Areta Delegate Platform

Delegate Communication
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Key Info

Please delegate to us on: 0x8b37a5Af68D315cf5A64097D96621F64b5502a22

I. Introduction

Areta Governance specializes in supporting DAOs and foundations to establish and grow decentralized governance structures. We develop tailored solutions in governance inception and optimization, ecosystem growth, and service provider selection. Our connected investment bank with deep strategic expertise, enables us to serve our partners holistically, rather than working in isolated governance silos.

We have had the privilege to work for some of the leading companies and DAOs in the crypto space (Safe, Uniswap, Arbitrum, Aave, and dYdX). Examples of our work include managing a larger Aave delegation, setting up key contributor initiatives for Safe DAO, leading the first cross-ecosystem growth initiative for Uniswap and Arbitrum, and crypto-native transactions like the first acquisition of Coingecko or the sale of Solscan to Etherscan.

Having collaborated with industry leaders, Areta’s governance team offers a range of specialized services designed to support protocols and institutions in achieving their strategic goals, including:

  1. Governance Inception: Set up key governance elements and structure, and build out tailored functions depending on ecosystem needs.
  2. Governance Optimization: Set up, diagnose, and enhance processes, and procure service providers.
  3. Ecosystem Growth: Create grant and contributor programs with reporting and tracking, and access strategic, institutional, and investor networks for growth.
  4. DAO-Native Transactions: Provide DAO investment banking, M&A, and wind-down services, and facilitate institutional token launches.
  5. Professional Delegation: Offer professional voting and governance services, and create institutional-grade reporting material.

As DAOs emerge from their infancy, their structures have proven powerful tools for enabling decentralisation and autonomy. We view a well-designed governance system as a critical enabler for decentralized projects to allow them to leverage decentralization as a strategic advantage, rather than treating it as an inconvenient necessity (where most of the market is currently at).

However, they often encounter challenges in maintaining the organisation, highlighted by governance issues such as contributor onboarding and delegate overload. This scenario has highlighted areas where DAOs can improve in establishing structured processes for better collaboration and are open to further strengthening against inefficiencies.

Recognising the need for evolution, we focus on excellent DAO participation with robust, defensible analysis of proposals through a structured voting process while simultaneously applying our deep institutional knowledge and strategic governance expertise to offer proactive DAO governance solutions aimed at nurturing the ecosystem for the long term.

II. Delegate Motivation

As long-term supporters and contributors to SafeDAO, we are well-versed in the Gnosis ecosystem and its stakeholders, including key groups like Gnosis Guild and many of the larger delegates.

Over the last year, we have supported key initiatives for SafeDAO with dedicated teams:

  1. Key Contributor Initiative (CES): In an effort to support SafeDAO’s key contributor initiative OBRA, we developed a contribution efficiency system that enables the DAO to operate seamlessly, enhancing transparency and elevating process standards to an institutional level. (Link: Snapshot Vote; Forum Post)
  2. Token Liquidity Event: We supported SafeDAO as a key partner in the token liquidity event with in-depth analyses, process support, and collaboration with large parts of the team. We acted as process lead, sounding board, and governance facilitator. (Link: Forum Post)
  3. Among the most active contributors: We have supported the DAO with analyses and thorough feedback on key initiatives on and off the forum. We are active on all governance calls, providing feedback and strengthening the DAO’s decision-making processes. (Link: Forum Profile)

While GnosisDAO is a different ecosystem, it carries the same values and has overlapping stakeholders. We are confident in expanding our valued relationship with SafeDAO to the Gnosis ecosystem, enhancing our value creation and providing essential support to GnosisDAO to strengthen its governance.

Besides our organic link to Gnosis, Areta’s key tenets as delegates are as follows:

  • We will aim for 100% voting participation - we are deeply invested in the ecosystem and our goal is to meaningfully support its direction via thoughtful, educated governance decisions.
  • We always commit to voting independently and impartially.
  • We will open source our rationale through frequent updates to this thread, which will act to anchor our thinking and make ourselves accountable to the wider Ether.fi community.

We will achieve these tenets through our four unique sources of value:

Structured & Streamlined Voting Process

  • Our team lead adds new proposals to a shared tracker and assigns each incoming proposal to a specific member of the team.
  • For each proposal, we prepare a standard memo summarising the key issues, the black and white hat case (pros and cons), and a recommended decision with accompanying rationale.
  • Each proposal is then peer reviewed by another team member.
  • For complex proposals that require more discussion, we involve more members of the team as necessary to form a joint opinion.
  • We then publish our voting rationale externally on our public forum.

We always try to base our votes on sound, defensible rationale so that we are internally consistent and our voting track record stands up to external critique.

