Balancer proposes to wind down and hand its treasury back to BAL holders

Balancer, one of the older automated market makers in DeFi, may be closing up shop. A governance proposal posted Monday calls for an orderly wind-down of the protocol and a pro-rata distribution of its remaining treasury to holders of the BAL token, according to The Block, which reviewed the proposal and a follow-up post from Balancer on X.

The proposal was written by Marcus Hardt, a treasury council member and former CEO of Balancer Labs — the corporate entity that shut down operations roughly six months ago. Balancer Labs cited a Nov. 3, 2025 exploit that drained around $128 million from various Balancer v2 pools across multiple chains.

Under the plan, there would be no new business development, a phased sunset of the protocol, and closure of the DAO "to a legal and practical extent," per The Block's account of Hardt's text. It would cancel a previously approved BAL buyback and instead distribute treasury assets in kind and pro rata to holders who burn their BAL. The proposal states the treasury holds "at least $9 million worth of tokens." BAL held by the treasury itself would be excluded, with a limited carve-out for holders of tetuBAL, a liquid-staking wrapper.

The timeline is long. If approved, contributor notice runs through Oct. 31, and pools move to withdrawals-only on Oct. 30. The first redemption window — burn BAL, receive a share of the treasury — opens at the end of May 2027 and runs six months. A second-round airdrop follows within two months of that close, with a final sweep six months later. A Snapshot vote is expected Sept. 25–29; Balancer says nothing changes until then.

Key facts

• Proposal posted Monday by Marcus Hardt, treasury council member and ex-Balancer Labs CEO (The Block, citing the governance proposal).
• Treasury holds "at least $9 million worth of tokens"; distribution is pro rata to BAL holders who burn (The Block).
• Cancels a previously approved BAL buyback (The Block).
• First redemption window: end of May 2027, six months; pools withdrawals-only Oct. 30 (The Block).
• Snapshot vote expected Sept. 25–29 (Balancer, via X).
• Follows a Nov. 3, 2025 exploit of ~$128 million and the shutdown of Balancer Labs ~six months ago (The Block).

The real-world read

This is a reversal, and Hardt says so directly: in April, token holders approved a plan to reach profitability — costs cut, emissions ended, the token model simplified, revenue routed to the DAO, growth pinned on v3. Five months later, the pitch is liquidation. Hardt's own framing — "Balancer tried" — concedes that some initiatives "gained traction" but none converted into sustained revenue. Note the mechanics: cancelling the buyback and requiring holders to burn BAL to redeem effectively ties any payout to token destruction, and the first window doesn't open until mid-2027. What the proposal doesn't quantify is how much of that "at least $9 million" survives nearly two years of wind-down costs before anyone can claim it.

This is news, not financial advice.