Inside Aragon’s Bold Bet on the Future of Decentralized Power

by
Victoria d’Este

Revealed: November 21, 2025 at 2:39 pm Up to date: November 21, 2025 at 2:40 pm

by Ana

Edited and fact-checked:
November 21, 2025 at 2:39 pm

To enhance your local-language expertise, generally we make use of an auto-translation plugin. Please be aware auto-translation will not be correct, so learn original article for exact data.

Few leaders have seen the event of DAOs from as many angles as Anthony Leutenegger, from early experimentation to steering one of many ecosystem’s most influential governance initiatives. On this interview, the Aragon CEO displays on how decentralized governance is maturing in 2025, why the following wave of DAOs will look nothing like their predecessors, and what it actually takes to construct resilient, clear decision-making techniques at scale.

Anthony, might you share your journey into Web3?

I’ve been working at Aragon for 4 and a half years. I joined crypto as a result of I discovered this nice mission that was a subsidiary of Aragon known as Vocdoni, and so they have been constructing a blockchain-based voting protocol. Its purpose was finally to have nation-states operating incorruptible elections. 

I assumed, what an unbelievable and excellent use case for blockchain expertise. We’re in a world and business the place there’s a variety of hypothesis and cash flowing round, and people are legit use instances, however with the ability to have incorruptible elections might resolve a plethora of world issues.

That’s why I utilized for a job at Vocdoni. I ultimately moved into the Aragon mission, which owned Vocdoni on the time and targeted extra on governance, capital distribution, and token economics at a a lot increased stage than simply voting. I later took over the corporate, and now issues are going nice.

Might you give us an summary of Aragon’s present mission and the way it has developed over the previous couple of years?

Yeah, our present mission has positively developed over the previous few years. It was about permitting organizations to experiment with governance on the pace of software program. The purpose was that you would have choices executed with out trusted intermediaries. It’s the identical as making a cost on a blockchain; you take away the middleman. With blockchain expertise, we are able to take away intermediaries from executing an motion. Within the conventional world, individuals vote or take part, however actions normally require others to execute them.

Now, choices, whether or not it’s shifting funds, upgrading code, or granting entry, will be made by a bigger group of individuals with out anybody within the center. It turns into very censorship-resistant. It’s the primary time in historical past we are able to do that as a result of we abide by the code as regulation.

That was Aragon’s outdated mission, and we nonetheless work closely in governance. We nonetheless permit organizations to construct their access-control mechanisms for a way they govern their code base. For instance, when Lido desires to improve its code, they do it on Aragon’s good contracts. We safe their code base. If Katana desires to maneuver cash on the brand new Polygon mission, that’s the identical factor.

Now we’ve expanded into tokenomics. We help initiatives in constructing their very own governance techniques, tokenomic techniques, and progress flywheels. Our mission is way broader at the moment.

In your view, what are the important thing differentiators of Aragon’s governance framework in comparison with different DAO tooling or platforms?

Yeah, we positively have the latest modular mannequin. We separate the vault and core permissions from the governance methodologies, and anybody can set up these methodologies or plugins to attain what they need. For instance, if you would like a governance kind that isn’t token-based voting, you possibly can set up the multisig plugin or the digital identification plugin.

You may even set up a number of plugins on the identical time, permitting totally different teams, possibly a multisig and token holders, to control collectively. It’s extremely customizable, upgradable, and all the time includes tokenomics. Tokens drive virtually all the pieces in our business, so with the Aragon stack, you possibly can create lockers, stakers, and mechanisms for locking, staking, and capital distribution. It’s modular, customizable, and future-proof.

What’s the strategic significance of modular governance contracts, for instance, plugins for scaling organizations over time?

Yeah, it’s tremendous essential. Main initiatives wish to modify governance and capital flows extra simply, however many can’t do it safely as a result of they’re caught with outdated, heavy, library-based contracts. Making issues modular permits simpler changes. Upgrading turns into so simple as uninstalling and putting in a brand new plugin, which is only a small a part of the code base.

You may improve from multisig to token-holder voting as you decentralize over time. You may add staking mechanisms for token holders to manage capital flows. It makes governance safer, extra customizable, and extra future-proof. It’s unquestionably a greater system.

What are crucial coverage or regulatory tendencies you see that may have an effect on on-chain organizations within the subsequent 12 to 24 months?

