Regulatory & Legal Notice
This document is provided for informational and transparency purposes only. It does not constitute, and shall not be construed as: (i) an offer, solicitation, or invitation to purchase or sell any financial instruments, crypto-assets, or rights; (ii) investment, legal, tax, or accounting advice; (iii) a recommendation or endorsement of any protocol, asset, or strategy; or (iv) a prospectus, crypto-asset white paper, or marketing communication within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (“MiCA”) or any comparable regime.The information contained herein is provided “as is” and “as available.” The Stake DAO Association makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or fitness for any particular purpose of such information, and accepts no liability, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, for any reliance placed upon it. The information speaks only as of the date of this document and is subject to change without notice.
Participation in decentralised finance (DeFi) systems involves significant risks, including but not limited to smart contract vulnerabilities, oracle failures, liquidity risks, market volatility, and reliance on third-party protocols.
Certain features, interfaces, or strategies referenced herein may be experimental (“alpha” or “beta”) and subject to change without notice.
This document may reference third-party protocols, assets, or infrastructures. The Stake DAO Association does not control and is not responsible for such third parties.
This document is not intended for distribution in jurisdictions where such communication may be restricted or regulated, and it is the responsibility of each recipient to inform themselves of, and to observe, any such restrictions.
Any references in this document to security measures, enhancements, remediation, or the events of May 27, 2026 or any other security incident referenced in this document, are provided for transparency only. They reflect ongoing operational improvements and shall not be construed as an admission of any prior deficiency, fault, wrongdoing, or legal liability on the part of the Association or any other person, and are made without prejudice to any matter currently under review.
Note: Certain statements in this document constitute forward-looking statements, including but not limited to planned developments, product features, and strategic initiatives. These statements are based on current expectations and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and changes. No assurance is given that such plans will be implemented or achieved. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this document, and the Association undertakes no obligation to update or revise them, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law.
Highlights
- Best month since the incident: product fees at $102.5k (+15% MoM), comprehensive result at +$61.1k and treasury up to ~$3.62m (+25% MoM) on the back of the market recovery
- TVL in strategies back to ~$97.8m (+30% MoM), with 25 strategies above $1m (+8)
- Security programme milestone: all bots and jobs now run behind the two-lane ExecutorGuard with KMS signing and the legacy executor has been disabled
Product (Strategy/Smart contracts/UI/Development)
August retrospective
- Completed the key-management migration: all jobs moved to the two-lane ExecutorGuard, legacy executor disabled, swap and relay jobs moved to KMS signing; secrets hardening (private network access, centralised secret management) across the backend; Maestro monitoring improved (error catching, alert prioritisation)
- Executed the SDGP-75 ex-gratia distribution to eligible borrowers of the Arbitrum asdCRV LlamaLend market
- Finalised the adaptation to Convex on-chain voting: vlCVX delegation and voting logic now read the new on-chain contracts, delegation reminder and activity bots, updated Votium reward swap policy for delegators, and a dedicated CTA on the Curve claim page for vlCVX holders
- Revenue-sharing tooling: partner fees dashboard and partner fees claimable directly from the UI
- Second Votemarket hardening wave (~20 fixes): claim page clarity, campaign creation guardrails, manager-action confirmations, bridge reliability, direct incentives for non-Ethereum gauges, browse/gauge page polish, more robust API cold-start
- Full code review of the Lockers / strategies app: ~40 bug fixes (zap quotes, claim modal, bridge tracking, portfolio earnings), accessibility and dark-mode consistency, human-readable transaction errors, unified transaction confirmation flow
- Replaced the Curve API dependency with an on-chain refresh and optimised RPC usage; premium RPC configuration prepared for proof generation
- New landing page shipped
- Progress on the next Votemarket iteration (ZK proof verification)
- Processed several dozen bug bounty reports: no real threat identified, but a significant triage workload
- Internal wiki and AI knowledge-capture plugin shipped
Focus for September
- Sunset of the BPT Liquid Locker following SDGP-68
- sdToken distributions moved behind the Guard KMS with a 3h timelock
- Boost marketplace UI improvements
- Activate Alchemix revenue sharing (SDGP-77)
- Continue the next Votemarket iteration (ZK proof verification)
- Start the development work on the RWA product
Business development
August retrospective
- Product fees and TVL reached their highest level since the incident
- Yield-strategies fees down to $28.7k (-13% MoM): Metronome shortfall announced end of July, a 4-week month after a 5-week July, and the pool attracting the most CRV inflation (DOLA/sUSDe) sitting entirely on Convex through its FiRM integration — a migration to OnlyBoost is being worked on, but not for the short term
- Lending TVL and fees down following the delisting of the frxUSD/msUSD market
- TVL in strategies up to ~$97.8m (+30% MoM) with the market recovery and renewed inflows on Ethereum; OnlyBoost share of CRV inflation and BD penetration both up
- Alchemix approved as second revenue-sharing partner on OnlyBoost vaults (SDGP-77), integrating its ETH and USDC vaults as yield sources
| Metric | August 2026 | MoM |
|---|---|---|
| OnlyBoost share of CRV inflation | 26.1% | +0.6 ppt |
| Stake DAO locker share of CRV inflation | 21.0% | +0.8 ppt |
| Total TVL in strategies | ~$97.8m | +$22.8m / +30% |
| Number of strategies above $1m | 25 | +8 |
| Number of strategies above $0.1m | 96 | +6 |
Focus for September
- Activate Alchemix revenue sharing and onboard further OnlyBoost partners
- Push new collaterals to the frxUSD vault to rebuild lending revenue after the frxUSD/msUSD delisting
- Increasing SDT/ETH liquidity
Financials
The financial information presented herein is based on internal estimates, blockchain data, and third-party tools. It has not been audited and may be subject to revisions.
