Treasury Raiders Target Gnosis DAO, Submitting Massive Redemption Proposal
- Core Thesis:Gnosis DAO faces a treasury redemption proposal (GIP-150) from activist investors, aiming to distribute over $220 million in reserves proportionally. The proposal has sparked fierce controversy within the community between short-term arbitrage and long-term ecosystem value, with current votes predominantly against it (65% oppose out of 330,000 votes, voting ends May 12).
- Key Elements:
- GIP-150 proposes a one-time, proportional distribution of approximately $220 million in treasury reserves, with a redemption value of roughly $170 per GNO token (a nearly 30% premium over the market price of $131). Voting closes on May 12, with 65% of the current 330,000 votes in opposition.
- The proposal's initiator, Wismerhill, points out that GNO has long traded at a discount to net asset value, a discount that widened after a recent $22.5 million allocation. The redemption is limited to 1.3 million eligible GNO tokens, excluding those held by Gnosis Ltd.
- The DeFi community is polarized: some participants like Ignas and ivangbi view it as an arbitrage trade, arguing it lacks moral justification; Gnosis founder Sebastian Bürgel and Jito ecosystem lead Nick Almond criticize the proposal for undermining ecosystem development.
- Gnosis operates core infrastructure projects including Safe, CoW Swap, Gnosis Pay, and Gnosis Chain. The community fears that splitting the treasury will harm its long-term development capabilities.
- Similar RFV arbitrage actions have precedents: in 2023, incidents involving Rook, FEI/Tribe, and Aragon occurred, with Aragon forced to convert its treasury into an ecosystem grant program. Recently, Beefy Finance proactively defended against such attacks through a buyback mechanism.
Original Author: Protos
Original Translation: Chopper, Foresight News
A group of activist investors (or Treasury "Raid" activists, as some call them) are launching a proposal for a treasury redemption plan targeting GNO token holders.
GIP-150 proposes a one-time, voluntary, pro-rata treasury redemption scheme. If the proposal passes, supporting holders will receive a proportional share of more than $220 million in reserve funds from the Gnosis DAO treasury.
This proposal comes less than six months after Gnosis DAO voted to remove former treasury manager KPK. The proposer, Wismerhill, stated that the market price of GNO tokens has been at a persistent and widening discount relative to the net asset value of the Gnosis DAO treasury. He added that despite the DAO recently allocating $22.5 million to Gnosis Ltd, the discount of the token relative to net assets has widened further, with GNO capturing minimal value gain.
Voting on the proposal is currently open and closes on May 12th. Although initial support votes held a significant lead, 65% of the 330,000 votes cast so far are against the proposal.
The redemption amount will be calculated proportionally based on 1.3 million eligible GNO tokens, with tokens held by Gnosis Ltd excluded from the redemption scope. The proposal's rationale is that this entity has long been receiving financial support from the DAO.
Based on this calculation, the estimated redemption value per token is approximately $170, nearly 30% higher than GNO's current market price of $131.
Reactions from the DeFi Community
DeFi commentator and GNO holder Ignas admitted, "There's some logic to the RFV argument," but also pointed out, "This is purely an arbitrage trade, not an act of virtue," and he himself voted against the proposal. (Note: RFV stands for risk-free value.)
Ivangbi, Head of DeFi at the Ethereum Foundation, held a similar view. Since Gnosis has never publicly stated that its treasury assets back the token price, holders have no moral right to claim a share of the treasury.
Many others, considering Gnosis's contributions to the industry ecosystem, also disagree with the proposal. Gnosis owns core infrastructure projects such as Safe, CoW Swap, Gnosis Pay, and Gnosis Chain.
Gnosis founder Sebastian Bürgel stated bluntly, "When did the most respected ecosystem builders in the industry become targets for hedge fund raids?" Jito ecosystem lead Nick Almond directly characterized the proposal as a blatant treasury dump-and-run scheme.
Anthony Leutenegger, a representative from the Aragon team that faced a similar attack in 2023, took a more moderate and rational stance. He called on the industry to improve procedural mechanisms for token holder rights to better align incentives and resolve such disputes.
Past Cases of RFV Raids
This group launched similar treasury arbitrage actions multiple times in 2023, earning them the label "RFV Raiders" within the industry, although the group itself does not accept this term.
Targeted projects that year included Rook, FEI/Tribe, and Aragon. In Aragon's case, it was ultimately forced to redirect its treasury funds, transforming them into an ecosystem grant program.
More recently, after the Beefy Finance token BIFI fell below its treasury net asset value in April, the DAO quickly implemented a buyback mechanism precisely to avoid an arbitrage attack by RFV forces.
Regarding the current Gnosis incident, proposal initiator Wismerhill previously admitted that he has always admired Gnosis DAO and speculated that after the removal of KPK, Gnosis would subsequently make more commercially-oriented decisions.
This vote will ultimately test whether GNO holders prioritize short-term commercial arbitrage gains or long-term ecosystem building value.
