TLDR
- Balancer has proposed winding down its DeFi protocol after restructuring failed to generate enough revenue
- CEO Marcus Hardt says the $128 million November 2025 exploit continued to hurt adoption even after a rebuild
- Monthly revenue dropped from $1.13 million in October 2025 to just $56,781 by August 2026
- The remaining treasury of over $9 million would be distributed to BAL token holders
- A governance vote is scheduled for September 25 to 29 to approve the wind-down
Balancer, a decentralized exchange and automated market maker, has proposed winding down its protocol after a post-exploit restructuring failed to bring in enough revenue to keep the project viable.
A proposal to wind down Balancer and distribute the treasury to BAL holders is live on the forum, authored by Marcus Hardt. Discussion is open; a Snapshot vote is expected to happen from 25 to 29 September.
Nothing changes today: pools and withdrawals work as they do now. Any…
— Balancer (@Balancer) September 14, 2026
The proposal was written by Balancer Labs CEO Marcus Hardt and posted to the Balancer governance forum on Monday. It calls for an orderly shutdown and the distribution of more than $9 million in treasury funds to BAL token holders.
Revenue Never Recovered After the Exploit
The trouble started in November 2025, when a $128 million exploit hit Balancer’s legacy v2 composable stable pools. Monthly revenue dropped sharply from $1.13 million in October 2025 to $371,000 the following month.
sad to see @Balancer is winding down
balancer literally changed the defi space by a ton things, seeing an OG defi protocol windings down is sad
thanks for all the memories and much love to the team ❤️ https://t.co/FEybxppWWM
— hrithik ( 히리틱 ) (@hrithikk) September 15, 2026
The decline continued into 2026. By August, monthly protocol revenue had fallen to just $56,781, according to data from DefiLlama.
Balancer Labs shut down in March 2026. Executives decided to keep the protocol running under a leaner structure, hoping a new version would drive growth.
Hardt said the restructuring did cut costs and delivered what was promised to token holders. But the revenue side did not hold up.
“Most of the protocol’s revenue still comes from v2, and v3 revenue has not grown to replace it. The product worked. It did not sell enough,” Hardt said in a post on X.
He also acknowledged underestimating the lasting damage from the exploit. “The November 2025 exploit hit legacy v2 pools. v3 is a different architecture, but the event followed the name into every conversation since and made traction harder to build,” he said on the governance forum.
What the Wind-Down Would Look Like
Under the proposal, Balancer would begin a phased shutdown next month. New business development would stop, and liquidity providers would have until October 30 to prepare to exit.
Pools that can be paused would move to withdrawal-only mode. Those that cannot be paused would keep running, but with protocol fees set to zero where contracts allow.
From November 1, Balancer would run only the infrastructure needed to support withdrawals. The DAO would be wound down, with a small team managing the transition. Up to $400,000 has been set aside to cover wind-down costs.
BAL holders would receive treasury assets on a pro-rata basis. The first distribution is set for May 2027, when holders would burn their BAL tokens in exchange for their share. A second distribution would return unused wind-down funds, followed by a final sweep six months later.
Hardt said waiting longer would only drain the treasury without changing the outcome.
A governance vote is scheduled for September 25 to 29. If rejected, Balancer’s current operating structure would remain in place.
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