Aragon is a platform designed to help developers and communities build and manage decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). It was founded by Luis Cuende and Jorge Izquierdo in November 2016. ^[1][2]

Overview

Built on the Ethereum blockchain, Aragon offers a robust framework for creating and managing DAOs. ^[2][3]

"We build full stack DAO technology, enabling organizations to govern their protocols and assets onchain." - the website states^[3]

Its core features center around three key aspects: decentralized governance infrastructure enabling communities to make collective decisions; modular design providing customization options for governance mechanisms; and an emphasis on transparency, with all decisions and transactions recorded on the blockchain for accountability. ^[4]

History

Luis Cuende had previously launched several startups focused on areas like software development and loyalty programs. Izquierdo, who had collaborated with Cuende on one of these ventures, joined him to co-found Aragon. ^[6]

Izquierdo served as CEO until January 2021, when he resigned due to disagreements over business decisions. ^[5]

In October 2017, Aragon revealed aragonOS, a framework of smart contracts built to help developers and DAOs manage their creations through decentralized governance. In 2020, the platform announced the Aragon Network Jurisdiction, which was designed to arbitrate disputes using bonded assets (ANT) and a system of “judges.” The following year, Aragon acquired another crypto project called Vocdoni in hopes of expanding its reach. It continued to build and modify its products through 2021 and 2022. ^[6]

In January 2024, Aragon appointed a new CEO, Anthony Leutenegger[10] to lead the team. ^[9]

"Today I am proud to announce that I have stepped up as the new CEO of Aragon X, to lead the development and growth of the Aragon project. My goal: get Aragon back to doing what it does best, building innovative technology..." - Leutenegger tweeted^[11]

Controversy

There was controversy surrounding the project in 2023 when an activist group of investors accumulated ANT to exert influence over Aragon’s DAO. This led Aragon to cancel its plans to give its community control over the treasury, which was worth about $200 million at the time. There were further allegations about plans for a private sale of the project, although no such sale occurred. Despite both internal and external discord, Aragon released a new version of its platform in March of that year: Aragon OSx. ^[6]

The controversy also led to Aragon banning at least six members from its DAO during a heated debate over its treasury. The members were accused of coordinating a hostile takeover to gain control of the $200 million treasury. The ban led to significant discussions about the future of the DAO and the need for better mechanisms to prevent similar issues. ^[14]

The Aragon Association is a non-profit legal entity based in Switzerland that backed the project, having overseen the ANT token sale and managing the funds raised through it. However, in November 2023, the Aragon Association was dissolved and 86,343 ETH were redeemed as ANT tokens by holders. ^[7]

"Over the course of several years the AA experimented with different governance initiatives, such as decentralizing the project with multiple teams, implementing an Aragon Governance Proposal process, and creating a parallel optimistic governance DAO for the community. While the treasury grew significantly after several bull markets, bureaucratic complexity, misaligned stakeholders, and failed attempts at modifying the governance increased tensions within the project.

This led the AA to a rushed attempt to vest control of the treasury directly in the hands of ANT holders. However, too few ANT was in the hands of users, partners, and builders after years of product pivots, and a volatile gap existed between the value of the treasury and the token market cap" - the team stated^[7]

ANT Token

Aragon Network Token (ANT) is the native token of Aragon. ANT is primarily used for the governance of the Aragon Network. ANT holders can participate in Aragon Governance by voting on proposals. ^[8][12][13]

ANT's total supply ranged between 40-45 million tokens. Because the inflation (issuance of new coins) and rate of burning (destroying) ANT can vary according to community votes, this is subject to change over time. ^[6]

The ANT initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017 raised more than $25 million worth of ETH to support the Aragon project in under 30 minutes. ^[1][7]

Technology

Aragon offers a software stack for web3 users to create and manage decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). The core of this stack is Aragon OSx, composed of two types of smart contracts: core contracts and framework contracts. ^[6]

Core contracts handle the front-end functionality, such as naming the DAO, managing permissions, and setting governance rules. Framework contracts operate in the background, managing the creation and customization of DAOs. ^[6]

To simplify the process, Aragon provides a software development kit (SDK) that allows interaction with Aragon OSx using Javascript, bypassing the need to learn Ethereum's Solidity programming language. Additionally, the Aragon App enables non-programmers to create DAOs, mint tokens, and set governance structures without any coding knowledge. ^[6]