The Aragon Association, an organization behind the Aragon Project ($ANT)), has decided to deploy most of its treasury to allow ANT token holders to redeem what they have for Ethereum ($ETH), with the move being worth a total of $165.5 million and lead to the dissolution of the Association.
According to a recent announcement, ANT token holders will be able to redeem their ANT for the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization at a rate of 0.0025376 ETH per ANT, as the Aragon Association is deploying 86,343 ETH to a redemption contract, worth over $165 million.
The association noted it found the optimal way to redeem all ANT holders by choosing the most lawful and tax friendly route that would safeguard and sustain the project. This choice could not be subject to a public vote due to legal limitations, especially regulatory risks caused by token speculation and market manipulation, it said.
Today 85360 ETH (~99%) was transferred to the redemption contract, with 5% of outstanding supply already redeemed 🎉
Reminder for all ANT holders to redeem their ANT at https://t.co/mjCQl8nXsD 🦅 pic.twitter.com/lRdy1MljwT
— Aragon Association (@AragonAssoc) November 3, 2023
Aragon was launched in 2016 with the goal of building better organizations that are transparent, borderless, and onchain. It says it pioneed decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and took them to over $1 billion in assets under management.
In 2017, Aragon raised 275,000 ETH (around $25m) with the ANT sale. The goal for ANT was for a token for a dispute resolution system in a new digital jurisdiction, the Aragon Network. The association said tensions within the project saw it rush to vest control of the treasury directly to Ant token holders, but “too few ANT were in the hands of users, partners, and builders after years of product pivots, and a volatile gap existed between the value of the treasury and the token market cap.”
The organization said that after considering the situation, it decided that it was beyond repair and noted that “neither the AA not ANT are currently suited to govern the project.” The association is also committing $1 million to cover its outstanding obligations and handle regulatory issues.
Featured image via Unsplash.
