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Uniswap DAO weighs return of $42m in UNI governance tokens
The DAO says it loaned 12.5 million UNI between 2022 and 2023 to boost governance participation, and now views the effort as no longer needed.
Uniswap’s DAO is voting on a proposal to take back around $42 million worth of governance tokens that were loaned to the Uniswap Foundation and several top delegates, according to DL News. The cooperative’s governance process, tied to UNI, is using the vote to decide whether the tokens should be reclaimed from their current holders.
DL News reports that between 2022 and 2023, the DAO loaned out 12.5 million UNI as a way to increase governance participation. The proposal’s author, Erin Koen, said protocol governance is now much more active, meaning the loaned tokens have served their purpose.
The article also notes that DUNI, Uniswap’s Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association, is the legal entity that recognizes onchain governance votes as legally binding and shields DAO members from personal liability.
The vote comes amid scrutiny of Uniswap’s governance structure. DL News says critics have argued the Uniswap Foundation has too much influence, while others point to behind the scenes decision-making and to large token holders and venture capital firms dominating voting power.