Yeah, that’s an important query. What we’re seeing, particularly from the USA and from what companies like a16z are discussing, is that on-chain possession or on-chain management will grow to be crucial parameter defining decentralization. It gained’t essentially appear to be the outdated DAO mannequin the place everybody votes on all the pieces. 

It can concentrate on a smaller floor space of management, however that management have to be decentralized, that means token holders should even have management with out an middleman basis or multisig. Or the system will should be immutable, the place no particular person or group can change the code for private profit.

So decentralization shall be outlined by management and possession. I feel we’ll see much less generalized governance and extra concentrate on governing particular issues that have to be decentralized, protocol upgrades, payment switches that distribute worth to token holders, and related elements.

How do you put together for adapting to those regulatory adjustments?

Fortunately, we’ve been getting ready for years. Three years in the past, we already noticed this drawback and began shifting towards addressing it. On our present stack, you possibly can management your protocol in a extremely decentralized method with out having to vote on all the pieces. Totally different individuals can management various things, and initiatives can outline how entry management is structured.

On prime of that, we create automated and programmatic capital-distribution flows. Initiatives that wish to accrue worth to their token can achieve this in a programmatic, automated method that isn’t centrally managed, making it extra prone to meet future regulatory expectations, one thing our opponents can not do.

What are the primary dangers you foresee for organizations adopting on-chain governance, and the way does Aragon search to mitigate them?

I feel the technological facet is usually solved. We’ve created a really protected setting for organizations, and we’ve secured 45 billion {dollars} in property since 2017–18. For me, the larger danger is what’s being managed and by whom.

Proper now, many initiatives counting on token holders for safety face an issue: safety degrades over time if the token has no worth. If a token secures a protocol however the mission isn’t producing income, there’s no incentive to carry it. Folks promote, decentralization decreases, and the system breaks down.

We’d like tokens to carry worth and safe one thing significant. When that occurs, the system naturally turns into safer.

For a corporation contemplating launching a DAO by the Aragon app, what key strategic governance choices have to be made upfront?

They should perceive who will management what. In addition they want to know the worth of the token that controls protocol parameters, which is important. Different concerns embrace whether or not they need a VE mannequin, a locker mannequin, for token holders to lock or stake, or whether or not they need an ERC20 vote-standard token. These are nuanced choices, and they need to attain out to us earlier than launching.

However most significantly, they need to perceive the place their product is heading, how it will likely be managed, and why individuals will take part in making certain it stays decentralized.

Might you share any success tales or case research the place Aragon’s governance structure considerably improved organizational outcomes?

Yeah, for certain. Let’s have a look at Curve. Many initiatives at the moment are adopting the VE gauge mechanism, which is turning into widespread once more. The primary model of ve & gauges was in-built Aragon in 2020 by Curve. VE stands for vote escrow, that means a token holder locks tokens for a interval and features particular voting energy primarily based on parameters set by the mission.

The concept is that as a result of they’re locked into the system, they need the token to be price extra when it unlocks. They’re typically given energy over distributing capital, liquidity, or different essential sources. They vote within the long-term curiosity of the protocol. The extra they take part, the extra rewards they obtain.

This creates a progress flywheel, incentives to carry, take part, and make good choices. Initiatives with respectable product-market match utilizing ve & gauges, Curve, Aerodrome, Katana, and others, have seen constructive outcomes, together with a better proportion of tokens locked and elevated valuation.

How do you view the way forward for governance requirements, finest practices, auditability, and transparency for on-chain organizations?

I don’t suppose we’re at a technological level the place we must always outline strict requirements but. It’s nonetheless too early. We’d like extra natural adoption and extra tooling earlier than issues ossify into requirements.

Nevertheless, governance requirements shall be formed by regulation, significantly round how capital and incentives will be distributed. Initiatives in the end wish to generate income and enhance token worth, in order that they’ll be taught and adapt as clearer laws emerge. As adoption grows and extra use instances seem, we’ll be capable to outline higher finest practices.

We already see early examples. Lido is a profitable DAO working in a strategic method. The ve & gauge mechanism works effectively for DEXs like Curve. And DUNA is rising for initiatives like Uniswap, with decentralized governance over particular parameters.

We’re beginning to see the primary hints of requirements and finest practices.

About The Creator

Victoria is a author on quite a lot of expertise subjects together with Web3.0, AI and cryptocurrencies. Her intensive expertise permits her to put in writing insightful articles for the broader viewers.

More articles

Victoria d’Este

•