Stake DAO treasury: DeBank | Your go-to portfolio tracker for Ethereum and EVM
Treasury ended August at ~$3.62m (+25% MoM), driven by the market recovery: strategic assets up to ~$1.26m (+52%), SDT holdings and liquidity up to ~$0.60m (+35%) and non-strategic assets up to ~$0.66m (+22%). Stablecoin reserves were stable at ~$1.10m (~31% of treasury), with the remaining msUSD/frxUSD position unwound during the month.
We plan on increasing SDT’s liquidity by depositing our SDT and ETH from the treasury in the liquidity, which should significantly lower the slippage and increase the volume for SDT.
Net treasury cash flows
Product fees reached $102.5k (+15% MoM), the highest level since the incident, driven by Votemarket ($57.5k, +32% MoM, including a one-off $30.6k from the closing of a legacy campaign on Base) and by Liquid Lockers ($15.9k, +47% MoM, o/w $7.9k from sdCAKE). Treasury management added $32.5k, bringing total inflows to $135.0k (+14% MoM). With the first H2-26 grant tranche of $129.0k paid to the Association and no exceptional item, the net treasury result was +$5.8k, the second consecutive positive month.
Association grant use report
The Association received the first H2-26 grant tranche of $129.0k (SDGP-74) and spent $105.8k, leaving $23.2k unused and bringing its cash balance to ~$102.5k at the end of August. Costs were in line with the H2 budget, with R&D and legal costs stable and no audit or event expenses in the month.
Grant proceeds referenced in this report constitute restricted-use funds allocated for specific programmatic purposes and do not form part of the Association’s discretionary operating income.
Comprehensive view
On a comprehensive basis (treasury + vlSDT distributions + Association), August came in at +$61.1k, the best month since February, bringing the year-to-date result to ~+$377k.
About $54.5k was allocated through the protocol’s vlSDT and buyback mechanisms in August pursuant to governance-approved parameters: $32.0k of vlSDT distributions and $22.5k of buybacks (250,583 SDT at ~$0.090 average, executed in accordance with the applicable DAO governance mandate and not for the purpose of influencing market price). Year-to-date: ~$463.1k.
For the avoidance of doubt, the protocol mechanisms described above operate automatically in accordance with parameters approved through DAO governance and do not constitute, and shall not be construed as, a distribution of profits, a dividend, or a return on investment to token holders.
Legal & governance
August retrospective
- SDGP-75: ex-gratia distribution extension approved and executed for eligible borrowers of the Arbitrum asdCRV LlamaLend market, without any admission of liability, fault, or legal obligation
- SDGP-74: H2-2026 Association grant approved; first tranche received
- SDGP-76: harmonisation of the six-month claim window across the merkle contracts built on top of Votemarket, with unclaimed rewards reverting to the treasury afterwards
- SDGP-77: Alchemix approved as a new revenue-sharing partner on OnlyBoost vaults
- SDGP-78: community proposal to add a 4% vlSDT revenue share on Liquid Lockers, under discussion
- Legal structuring of the risk curation effort: ongoing
- Official whitepaper: filed with the relevant authorities; exchanges ongoing to finalise the process
Focus for September
- Push SDGP-78 to vote
- Continue the whitepaper process with the authorities
- Continue the legal structuring of the risk curation effort
- Continue LMAP reviews for the frxUSD vault
Disclaimer
The Stake DAO Association acts strictly in an execution-only capacity, pursuant to mandates adopted by the DAO through governance processes. The Association does not provide investment advice, does not engage in asset management on its own account, and assumes no ownership or custody over DAO treasury assets. Any contracts, payments, or services facilitated by the Association are executed solely as administrative and operational support for the DAO, and shall not be construed as creating legal or financial liability of the Association beyond such execution. The Association expressly disclaims succession to any past entity or foundation, and no assumption of legacy liabilities is intended or implied. Nothing in this document shall be construed as establishing any fiduciary duty, agency relationship, or discretionary management role on the part of the Association. The foregoing limitations and disclaimers apply to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. Nothing in this document shall exclude or limit any liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law. This document, and the Association’s activities described herein, are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Switzerland.