Balancer Labs co-founder Markus Hardt has proposed a plan to shut down the DeFi protocol and dissolve its DAO. The initiative involves distributing approximately $9 million from the treasury to BAL token holders. To receive their share, users will be required to burn their BAL tokens.
The proposal replaces a previously approved BAL buyback program. Hardt suggests distributing the remaining treasury assets proportionally to token holders. The total amount for distribution will be locked and audited at the block where the first round of the process begins.
The decision follows the closure of the Balancer Labs management company six months ago. The protocol suffered a $128 million loss due to a hack in November 2025. Subsequent restructuring and the launch of v3 in the spring of 2026 failed to achieve sustainable profitability.
Voting on the proposal is scheduled to take place on Snapshot between 25 and 29 September. According to CoinGecko, the BAL token price has declined by more than 99% from its 2021 peak of $72 to the current $0.11, with market capitalization falling from $783 million to $7.8 million.
