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

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November 21, 2025 at 2:39 pm

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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 tasks. On this interview, the Aragon CEO displays on how decentralized governance is maturing in 2025, why the subsequent 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 challenge that was a subsidiary of Aragon known as Vocdoni, they usually had been constructing a blockchain-based voting protocol. Its aim was finally to have nation-states working incorruptible elections. 

I believed, what an unbelievable and excellent use case for blockchain expertise. We’re in a world and trade the place there’s numerous hypothesis and cash flowing round, and people are respectable use circumstances, however having 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 challenge, which owned Vocdoni on the time and centered extra on governance, capital distribution, and token economics at a a lot larger stage than simply voting. I later took over the corporate, and now issues are going nice.

May 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 velocity of software program. The purpose was that you may have selections 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, selections, whether or not it’s shifting funds, upgrading code, or granting entry, might 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 legislation.

That was Aragon’s previous mission, and we nonetheless work closely in governance. We nonetheless enable 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 sensible contracts. We safe their code base. If Katana desires to maneuver cash on the brand new Polygon challenge, that’s the identical factor.

Now we’ve expanded into tokenomics. We assist tasks in constructing their very own governance techniques, tokenomic techniques, and progress flywheels. Our mission is way broader in the present day.

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 realize what they need. For instance, if you’d like a governance kind that isn’t token-based voting, you may set up the multisig plugin or the digital identification plugin.

You’ll be able to even set up a number of plugins on the similar time, permitting completely different teams, perhaps a multisig and token holders, to manipulate collectively. It’s extremely customizable, upgradable, and at all times includes tokenomics. Tokens drive nearly every little thing in our trade, so with the Aragon stack, you may 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 tasks need to regulate governance and capital flows extra simply, however many can’t do it safely as a result of they’re caught with previous, 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’ll be able to improve from multisig to token-holder voting as you decentralize over time. You’ll be able to 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 an important coverage or regulatory traits you see that can have an effect on on-chain organizations within the subsequent 12 to 24 months?

Yeah, that’s a terrific query. What we’re seeing, particularly from the US and from what corporations like a16z are discussing, is that on-chain possession or on-chain management will grow to be an important parameter defining decentralization. It gained’t essentially appear to be the previous DAO mannequin the place everybody votes on every little thing. 

It should deal with 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 must be immutable, the place no particular person or group can change the code for private profit.

So decentralization can be outlined by management and possession. I believe we’ll see much less generalized governance and extra deal with governing particular issues that have to be decentralized, protocol upgrades, charge switches that distribute worth to token holders, and related elements.

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

Fortunately, we’ve been getting ready for years. Three years in the past, we already noticed this downside and began shifting towards addressing it. On our present stack, you may management your protocol in a extremely decentralized manner with out having to vote on every little thing. Completely different individuals can management various things, and tasks can outline how entry management is structured.

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

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

I believe the technological aspect is generally solved. We’ve created a really secure surroundings for organizations, and we’ve secured 45 billion {dollars} in property since 2017–18. For me, the larger threat is what’s being managed and by whom.

Proper now, many tasks 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 challenge isn’t producing income, there’s no incentive to carry it. Individuals 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 way of the Aragon app, what key strategic governance selections have to be made upfront?

They should perceive who will management what. Additionally they want to know the worth of the token that controls protocol parameters, which is crucial. Different concerns embody 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 selections, and they need to attain out to us earlier than launching.

However most significantly, they have 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.

May 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 tasks at the moment are adopting the VE gauge mechanism, which is changing into standard once more. The primary model of ve & gauges was inbuilt Aragon in 2020 by Curve. VE stands for vote escrow, that means a token holder locks tokens for a interval and positive factors particular voting energy primarily based on parameters set by the challenge.

The concept is that as a result of they’re locked into the system, they need the token to be value 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 selections. Initiatives with first rate product-market match utilizing ve & gauges, Curve, Aerodrome, Katana, and others, have seen optimistic outcomes, together with the next share 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 assume we’re at a technological level the place we should 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 can be formed by regulation, notably round how capital and incentives might be distributed. Initiatives in the end need to generate income and enhance token worth, so that they’ll be taught and adapt as clearer laws emerge. As adoption grows and extra use circumstances seem, we’ll be capable to outline higher finest practices.

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

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

About The Writer

Victoria is a author on a wide range of expertise subjects together with Web3.0, AI and cryptocurrencies. Her intensive expertise permits her to write down insightful articles for the broader viewers.

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Victoria d’Este