Balancer governance approves protocol wind-down with payouts estimated at 16 cents per token
Balancer token holders have voted overwhelmingly to wind down the decentralized exchange, rejecting a competing fork proposal and approving a plan to transition pools to withdrawals only ahead of a 2027 treasury payout.
Balancer token holders approved governance proposal BIP-928 with more than 99% of roughly 17.2 million votes cast on Tuesday, approving an orderly wind-down of the decentralized exchange. A simultaneous vote on proposal BIP-929, which would have launched an official protocol fork led by team MAXYZ, failed with approximately 70% voting against. Former Balancer Labs CEO Marcus Hardt, who authored the wind-down framework, confirmed on the governance forum that the vote had closed and execution would begin.[2][1][3]
Under the approved roadmap, liquidity pools that can be paused will switch to withdrawals-only mode on Oct. 30, coinciding with the expiration of bug bounty coverage across all pools. Partners actively migrating v3 liquidity can request an extension until Oct. 16 to keep those pools operational through Nov. 30, though Hardt urged liquidity providers seeking coverage to exit before Oct. 30. Balancer's v2 and v3 pools held roughly $52.4 million combined on Tuesday, according to DefiLlama data.[2][3]
The protocol's remaining treasury will be distributed in kind and pro rata during a six-month claim window starting in late May 2027, once existing veBAL locks expire. In a Sept. 20 update, Hardt provided an unaudited estimate projecting a $9.96 million distributable treasury across 63.07 million redeemable BAL, equaling roughly $0.1579 per token. The decision to wind down followed severe operational imbalances, with Hardt highlighting roughly $150,000 in monthly expenses against $30,000 in August revenue after a November 2025 exploit drained $128 million from v2 pools.[2][1]
Key facts
- Balancer proposal BIP-928 passed with over 99% of about 17.2 million votes cast to execute an orderly wind-down of the protocol.
- A competing proposal, BIP-929, to launch an official protocol fork by team MAXYZ failed with roughly 70% opposing votes.
- Pausable liquidity pools will switch to withdrawals only on Oct. 30, when all bug bounty coverage ends, though withdrawals will stay open.
- Partners moving v3 liquidity can request an extension by Oct. 16 to keep their pools live through Nov. 30.
- Balancer's v2 and v3 pools held a combined $52.4 million as of Tuesday, per DefiLlama data.
- Hardt provided an unaudited estimate of about $0.1579 per BAL based on a $9.96 million distributable treasury and 63.07 million redeemable tokens.
- Holders will be able to burn BAL to redeem their pro rata share during a six-month distribution window starting at the end of May 2027.
- The wind-down follows about $150,000 in monthly costs against $30,000 in August revenue, alongside a November 2025 exploit that drained $128 million.
Sources · 3 sources
- LS
Laura Shin@laurashinPost on X ·
BAL holders approved winding down Balancer with more than 99% of votes cast. Former Balancer Labs CEO Marcus Hardt's own, unaudited estimate puts the treasury payout at about 16 cents per BAL. https://t.co/lPSd8Bq8MM
Open source - UN
UnchainedArticle ·
Balancer Is Shutting Down, With Payouts Estimated at About 16 Cents per BAL A Balancer governance vote that closed on Tuesday approved winding down the decentralized exchange. The plan moves pools that can be paused to withdrawals only at the end of October and pays out what is left of the treasury to BAL holders starting in May 2027. In a second vote that closed at the same time, holders turned down a proposal to launch an official fork of the protocol. The wind-down proposal, BIP-928, passed with more than 99% of the roughly 17.2 million BAL cast. The fork proposal, BIP-929, failed with about 70% against. “The vote has now closed,” former Balancer Labs CEO Marcus Hardt , who wrote the wind-down plan, posted on the governance forum. “With that, the orderly winddown described in BIP-928 is approved and we will move into execution.” Get Unchained’s crypto news in your inbox with the free Unchained Daily newsletter . Deadlines for Liquidity Providers On Oct. 30 , pools that can be paused switch to withdrawals only, and bug bounty coverage ends for every pool. Partners still moving v3 liquidity can request an extension by Oct. 16, which keeps those pools live through Nov. 30 . Hardt wrote in a forum update on Sept. 24 that withdrawals “stay open throughout,” and told liquidity providers in those extended v3 pools to exit by Oct. 30 if they want out while still covered. Balancer’s v2 and v3 pools still held about $52.4 million combined on Tuesday, DefiLlama data for v2 and v3 shows. Hardt’s Estimate: About 16 Cents per BAL The treasury goes out in kind and pro rata. Holders burn BAL to claim their share during a six-month window that opens at the end of May 2027, after existing veBAL locks expire. In a Sept. 20 update , Hardt put the distributable treasury at about $9.96 million against 63.07 million redeemable BAL, or $0.1579 for each BAL, which he called “my own measurement, not an audited figure.” The final figure will be set, and audited, at the snapshot that opens the claim. The rejected fork came from MAXYZ , a team led by longtime Balancer contributors Gosuto and Zekraken. It would have kept pools running until the end of the second quarter of 2027 and granted the new entity up to about 6 million non-circulating BAL, worth roughly $690,000 when the fork was proposed. In return, the Balancer treasury would have received 10% of the fork’s token supply, or equivalent value, if the fork ever launched a token or had another exit event. Hardt proposed the wind-down on Sept. 14, pointing to about $150,000 in monthly costs against roughly $30,000 of protocol revenue in August. Balancer Labs, the protocol’s corporate entity, announced in March that it was shutting down after a November 2025 exploit drained about $128 million from v2 pools. Related Listen: How One ENS Vote Reignited the DAO Governance Debate: Uneasy Money The post Balancer Is Shutting Down, With Payouts Estimated at About 16 Cents per BAL appeared first on Unchained .
Open source - CN
crypto.news@cryptodotnewsPost on X ·
JUST IN: Balancer $BAL holders approve an orderly protocol wind-down BIP-928 proposal passed while the MAXYZ proposed fork failed, with V3 pools remaining operational until October 30 and the first treasury distribution scheduled for May 2027. https://t.co/IjSVslfhnv
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