Arbitrum DAO Treasury Proposal Rejected, Whale Labels It a "Power Play"
n the governance forum, a whale holding 4.8 million ARB tokens characterized the proposal as a "power play" that would impose an "unnecessary step," hampering the Foundation's capacity to "support the growth of the Arbitrum ecosystem."
A contentious proposal aimed at returning 700 million ARB governance tokens to Arbitrum's DAO Treasury was soundly defeated on April 15. The Improvement Proposal AIP-1.05 came to light after the Arbitrum Foundation conducted a transfer of funds without obtaining community approval in March.
The AIP-1.05 garnered only 21 million ARB tokens in support, or nearly 14.5% of the total votes, while a decisive 118 million votes, or 84% of the total, opposed the proposal. Approximately 2 million ARB tokens abstained from voting. The proposal sought to have the Foundation return the tokens as a "symbolic gesture" that would demonstrate the governance holders, not the Arbitrum service provider or Foundation, wield ultimate control over the DAO.
In the governance forum, a whale holding 4.8 million ARB tokens characterized the proposal as a "power play" that would impose an "unnecessary step," hampering the Foundation's capacity to "support the growth of the Arbitrum ecosystem."
Another whale, who cast 18 million ARB tokens against the proposal, emphasized the need for balance between promoting decentralization and fostering progress within the ecosystem:
"There is a balance that we need to try to accomplish between advocating for decentralization and preventing progress in the ecosystem. I believe that decentralization in its ideal form is nowhere to be seen in this industry yet."
The Arbitrum community and Foundation remain embroiled in a dispute over the Foundation's governance proposal AIP-1, which advocated for investing nearly $1 billion worth of ARB tokens to finance its operations. In response to community backlash, the Foundation later clarified that AIP-1 was a ratification, not a proposal, and that some tokens had already been exchanged for stablecoins.
The AIP-1 proposal marked Arbitrum's inaugural governance effort following its token airdrop in early March. The Foundation has since unveiled a new suite of improvement proposals designed to reengage in dialogue with the community.
