March 2025: The Value Accrual Framework
Driving sustainable growth with the Value Accrual Framework, universal cross-chain governance built in partnership with Hashi, and our ETH Denver recap
TL;DR
Here’s a roundup of Aragon highlights from the past month:
Introducing The Value Accrual Framework: Aligning governance, incentives, and value accrual for protocols to unlock feedback loops that strengthen ecosystems & drive sustainable growth. Read the full blog.
Hashi Plugin: Introducing Universal Cross-Chain Governance, built in partnership with Hashi Alliance. The Hashi plugin authenticates votes across multiple bridges; boosting security, speed, and enabling compatibility beyond EVM chains. Learn more.
Livestream: Taiko Optimistic Governance: We hosted a livestream with Taiko CEO Daniel and Researcher Arixon. Watch the recording here.
Aragon @ ETH Denver: Anthony spoke at GovLayer and SuperChain Space. Our friends at ENS also had Aragon’s dao.eth hats up for grabs at their booth.
The Value Accrual Framework
Most governance tokens lack real onchain power over protocols and capital flows, causing token holders to disengage. But when governance, incentives, and value accrual align, protocols unlock feedback loops that strengthen ecosystems & drive sustainable growth.
Closing the Loop with Governance
To help protocols create positive feedback loops between governance and value accrual, we developed governance primitives that reinforce value accrual to the governance token.
How It Works
Token holders stake the native token to access governance rights, reducing circulating supply and sell pressure.
Governance controls emissions and incentives, creating tangible token utility and attracting new demand from protocols that want to direct incentives.
Improved token fundamentals lead to more predictable incentives, attracting sustainable TVL.
Sustainable TVL enhances user experience and fuels protocol growth, further reinforcing token fundamentals.
As growth stabilizes, the opportunity cost of unstaking increases, keeping supply out of circulation.
In the best case scenario, well-designed governance tokenomics turn incentive alignment into sustainable growth. This flywheel drives both network growth and value accrual, making governance tokens an integral part of long-term success.
What’s Next
The team will be in Lisbon in a few weeks for their quarterly offsite.
Aragon will also be hosting an evening of decentralized drinks for friends. Everyone is welcome to join but seats are limited, so register early.
Have a great weekend, see you next month, and follow us on X in the meantime!
—Aragon X