Balancer (BAL) would sunset in phases under a governance proposal that moves eligible pools to withdrawals-only next month and returns the DAO treasury to token holders.

The protocol was restructured in April to reach profitability on a leaner base. Revenue has trended lower since, and the author says he sees no funded path that changes the picture.

Balancer‘s Turnaround Plan Ran Out of Road

Balancer approved a restructuring in April that shrank its budget, ended emissions, and routed protocol fees to the DAO. Version 3 (v3) was expected to deliver the growth.

AutoRange Pools shipped, the product the plan counted on. However, most revenue still comes from the older v2 contracts, and v3 never replaced them.

Monthly revenue topped $1 million in October 2025, then collapsed after the November exploit drained $128 million from v2 pools. It has not recovered since, according to DefiLlama data.

The decline continued past the April vote. Revenue fell from a little over $200,000 that month to under $60,000 in August, with September tracking lower still.

“The revenue picture is why this comes now. Most of the protocol’s revenue still comes from v2. v3 revenue has not grown to replace it. BIP-918 set a review for exactly this case. This proposal is that review, brought early. Waiting for the calendar would change the numbers, not the conclusion, and every month of waiting is spent from the treasury,” the proposal reads.

The proposal puts the monthly burn near $150,000 all-in, which is above what the protocol brings in.

“Continuing on the current path spends the treasury to arrive at the same place later. That treasury belongs to BAL holders. The question is whether what remains reaches holders while it is still substantial, or is spent first on a path that has already been tried,” Marcus Hardt, Balancer Treasury Council member and author of the proposal, added.

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Two Rounds, One Burn and a 2027 Payout

As per the proposal, pools that can be paused would move to withdrawals only on October 30. Contracts that cannot be paused would keep running, with protocol fees set to zero where the contracts allow.

Contributor contracts end October 31. A small transition team would then run a minimal withdrawal stack, with winddown spending capped at $400,000 through the final payout.

The treasury is worth at least $9 million at current prices, based on figures from the treasury manager kpk. BAL is excluded from the distributable assets, apart from the share owed to tetuBAL holders.

Round one would open at the end of May 2027. Holders would burn BAL and claim a pro rata share in kind, with the window closing that November. An airdrop follows in January 2028, ahead of a final sweep six months later.

The proposal would also cancel the BAL buyback approved under BIP-919. Funds recovered from the exploit stay with affected liquidity providers and sit outside the distribution.

Snapshot voting runs from 25 to September 29, with a quorum of 5 million BAL. Meanwhile, contributors are preparing a separate proposal to keep the infrastructure running under a new name. If passed, Balancer would join a lengthening list of DeFi projects that closed this year.

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Source: BeInCrypto