Balancer fork seeks 6M BAL tokens, risks 8.7% holder dilution
In brief
- MAXYZ requests 6 million BAL tokens from Balancer's treasury to launch a successor protocol, per September 20 proposal.
- Full approval would lower redemption value to $0.1442 per BAL, a 8.7% decrease from current $0.1579 estimate.
- MAXYZ proposes 10% contingent allocation from fork's future token event to Balancer's treasury as trade-off.
The Treasury Math
An unaudited on-chain measurement taken September 18 found $9,959,416 in non-BAL assets available for distribution against 63,068,821 redeemable BAL. At the prices used in that snapshot, the redemption value worked out to about $0.1579 for each eligible BAL token.
But the grant request introduces a variable. If all 6 million became eligible, it would fall to about $0.1442, roughly 8.7% below the original per-token figure. The math depends on timing. If the granted tokens reach other eligible holders before Balancer's proposed wind-down redemption snapshot, the same treasury would be divided among more BAL.
The wind-down plan fixes the redeemable supply at the opening snapshot, proposed for the end of May 2027. That date matters — tokens granted before then would dilute the per-token value; tokens granted after would not.
MAXYZ's Proposed Return
In exchange, MAXYZ proposes a contingent allocation from a future fork to the Balancer treasury, an asset with no realized value today. Specifically, if the fork has a token generation event or another liquidity or exit event, 10% of its fully diluted token supply or equivalent value would be allocated to Balancer's treasury. MAXYZ says the fork's own treasury would be barred from redeeming against Balancer's treasury.
MAXYZ identifies about 3.5 million BAL in the treasury, 1.6 million in a Balancer Labs fundraise safe and 928,000 in a Labs team safe as its proposed seed. The September 23 FAQ proposes taking half the grant upfront and the rest, up to the same cap, after tetuBAL holders have been paid.
Balancer's Amended Wind-Down
Separately, Balancer's team has adjusted the protocol's shutdown timeline. Under the amended plan, pausable pools would move to withdrawals only on October 30. Partners requesting an extension for a v3 pool by October 16 could keep that pool live until November 30. MAXYZ wants vaults and pools to remain unpaused until the end of the second quarter of 2027, unless an emergency requires action.
