On November 2, 2023, the Aragonese Association (AA) announced the ANT redemption initiative. Over the past 12 months, all ANT holders had a fair and equal opportunity to redeem their ANT for ETH at a fixed rate of 0.0025376 ETH:ANT. To comply with this initiative, the AA sent 86,343 ETH—87% of Aragon’s treasury—to the ANT Redemption Smart Contract.
On November 2, 2024 at 23:59 UTC the redemption period ended. Here are the final results of the initiative:
- 87% ANT redeemed;
- 2,670 total exchanges of ANTv1, ANTv2 and ANJ holders;
- 75,093.99 ETH redeemed by token holders;
- The remaining 11,249.01 ETH will go to the new Aragón Foundation.
In the future, ANT will no longer have any role in the Aragon Project. Thanks to all the ANT holders who have contributed to the project over the years. The mission set out in 2017 will be carried forward by the new Aragon FoundationLed by a board of experienced Ethereum builders. Any unredeemed ETH will be irrevocably committed to continuing the project’s purpose of developing on-chain governance technology.
For more information, see the questions and answers below:
How was the fixed reimbursement rate determined?
The AA arrived at the best possible refund rate it could achieve for all ANT holders by negotiating the most compliant and tax-efficient path with Swiss regulators.
The path authorized by the Swiss tax authorities required a reasonable guarantee of the continuity of the project. In addition to the operating funds that were previously set aside, funds remaining at the end of the 1-year repayment period were committed to the new Aragon Foundationfor the continuation of the mission of the Aragón Project.
The rate was chosen because it was the most favorable outcome for ANT holders. Swiss tax authorities approved the ANT Redemption Initiative on the condition that the Aragon Project continue its initial mission, and characterized the redemption as an expense that was in the best interest of the project. If the AA had attempted to deploy the entire treasury for token holders to redeem, and left no funds to continue the project’s purpose, a much higher “liquidation tax” would have been triggered. This would have resulted in significantly less ETH be available to token holders for redemption, resulting in a lower redemption rate.
Will there be other opportunities to redeem?
No, the ANT Redemption Initiative is now closed. All remaining funds in the ANT Redemption Smart Contract will be sent to the new Aragón Foundation and irrevocably committed to the continuation of the Aragón Project mission, as required by the Swiss tax authorities.
How did you ensure that all ANT holders were aware of the initiative?
To ensure that all ANT holders were aware of the ANT Redemption Initiative, the following steps were taken:
- Wide dissemination in the media at the beginning of the initiative;
- Notifications about block explorers and key on-chain data sites, including:
- Etherscan
- Coin Market Capitalization
- CoinGecko;
- Monthly reminders on social networks and the Aragón Project newsletter, increasing the cadence to weekly reminders of the last month;
- Link to the ANT Redemption Portal in the navigation of the Aragón website;
- Direct disclosure and cooperation with all centralized exchanges (CEX) listed on ANT;
- NFT notification to all addresses holding ANT during the last two weeks of the ANT Redemption Initiative;
- Direct dissemination to token holders via on-chain social media protocols.
Additionally, 1:1 support was offered in a dedicated Discord channel and by email to [email protected].
What will happen to the remaining funds?
All remaining funds will be sent to the recently announced Aragon Foundation Led by a board of experienced Ethereum builders. The council sets the strategic direction to fulfill the purpose of the Aragón Foundation, allocates funds and provides guidance to builders to fulfill Aragón’s mission of developing on-chain governance technology.
You can learn more at www.fundacionaragon.org and follow the evolution of @aragon_fdn.
What if I have additional questions?
Additional questions may be directed to [email protected]and the Aragón Shield Foundation that oversees the completion of the initiative will contact you.
Any media inquiries can be directed to [email protected].
