Following recent discussion in the DAO forum and several requests for a breakdown of the methodology behind the per-token NAV figure published on gno.now/token, this post sets that out. The methodology document is shared for transparency and to support future discussion.
NAV Construction.
Per-token NAV is the treasury-assets-against-GNO ratio. The numerator is treasury value; the denominator is effective circulating supply.
*Numerators: Treasury Value + Gnosis Ltd Value
DAO Treasury value.* You can consider the GnosisDAO treasury to be composed of:
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Cash and stablecoins. (A)
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Liquid tokens. Includes ETH, BTC, other large-cap holdings. (B)
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Gnosis VC portfolio. Stablecoin and book value positions. (C)
Gnosis Ltd value. Assets that are held by Gnosis Ltd.
- Stablecoins & Liquid tokens (D)
Total treasury value entering the numerator: [A + B + C] + D = Treasury Value
Note: Ltd assets are included to reflect the total assets under the Gnosis ecosystem, not because GNO has a claim on them. Ltd is a separate legal entity operating in alignment with the DAO’s mission; its balance sheet is shown for transparency on ecosystem firepower, not as a redeemable backing of GNO. Additionally, any perceived equity valuation of Gnosis Ltd is out-of-scope for per-token NAV as it would inflate per-token NAV in a way that is not realisable.
Denominator: effective circulating supply
Total GNO supply is 3,000,000. To get to a circulating supply we need to subtract:
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DAO treasury holdings
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Gnosis Ltd GNO Assets (excluding the employee-incentive pool, which is treated as circulating)
Effective circulating supply under current NAV methodology: [3,000,000 − X − Y] = Denominator value.
Per-token NAV: Numerator / denominator.
Under current methodology: [treasury USD] / [Denominator Value] = [NAV per token, USD].
Reference figure from gno.now/token at time of writing: ~$137 (Friday 22nd May).
RE classification of Gnosis Ltd GNO.
The 250,000 GNO referenced here was funded from the 500,000 GNO allocated to Gnosis Ltd in 2020. Those tokens were allocated with a 5 year vesting period that has now finished. Referenced here: https://www.gnosis.io/blog/announcing-gnosisdao
They are utilized for contractors of Gnosis Ltd under milestone-based vesting plans meaning those tokens have a forward economic claim outside Ltd’s permanent control. This plan is based on ambitious user acquisition targets - it is only distributed if Gnosis Ltd products deliver significant growth.
In summary, LTD has vested all GNO under the vesting plan meaning this is considered as circulating supply. The retained portion is a long-term reserve and is therefore excluded from circulating supply.
Summary
GIP-148 requested that the Treasury Manager, now NOCA, provide “NAV + GNO circulating supply tracking” of which this sufficiently delivers - despite this GIP not moving past phase 2.
As this figure came into question within recent governance discussions this post intends to transparently outline the methodology. If the community wishes to challenge the formula, parameters might include:
- the treatment of any GNO holding category
- the inclusion or exclusion of any treasury bucket
- the choice of reference price for liquid tokens
Note that this is not provided as an on-chain reference figure. The per-token-NAV figure is a transparency metric. It is not a redemption right, a floor price, a fair-value estimate, or a buyback commitment. GNO holders have no direct claim on these assets, any allocation of DAO treasury requires a governance proposal, and Ltd is a separate legal entity outside DAO governance.
Any formal treasury activities based upon token-per-NAV calculations should see a reference figure be ratified beforehand within a GIP.