Disagreements inside a decentralized autonomous group (DAO) are an indication of a wholesome DAO, in response to Dr. Michael Egorov, founding father of the decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Curve Finance.
DAOs are a decentralized organizational construction that depends on sensible contracts to automate capabilities and member voting to control 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 advised Cointelegraph:
“If everybody mechanically agrees on one thing, it appears 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 may be governance apathy, like when individuals are not voting in any respect.”
That earlier Curve DAO matter involved a 2024 governance proposal to supply Swiss Stake AG, the primary developer behind the Curve Finance protocol, with a grant valued at about $6.3 million on the time, which drew important 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 analysis final yr by blockchain growth firm LamprosTech discovered that “Voter turnout in most DAOs hardly ever passes 15%, concentrating decision-making energy within the fingers of a small, energetic group.”
Curve token holders lock up their tokens for an extended interval, which inspires long-term governance engagement, Egorov mentioned.
Egorov mentioned that DAOs characterize a brand new mannequin for human group that’s distinct from an organization or a self-sovereign nation, however options components of a sovereign nation, together with political events voicing disagreement about easy methods to 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 primary growth firm of Aave merchandise, and the Aave DAO over charges from the mixing with DeFi alternate aggregator CoW Swap.
Members of the DAO had been critical of the charges from the mixing 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 carry Aave model property and mental property beneath the management of the DAO; it in the end didn’t move.
Authorized recognition of DAOs might mitigate governance disputes
DAOs can’t work together with the true world with out regulated authorized constructions, like enterprise entities or financial institution accounts, and DAO management over mental property is a typical governance problem, Egorov said.
DAOs are an amazing match for governing something onchain, he mentioned, including that customers also needs to experiment with DAOs for offchain components as nicely, though centralized firms could be a greater match to handle offchain constructions.
If DAOs might be legally acknowledged and work together with the standard monetary world, proudly owning enterprise entities and financial institution accounts, it might 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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