[BIP-882] Transitioning Onchain Operations of the Balancer DAO to Balancer Onchain Limited

PR with Payload

https://github.com/BalancerMaxis/multisig-ops/pull/2503

Introduction

Following the incorporation of a legal structure for onchain operations via governance resolution [BIP-863], the Balancer Foundation has established a new BVI company, wholly owned by Balancer OpCo Limited, named "Balancer Onchain Limited".

This proposal formalizes the transition of all onchain operational responsibilities from the Balancer DAO to Balancer Onchain Limited as previously approved, establishes the Treasury Council for ecosystem oversight, and implements the necessary technical infrastructure changes to support this transition.

Balancer Onchain Limited, through engagement with Service Providers and multisigners, will be mandated to:

• Collect and distribute protocol-generated fees
• Manage and execute token reward distributions
• Implement governance proposals by executing payloads
• Distribute revenue to Balancer OpCo Limited via dividends
• Subcontract or perform other operations as designated by its Directors, the Balancer Foundation board, or DAO Governance

Motivation

The transition to Balancer Onchain Limited represents a critical evolution in the Balancer ecosystem's operational structure, providing:

1. Legal Clarity: Establishing a formal entity for on-chain operations helps manage regulatory and legal risks for ecosystem participants
2. Operational Efficiency: Centralizing on-chain operations under a dedicated entity with clear service provider relationships improves execution
3. Enhanced Oversight: The Treasury Council provides robust checks and balances while maintaining ecosystem alignment
4. Risk Management: Proper legal structure and self-insurance fund protect major participants and service providers

Revised DAO Operations Structure

Hierarchical Safe System

The new structure implements a hierarchical safe system with clear separation of responsibilities:

Top-Level Safes

1. DAO Multi-sig: Maintains DAO administrative permissions (unchanged)
2. Treasury Safe: Controlled by Treasury Council, managed through Zodiac roles (KPK)
3. Balancer OpCo Ltd Safe: Manages operational funding and dividend distributions to Balancer Foundation
4. Balancer Onchain Ltd Safe: Central hub for on-chain operations, fee collection, and dividend distributions to Balancer OpCo Ltd
5. BizDev Safe: Manages third-party incentives and partnership funds
6. Operator Safe: Executes on-chain operations through third-party service provider

Operational Multisigs

All operational multisigs maintain a 1/2 threshold configuration with:

• Balancer Onchain Ltd Safe (Foundation Directors)
• Operator Safe (MAXYZ Service Provider)

This configuration applies to: Omni-sig, LM Safes, Gauntlet Safe, Fee Collector, and Aura Locker Safe.

Signer Group Definitions

To streamline operations and improve clarity, the following signer groups are established:

Treasury Council Members

• @0xDanko (0x122AFb4667C5f80e45721a42C7c81e9140C62FA4)
• @Xeonus (0xaa5af0dd9c52c773d36cdbc509a0b2a1ded4c196)
• @danielmk (0x606681E47afC7869482660eCD61bd45B53523D83)
• @mendesfabio (0x90347b9CC81a4a28aAc74E8B134040d5ce2eaB6D)
• @solarcurve (0x512fce9B07Ce64590849115EE6B32fd40eC0f5F3)
• @gosuto (0x11e450c72c2258ec792d5f64a263ecb18e8c0f06)
• @notsoformal (0xd17a9f089862351af82fa782435fac0f9e17786c)

Foundation Directors

• Balancer Foundation board members

BizDev Team

• Simon (0xc57b29CAc1a1CD4E8e678622D35459c4AF6F8b9c)
• Zekraken (0xafFC70b81D54F229A5F50ec07e2c76D2AAAD07Ae)
• Marcus BLabs (0xb7364Fca20EEC90f51b158C05199044AD362b675)
• Danko (0x122AFb4667C5f80e45721a42C7c81e9140C62FA4)
• Xeonus (0x7019Be4E4eB74cA5F61224FeAf687d2b43998516)

Operator

• Externally managed by the new MAXYZ service provider

Treasury Council Implementation

To ensure ecosystem interests are served and protected, this proposal implements the Treasury Council and deprecates the Ecosystem Council (overriding [BIP-658]).