Ecosystem Growth and Expansion to Institutions

Leveraging the Areta network to promote and foster flourishing ecosystems across DAOs. Bringing unprecedented ties to a deep traditional network of corporates, strategics, and investors.

Governance Optimisation

Utilising our expertise to diagnose, analyse, correct, and enhance the effectiveness of DAO governance, ensuring streamlined operations and decision-making, while building up accountability structures.

III. Areas of Expertise

At Areta, we are eager and equipped to tackle the most difficult challenges in governance, even when those issues are multifaceted. Our key task with Areta is to set-up and steer these strategic governance systems to enable the members of the DAO to work towards commonly aligned goals, so that ecosystems can grow organically.

Select Experiences

  1. Uniswap-Arbitrum Grant Program: Launch of Cross-Ecosystem Growth Initiative for Uniswap and Arbitrum. Read more here.
  2. Contributor Efficiency System: Development of Safe DAO Contributor Efficiency System. Read more here.
  3. Services Procurement Framework: Management of Service Provider Selection and RFPs for Arbitrum. Read more here.
  4. Operations Trustee: Trustee to dYdX’s Operations Trust. Read more here.
  5. Aave Delegate: Incentivized Delegates for the Aave DAO. Read more here.

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IV. Conflicts of Interest/Waiver of Liability

Areta currently does not have any material conflicts of interest. We agree to keep the Gnosis community updated should any conflicts of interest arise. Our work in other DeFi DAOs is solely focused on supporting structural projects that are advancing the overall DAO space, are open-sourced across DAOs and will not influence any decision-making. By delegating to Areta, you acknowledge and agree that Areta will participate on a best efforts basis and will not be liable for any form of damages related to participation in this DAO.

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Gnosis DAO Delegate Program Application Thread
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Proposal: GIP-99: Should Gnosis Guild steward GnosisDAO Governance?

Vote: FOR
Type: Off-chain

Rationale: This proposal seeks to allocate $76k in USDC and GNO to Gnosis Guild for the purpose of stewarding GnosisDAO governance. In this role, Gnosis Guild will provide strategy, R&D, and tech support for GnosisDAO governance. We believe strategic governance can be a key lever for significantly driving the growth of the Gnosis ecosystem. In our view, the DAO is seriously lacking in this area. As such, it is necessary to mandate competent parties with clear ownership of governance, which is a more effective and accountable approach than allowing things to operate at random. As long-term contributors to the Gnosis ecosystem, Gnosis Guild is well-versed with the ecosystem’s needs and can effectively serve in this role. Since we believe the DAO stands to benefit from this arrangement, we will be voting in support.

Proposal: GIP-108: Should GnosisDAO honor the original rewards for GnosisVIP before the distribution schedule was modified (this proposal does not reward additional nodes with the same withdrawal address)?

Vote: AGAINST
Type: Off-chain

Rationale: This proposal seeks to allocate ~139 GNO to provide reward entitlements to participants of the discontinued GnosisVIP program. The program was terminated due to identified deficiencies and problematic design, as transparently outlined on the forum (here). While we firmly believe the DAO should honor its commitments, it must also prioritize its intended objectives and long-term sustainability. In our view, the modified reward distribution strikes a fair balance between compensating participants and ensuring responsible treasury management. We advocate for the efficient use of treasury funds and the elimination of waste, even when it requires revisiting past commitments.

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Proposal: GIP-126: Should the GnosisDAO Renew its Long-Term Partnership With Nethermind for Gnosis Chain Maintenance?

Vote: FOR
Type: Off-chain
Rationale: We support the proposal to renew GnosisDAO’s long-term partnership with Nethermind for the maintenance of Gnosis Chain. As a long-term partner, Nethermind has made several valuable contributions to the development of Gnosis Chain, including stewarding network upgrades and hard forks, maintaining a network client for Gnosis Chain, and delivering other quality improvements. We believe extending this partnership is the right step for the DAO and will strengthen Nethermind’s ongoing contributions to the Gnosis ecosystem.

Proposal: GIP-128 Should GnosisDAO fund Gnosis Ltd with $30m/ year?

Vote: FOR
Type: Off-chain
Rationale: Gnosis Ltd was established to serve as the primary development and operations entity in the Gnosis ecosystem, having executed key functions including leading the GNO token sales, maintaining core network infrastructure, driving product development, and providing BD and ecosystem support. We view Gnosis Ltd as a Gnosis-aligned entity, and it makes sense for the DAO to fund their continued work. Therefore, will vote FOR this proposal.

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Proposal: GIP-133: Should Gnosis DAO extend the Gnosis Pay Cashback budget (GIP-110) by 2,000 GNO?

