process to gather feedback on delegated voting governance.
• A Forum Discussion is currently underway to evolve the governance of the Aragon Network and decide the future of the AN DAO, considering neither its technical infrastructure nor the current state of the charter are suitable for delegated voting. The discussion will be put to a Voice vote following the modification procedures mandated by the AN DAO Charter.

Background

From its inception in 2017, Aragon was always meant to become a DAO. Throughout the years, Aragon led many experiments towards progressively decentralizing its governance. It has been a long journey with many learnings to draw from as we finally prepare to move the treasury on-chain to be directly governed by ANT Holders.

Treasury Transfer

The Aragon treasury is held and managed by the Aragon Association. On 17 June 2022, ANT Holders voted to begin moving the treasury from the Aragon Association into a Delegated ANT Voting DAO by the soft deadline of 30 November 2022. Our goal is to meet the deadline and expectations of ANT Holders, without compromising the security of the treasury.

Timeline

The following timeline lists the key milestones we are striving to meet with regards to consultation, governance, auditing, deployment and transfers.

*Please note: the timing is subject to change as security, operational, and legal risks are assessed on an ongoing basis.

August 2022

• Options to evolve the governance of the Aragon Network were posted for discussion in the Forum.
• The Aragon Association is working on a first draft of governance documentation, including a new charter and governance guidelines, to inform the technical specifications of the new delegated voting infrastructure.
• The Aragon Association is confirming the engagement of industry experts to advise on legal, operational, and governance implications of the Delegated ANT Voting structure.

September 2022

• The Aragon Association will begin stakeholder-based consultations regarding the proposed Delegated ANT Voting structure and governance.
• Options to evolve the governance of the Aragon Network will be put to an Aragon Voice vote.

October 2022

• All technical infrastructure options necessary for the new Delegated ANT Voting DAO should be ready for audit.

November 2022

• When a suitable audited solution is deemed safe to use by the Aragon Association, the new Delegated ANT Voting DAO will be deployed.
• The first vote will be held to enact the Delegated ANT Voting DAO Charter and Governance Guidelines on the audited and deployed technical infrastructure.
• The Delegated ANT Voting DAO will be ready for ANT Holders to delegate their tokens.
• A first installment of the treasury will be transferred to the Delegated ANT Voting DAO.

February 2023

• Core Teams will have submitted their proposals to the Delegated ANT Voting DAO.
• The treasury transfer to the Delegated ANT Voting DAO will be completed.
  

FAQs

What were the vote results to transfer the treasury to a Delegated ANT Voting DAO?

What does this mean for the Aragon treasury?

The treasury is currently managed by the Aragon Association.  We are working towards deploying the safest and most effective structure for ANT Holders to directly govern the Aragon treasury. Right now, this involves preparing new governance and technical infrastructure  capable of supporting delegated voting, as indicated in the treasury transfer vote.

When will the treasury be moved to the DAO?

The first installment of the treasury transfer is slated for November 30th, the funds will be progressively moved over in installments between November 2022 and February 2023 - conditional to a structure deemed safe to deploy. Please see the “Timeline” section for the most up-to-date developments.

What will happen to the Aragon Association?

The legal and operational implications of this decision are currently under review.

What will happen to the AN DAO?

Discussion related to the evolution of the current Aragon Network DAO governance is currently underway in the Forum and will be put up to an ANT Holder vote.

Can my team propose a delegated voting solution for Aragon?

Yes! We are currently exploring and evaluating a wide variety of options. The solution can be built on top of AragonOS or separately: our goal is to collaborate with the ecosystem to build the best and most secure voting infrastructure for Aragon at this critical juncture. The selected solution(s) will be subject to audit prior to deployment and it is helpful for proposed solutions to be pre-audited.

How can I stay up to date and get involved in the stakeholder consultations?

This blog post will be routinely updated with the latest developments. The consultation process will gather and consolidate feedback from the following stakeholder groups : (1)  ANT Holders, (2) Developers/Builders and (3) Community. Each stakeholder group will be consulted in the format most conducive to gathering meaningful feedback. Updates, forum discussions, votes and calls for consultation will be consolidated in our weekly newsletter, The Eagle.