TL;DR
- Aavegotchi DAO members are set to reject Rongming Investment’s $3.2M buyout; nearly 90% of votes oppose selling the treasury at a 60% discount.
- Backlash stems from fears of undervaluation, a deep commitment to decentralization, and a 16% surge in GHST’s market price during voting.
- With a $30 M DAICO-raised war chest (including $22.5 M in treasury) and a successful shift to Coinbase’s Base network, the community is doubling down on its independent growth roadmap.
Aavegotchi’s DAO is on the verge of decisively rejecting a controversial $3.2 million acquisition bid from Chinese venture firm Rongming Investment. The proposal, submitted on July 22, sought to purchase the DAO’s treasury at a steep 60% discount to the token’s 14-day average price.
In return, Rongming would acquire complete rights to the Aavegotchi intellectual property (IP), disband the DAO, and share the profits with engaged community members. The offer immediately ignited fierce opposition within the project’s grassroots governing body.
Community Backlash and Voting Rebellion
As voting enters its final stretch ahead of the July 25 deadline, nearly 90% of participating token holders have rejected the deal. Even with few people participating, the feeling against the acquisition is very strong. If current trends hold, the proposal will be formally rejected tomorrow.
The community’s resistance appears fueled by multiple factors: the perceived undervaluation of treasury assets, attachment to the project’s decentralized ethos, and skepticism about dissolving the DAO. Tellingly, GHST’s market price has surged 16% amid the voting, signaling investor confidence in the project’s independent future.
Aavegotchi’s Resilient Foundation
This attempted buyout comes just months after Aavegotchi executed a major strategic pivot, migrating its entire ecosystem from Polygon to Coinbase’s Base blockchain in April 2025. That move, approved by 93% of voters, addressed concerns about Polygon’s declining gaming support and infrastructure limitations.
Developers highlighted Base’s faster transactions, superior marketplace integration, and Coinbase’s institutional backing as key advantages. Aavegotchi has a strong financial background, raising $30 million via an innovative two-year DAICO that ended in 2023. Notably, these funds were allocated with $22.5 million directed to the DAO treasury, far exceeding Rongming’s $3.2 million valuation.
Broader Implications and the Road Ahead
Rongming’s lowball bid underscores the tension between traditional finance’s discount-driven acquisition strategies and Web3 communities’ valuation of their intellectual and financial capital. For Aavegotchi holders, the proposal’s failure reinforces their governance power and commitment to the project’s roadmap, including cross-platform gaming expansion and deeper protocol decentralization.
