Balancer Proposes Shutdown Amid Revenue Decline
Balancer, one of the earliest automated market maker protocols in decentralized finance, has proposed shutting down its operations due to dwindling revenue. The protocol's treasury assets, valued at more than $9 million, will be distributed to BAL tokenholders after a phased wind-down.
The proposal, led by Balancer Labs CEO Marcus Hardt, aims to dissolve the DAO and return remaining funds to holders through a series of distributions starting in May 2027. The plan comes after the protocol struggled to regain momentum following an $128 million exploit in November 2025.
According to data from DefiLlama, monthly protocol revenue plummeted from $1.13 million in October 2025 to $371,000 in November, and further decreased to $56,781 in August 2026. Hardt acknowledged that the technical infrastructure was intact but the revenue side of the equation failed.
The shutdown plan will be put to a vote by BAL holders between September 25-29, with the outcome expected to have significant implications for the DeFi sector.