Disagreements inside a decentralized autonomous group (DAO) are an indication of a wholesome DAO, based on Dr. Michael Egorov, founding father of the decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Curve Finance.
DAOs are a decentralized organizational construction that depends on good contracts to automate features and member voting to manipulate onchain protocols.
Egorov mentioned that each a 2024 governance proposal involving the Curve DAO and the latest dispute involving the Aave DAO illustrate the significance of disagreements to the construction’s vitality. He instructed Cointelegraph:
“If everybody mechanically agrees on one thing, it seems like individuals simply do not actually care. They vote for no matter is available in, or they do not take part in any respect. The primary signal of that might be governance apathy, like when individuals are not voting in any respect.”
That earlier Curve DAO matter involved a 2024 governance proposal to offer Swiss Stake AG, the principle developer behind the Curve Finance protocol, with a grant valued at about $6.3 million on the time, which drew vital pushback from members of the Curve DAO.
Egorov famous that the proposal was revised and resubmitted in December 2025, and the redrafted proposal acquired over 80% turnout from DAO members.
An evaluation final 12 months by blockchain improvement firm LamprosTech discovered that “Voter turnout in most DAOs hardly ever passes 15%, concentrating decision-making energy within the palms of a small, energetic group.”
Curve token holders lock up their tokens for a protracted interval, which inspires long-term governance engagement, Egorov mentioned.
Egorov mentioned that DAOs symbolize a brand new mannequin for human group that’s distinct from an organization or a self-sovereign nation, however options parts of a sovereign nation, together with political events voicing disagreement about how you can govern a protocol.
Associated: Core technical contributor to stop involvement with Aave DAO
Aave dispute highlights challenges in onchain governance and mental property rights
In December 2025, a governance dispute erupted between Aave Labs, the principle improvement firm of Aave merchandise, and the Aave DAO over charges from the combination with DeFi change aggregator CoW Swap.
Members of the DAO have been vital of the charges from the combination going on to a pockets managed by Aave Labs, and the pushback sparked a debate over which entity has rightful management over mental property on the DeFi platform.
A proposal was then submitted to the Aave DAO to convey Aave model belongings and mental property beneath the management of the DAO; it finally didn’t cross.
Authorized recognition of DAOs may mitigate governance disputes
DAOs can not work together with the actual world with out regulated authorized constructions, like enterprise entities or financial institution accounts, and DAO management over mental property is a typical governance subject, Egorov mentioned.
DAOs are an important match for governing something onchain, he mentioned, including that customers also needs to experiment with DAOs for offchain parts as nicely, although centralized firms may be a greater match to handle offchain constructions.
If DAOs may very well be legally acknowledged and work together with the standard monetary world, proudly owning enterprise entities and financial institution accounts, it may mitigate governance disputes, Egorov mentioned, including that the authorized system has but to catch as much as the most recent know-how.
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