The Treasury Council shall have the authority to:

• Object to any Corporate Resolutions or activities not deemed in the ecosystem's best interests
• Oversee distributions, liquidations, or other material actions proposed by Directors
• Ensure alignment with Balancer governance resolutions
• Administer the self-insurance fund

Self-Insurance Fund Restructuring

Through previous governance resolutions ([BIP-14], [BIP-198], [BIP-658], a self-insurance fund of $1,250,000 USD was created (currently held by the DAO Treasury in BAL tokens). This proposal ratifies the expansion of this fund's scope to protect:

• Balancer Labs
• Balancer Foundation
• Balancer OpCo Limited
• Balancer Onchain Limited
• Underlying service providers

The Treasury Council will oversee administration of this fund, with disbursements requiring:

• Verification by independent legal counsel
• Confirmation that costs are directly related to Balancer work
• Confirmation that costs are not eligible under other insurance coverage
• Direct movement from the treasury multisig (formerly known as KPK managed multisig) to recipients through Balancer Foundation

Technical Specifications

1. Safe Infrastructure Configuration

1.1 Top-Level Safes

DAO Multi-sig

• Address: 0x10a19e7ee7d7f8a52822f6817de8ea18204f2e4f
• Signers: DAO signers (remains as is)
• Threshold: 6/11
• Purpose: DAO admin permissions

Treasury Safe (KPK Managed)

• Address: 0x0EFcCBb9E2C09Ea29551879bd9Da32362b32fc89
• Signers: Treasury Council Members (new signer set)
• Threshold: 5/7
• Purpose: Main treasury holding all assets and DeFi strategies

Balancer OpCo Ltd Safe

• Address: 0x3B8910F378034FD6E103Df958863e5c684072693
• Signers: Foundation Directors (remains as is)
• Threshold: 3/4
• Purpose: Receives grants for operational funding and distributes dividends to the Balancer Foundation (Treasury Safe)

Balancer Onchain Ltd Safe

• Address: 0x16b0056636Fcc85f92C49cD49a24bc519d4A1941
• Signers: Foundation Directors
• Threshold: 3/4
• Purpose: Entry point for all on-chain operations; fee recipient; receives grants for operational funding; and distributes fees in the form of dividends to its parent company Balancer OpCo Ltd

BizDev Safe

• Address: 0xF3B4829C8B9E2910C2396538F49a12b0c2475a7e
• Signers: BizDev Team
• Threshold: 3/5
• Purpose: Manages incentive funds and partnerships (grants)

Operator Safe

• Address: 0xBeF27037bC6311b96635E5e9Af3A73EBF6Ca8878
• Signers: Operator Team
• Threshold: 3/5
• Purpose: Controls operational multisigs

1.2 Operational Multisigs Standard Configuration

All operational multisigs will use the following standard configuration:

• Signers: Balancer Onchain Ltd Safe, Operator Safe
• Threshold: 1/2
• Purpose: Efficient execution with oversight

This applies to:

• Omni-sig Safe (0x9ff471F9f98F42E5151C7855fD1b5aa906b1AF7e)
• LM Safes (across all chains)
• Gauntlet Safe (0xf4A80929163C5179Ca042E1B292F5EFBBE3D89e6)
• Fee Collector (0x7c68c42de679ffb0f16216154c996c354cf1161b)
• Aura Locker Safe (0xf4A80929163C5179Ca042E1B292F5EFBBE3D89e6)

2. Fee Collection and Distribution

Revised protocol fee flow:

1. Protocol fees will continue to be collected by the Fee Collector multisig
2. Fees transferred to Balancer Onchain Ltd Safe
3. Balancer Onchain Ltd Safe distributes:

• Dividends to Balancer OpCo Ltd Safe (and funds will from there flow to Treasury Safe for ecosystem reserves)

New Fee Collection Target

• The Balancer Onchain Ltd safe will be become the primary fee recipient target
• Update the Fee Distributor (0x7c68c42de679ffb0f16216154c996c354cf1161b) to redirect fees to the Balancer Onchain Ltd safe (previously fees were sent to the DAO)
• Transfer existing USDC (~$622k) from DAO multisig to Treasury Safe

3. Migration Plan

3.1 Treasury Safe Update

Current Signers to Remove:

• All existing DAO signers (11 addresses)

New Configuration:

• Signers: Treasury Council Members
• Threshold: 5/7

3.2 Operational Multisig Transitions

All operational multisigs (Omni-sig, LM, Gauntlet, Aura Locker) will transition to the standard operational configuration:

Signers to Remove:

• 0x119de05a00BD4e75C4aD6041b82d7afa984aB1B9
• 0xc4591c41e01a7a654B5427f39Bbd1dEe5bD45D1D
• 0x11761c7b08287d9489CD84C04DF6852F5C07107b
• 0x7019Be4E4eB74cA5F61224FeAf687d2b43998516
• 0xafFC70b81D54F229A5F50ec07e2c76D2AAAD07Ae
• 0x960bE2d20669E1b2bfc38dBC92bf1c440Cc60F9d
• 0x7c2eA10D3e5922ba3bBBafa39Dc0677353D2AF17

New Standard Configuration:

• Signers: Balancer Onchain Ltd Safe, Operator Safe
• Threshold: 1/2

3.3 Asset Migrations

The following assets will be migrated from LM safes to appropriate destinations:

Chain	Safe Address	Asset	Amount	USD Value	Destination
Ethereum	0x9ff471f9f98f42e5151c7855fd1b5aa906b1af7e	BAL	46,091.11	~$60,122	Treasury Safe