Vote: FOR

Rationale: This proposal seeks to allocate 2,000 GNO to extend the Gnosis Pay Cashback Program. We would like to highlight the need for greater transparency into the operation of the Gnosis Pay Cashback Program, including insights into the results of the program so far, successes, and challenges encountered. We believe the DAO has a lot to offer in terms of solutions and strategy, especially within the context of ongoing discussions around revamping or cancelling the program. That said, until we have a clear plan going forward, we think it makes sense to keep the program afloat by providing interim funding, rather than losing all momentum and allowing it to fall apart. We will therefore be voting in favour of this proposal.

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Proposal: GIP-130: Changes to gnosis.eth

Vote: FOR

Rationale: This proposal seeks to revert the gnosis.eth domain to the standard ENS resolver, restoring exclusive control of the domain’s rights and functionalities to the DAO. We support this proposal because it reduces the risk of phishing and other malicious third-party attacks.

Proposal: GIP-135: Should Gnosis DAO grant RaidGuild a 50k stipend to fund the audit of an Euro pegged CDP stablecoin on Gnosis using Liquity V2 + liquidity agreement in exchange for 15% of governance token

Vote: FOR

Rationale: This proposal seeks to allocate $50k to RaidGuild to fund the audit of gEURO, a Euro pegged CDP stablecoin on Gnosis. gEURO introduces a decentralized, euro-pegged stablecoin that strengthens Gnosis Chain’s role in supporting euro-denominated use cases. The project creates direct utility for GNO as collateral and ensures long-term Gnosis-alignment through revenue share and future token allocation to the DAO. The requested $50k audit funding ensures the protocol launches securely, with RaidGuild covering all other development and operational costs. This structure gives the DAO exposure to upside while addressing a strategic need for euro-native settlement and integrations with Gnosis Pay, RWAs, and Circles. Therefore, we will be voting in support of this proposal.

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Proposal: GIP-134: Pilot a Gnosis Growth Fund for small scale, community-led ecosystem funding [1, 2]

Vote: FOR

Rationale: This proposal seeks to allocate $40k to fund growth initiatives for the Gnosis Ecosystem. The funding mechanism, to be set up by the Gardens team, allows GNO stakers to curate and signal support for ecosystem initiatives through conviction voting. We view this small-scale, community-driven effort as a worthwhile experiment. The proposal comes at no additional cost to the DAO, since the Gardens team has agreed to cover the setup and infrastructure costs. We welcome this step and will be voting in support.

Proposal: GIP-132: Should the DAO pay out a bounty for a disclosure regarding a consensus discrepancy on Gnosis Chain?

Vote: FOR

Rationale: This proposal seeks to allocate $10k as a bounty for a consensus discrepancy discovered on Gnosis Chain. The discrepancy was a security vulnerability that could have been exploited by a malicious party to trigger a chain split. We believe it is important to reward the white hat who identified it for their effort. We will be voting in support.

Proposal: GIP-136: Should GnosisDAO support maintenance of the Gnosis Explorer (v1 + v2)?

Vote: FOR

Rationale: This proposal seeks to allocate ~$350k to fund the ongoing maintenance of the Gnosis Explorer. We thank the proposers for their work in maintaining this infrastructure, which we consider valuable for the Gnosis ecosystem. While we support the idea of funding the ongoing maintenance of the Explorer, we will abstain from voting in support of this proposal in its current form, as we believe the funding request can be significantly optimized.

Proposal: GIP-138: Should Gnosis DAO fund the maintenance of NodeSentinel?

Vote: FOR

Rationale: This proposal seeks to allocate 35k DAI + 3k GNO to fund the maintenance of NodeSentinel. NodeSentinel is a key tool for Gnosis validators, providing critical monitoring functions. The NodeSentinel team has maintained this tool for free use by Gnosis beacon validators for the past two years, demonstrating strong value and long-term alignment with the ecosystem. The proposed funding model allocates 35k DAI retroactively, while 3k GNO will be locked in a staking contract controlled by the DAO. This structure gives the DAO concrete guardrails over the allocation of funds relative to expected performance. We will therefore be voting in support of this proposal.

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Proposal: GIP-129: Should GnosisDAO establish Seldon Inc and appoint a Gnosis VPN Committee to support the Gnosis VPN project?

Vote: FOR

Rationale: This proposal seeks to incorporate a new legal entity, Seldon Inc, fully owned by Gnosis DAO Operational Foundation, and establish a delegated Gnosis VPN Committee to oversee its operations and budget. Creating a standalone structure supports regulatory risk isolation, operational clarity, and future commercial scaling of Gnosis VPN, while maintaining DAO ownership and oversight through a clearly defined governance framework and modest, transparent budget. Therefore, we are voting FOR on this proposal.

