A group of aggressive investors (or, as some call them, treasury "predators") is launching a proposal for a treasury redemption plan targeting GNO token holders.

GIP-150 proposes a one-time, voluntary, pro-rata treasury redemption mechanism. If passed, supporting token holders would receive a share of over $220 million in reserves held by the Gnosis DAO treasury, distributed proportionally based on their holdings.

This proposal comes less than six months after the Gnosis DAO voting process to remove former treasury manager KPK. The proposer, Wismerhill, argues that the GNO token price has long traded at a significant discount relative to the DAO’s net asset value (NAV), with this discount widening over time. He adds that despite the recent $22.5 million disbursement to Gnosis Ltd, the discount between the token price and NAV has only deepened further, leaving minimal value capture for GNO holders.

The voting for this proposal is now open, with a deadline of May 12. Although early support was strong, among the 330,000 votes already cast, 65% are opposed.

The redemption amount will be calculated based on 1.3 million eligible GNO tokens, excluding those held by Gnosis Ltd. The rationale provided is that this entity has historically received continuous financial support from the DAO.

Based on these calculations, each redeemable token would yield approximately $170—nearly 30% higher than GNO’s current market price of $131.

Reactions from the DeFi Community

DeFi commentator and GNO holder Ignas stated: “The RFV logic does make some sense,” but also emphasized, “This is purely an arbitrage play—nothing morally defensible about it.” He has voted against the proposal. (Note: RFV stands for risk-free value.)

Ivangbi, head of DeFi at the Ethereum Foundation, echoed a similar sentiment: since Gnosis never publicly guaranteed token prices using treasury assets, holders have no ethical claim to partake in treasury distribution.

Many others recognize Gnosis’s contributions to the ecosystem and reject the proposal. Gnosis operates core infrastructure projects including Safe, CoW Swap, Gnosis Pay, and Gnosis Chain.

Gnosis founder Sebastian Bürgel bluntly asked: “When did the most respected ecosystem builder become a target for hedge fund extraction?” Jito ecosystem lead Nick Almond directly labeled this proposal as naked treasury dump-and-run behavior.

Anthony Leutenegger, representing Aragon—a project previously targeted by similar forces in 2023—offered a more balanced and rational perspective. He called for the industry to develop formalized mechanisms for token holder rights, enabling better alignment of incentives and prevention of such conflicts.

Past RFV Targeting Incidents

This group has launched multiple similar treasury arbitrage actions in 2023, earning them the label of “RFV predators” within the industry—though they do not accept this moniker.

Projects previously targeted include Rook, FEI/Tribe, and Aragon, with Aragon ultimately forced to restructure its treasury use into an ecosystem grant program.

Just recently, when Beefy Finance’s BIFI token dropped below its treasury-backed NAV in April, the DAO swiftly implemented a buyback mechanism to prevent a potential RFV-style raid.

Regarding this Gnosis case, proposer Wismerhill previously admitted he has long admired Gnosis DAO and had anticipated that, following KPK’s removal, Gnosis would shift toward more commercially driven decisions.

Ultimately, this vote will test whether GNO holders prioritize short-term commercial arbitrage gains or long-term ecosystem value creation.