ChainThink report, March 24: Fernando Martinelli, co-founder of Balancer Labs, announced in the community that Balancer Labs will be gradually shut down. As the original incubator entity of the protocol, it has become a burden on protocol development due to ongoing legal risks stemming from the v2 vulnerability in November 2025 and the absence of sustainable revenue streams.

Core team members will be integrated into Balancer OpCo, with related operational proposals (BIPs) submitted by Marcus and Danko, pending governance approval.

Fernando Martinelli disclosed that the protocol generated annualized total fee revenue exceeding $1 million over the past three months, demonstrating continued functionality. However, the core issue lies in the tokenomics model and an unsustainable cost structure. He supports reducing BAL emissions to zero, terminating the veBAL model, routing 100% of protocol fees to the DAO treasury, reducing V3 protocol revenue share to 25% to attract organic liquidity, and establishing a fair exit mechanism for BAL holders via liquidity buybacks. Upon closure, Balancer Labs will no longer have formal ties to the protocol but remains willing to provide advisory support on a voluntary basis.