Proposal: GIP-139: Should GnosisDAO support ProbeLab to produce network performance and security metrics for the Gnosis Chain P2P network?

Vote: FOR

Rationale: This proposal seeks to fund ProbeLab with $105k to develop advanced monitoring, metrics, and eclipse attack detection tooling for the Gnosis Chain P2P layer, alongside public dashboards and 24/7 infrastructure. Improving visibility into network size, peer distribution, protocol usage, and potential attack vectors strengthens validator safety, supports client teams, and reduces operational blind spots across the ecosystem, with milestone-based payments providing accountability. Therefore, we are voting FOR on this proposal.

Proposal: GIP-137: Should Gnosis DAO renew the Delegate Program?

Vote: ABSTAIN

Rationale: This proposal seeks to renew the Gnosis DAO Delegate Program for six months, allocating 50,000 GNO in delegations and $20,000 in GNO to StableLab for administration and performance tracking. The program has demonstrated improved quorum reliability and governance participation, yet as participants in the program, maintaining neutrality and avoiding any perception of conflict of interest is the most appropriate course of action. Therefore, we are voting ABSTAIN on this proposal.

Proposal: GIP-140: Should GnosisDAO revamp Snapshot voting strategies

Vote: FOR

Rationale: This proposal seeks to replace the current subgraph-based GNO voting strategy with on-chain and beacon chain–based strategies, add support for StakeWise’s sGNO and osGNO, and remove reliance on external indexers. Moving voting power calculations fully on-chain improves accuracy for validator balances, reduces availability risks tied to third-party infrastructure, and strengthens the reliability of governance on Snapshot. Therefore, we are voting FOR on this proposal.

Proposal: GIP-143: Should the GnosisDAO Terminate karpatkey Treasury Management Services?

Vote: FOR

Rationale: This proposal seeks to terminate karpatkey’s treasury management mandate, initiate a 14-day transition period, and return all managed assets to direct GnosisDAO control. Concluding the engagement reflects community concerns around performance and alignment, and reasserts direct oversight of treasury assets while creating space for a revised strategy and potential new providers. Therefore, we are voting FOR on this proposal.

Proposal: GIP-144: Should GnosisDAO support an annual renewal for Blockscout SLA and hosting: January 2026 - December 2026

Vote: FOR

Rationale: This proposal seeks to renew Blockscout’s one-year SLA and hosting services to provide open-source explorer infrastructure for Gnosis ecosystem users and developers. The explorer provides critical redundancy, transparency, and developer tooling support while maintaining high uptime and ecosystem accessibility at a reasonable cost relative to usage growth. Therefore, we are voting FOR on this proposal.

Proposal: GIP-147: Enable ranked choice voting on the DAO

Vote: FOR

Rationale: This proposal seeks to update Gnosis DAO governance to support ranked choice voting for multi-option decisions, while preserving basic voting for standard proposals and introducing a “None” option to allow rejection of all choices. Expanding voting mechanisms improves flexibility in RFP-style decisions and more accurately reflects community preferences without forcing binary outcomes. Therefore, we are voting FOR on this proposal.

Proposal: GIP-145: Should Gnosis DAO run a 9‑month advisory futarchy pilot with $100k temporary liquidity?

Vote: FOR

Rationale: This proposal seeks to launch a futarchy governance pilot for GnosisDAO, introducing conditional prediction markets to generate advisory signals about proposal impacts on GNO price while allocating liquidity funding for market operations. The pilot provides experimental governance insights without altering existing voting mechanisms and limits risk by allowing DAO control over fund usage and pilot termination. Therefore, we are voting FOR on this proposal.

Proposal: GIP-148: Selection of Treasury Management Service Provider

Vote: RANKED-CHOICE

Rationale: for GnosisDAO through a ranked choice vote. Selecting teams with strong cross-ecosystem track records and broad operational experience supports resilient treasury management and aligns with the DAO’s non-custodial and transparency priorities. We ranked Avantgarde, Gami Capital + Stake DAO, GFX labs, SEEDLatam and Regen Financial highest in our vote due of their track record across ecosystems.

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GIP-149: Should Gnosis DAO fund continued support of Revoke.cash?

Vote: FOR

Rationale: This proposal seeks to grant $20,000 to Revoke.cash to support infrastructure, maintenance, and continued development of its approval management and wallet protection tools for Gnosis Chain users. Revoke.cash provides widely used security infrastructure that helps users identify and revoke risky token approvals and has already supported the Gnosis ecosystem for years while preventing substantial potential losses. For this reason, we are voting FOR this proposal.