Balancer Proposes Shutdown After Failed Cost-Cutting Overhaul

Balancer, once one of DeFi's largest trading venues with over $3 billion in total value locked at its peak in 2021, is proposing to shut down after a cost-cutting overhaul failed to revive revenue following last year's $128 million exploit.

The decentralized exchange's Sept. 14 governance proposal would end new business development, begin winding down operations, and eventually distribute the remaining treasury to BAL holders. Token holders are scheduled to vote on the plan from Sept. 25 to Sept. 29.

Marcus Hardt, former Balancer Labs chief executive, said the DAO had already tried a narrower survival plan that reduced the team from roughly 25 people to 12.5 full-time equivalents and cut operating costs by about a third. However, the commercial recovery never followed.