All wind-down progress reports and status updates will be posted in this thread. For detailed background on the DAO-termination process and objectives, please review the forum discussion here: https://forum.cosmos.network/t/proposal-draft-terminate-aadao-mandate-and-operations-within-60-days/15701/53.
June 2025 Staffing & Compensation
| Role | FTE % | Monthly Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Grants Reviewer | 40% | $3,500 |
| Operations Coordinator | 40% | $2,200 |
| Venture Specialist | 40% | $3,520 |
| Grants Lead | 40% | $3,520 |
| Internal Auditor & Accountant (Oversight) | 25% | $3,520 |
| Elected Member (Oversight) | 35% | $4,200 |
| Marketing & Communications (Contractor) | 9% | $435 |
Reduction: Venture Specialist and Grants Lead roles eliminated effective June 30, 2025.
July 2025 Staffing & Compensation
| Role | FTE % | Monthly Compensation | One-Time Additional Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grants Reviewer | 50% | $4,375 | $2,500 |
| Operations Coordinator | 55% | $3,025 | $2,500 |
| Internal Auditor & Accountant (Oversight) | 35% | $4,550 | — |
| Elected Member (Oversight) | 65% | $7,800 | — |
| Marketing & Communications (Contractor) | 17% | $870 | — |
Reduction: Grants Reviewer and Marketing & Comms Contractor roles eliminated effective July 31, 2025.
July compensation reflects elevated FTE percentages as core contributors and oversight members worked extended hours to support wind-down objectives communicated here.
One-time $2,500 payments (July 30) to Grants Reviewer (“Joni”) and Operations Coordinator cover transaction-signing availability through Dec 2025 and Grants SubDao wallet management from draw-down transition to grants program closure.
Operations Coordinator Offboarding
The engagement may extend through Aug 31, 2025 due to critical data remediation/recovery/reconciliation work.
Current Portfolio Status
As of 1 Aug 2025
Active Grants (11)
| Grant Name | Supervision Type | Approved | Disbursed | Remaining | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passage: Supercharging ATOM Use-Cases in the Metaverse | Standard Oversight | $75,000 | $40,000 | $35,000 | Active |
| Superbolt: Bringing Advanced NFTFi to AEZ | Standard Oversight | $125,000 | $40,000 | $85,000 | Active |
| Pryzm: Supercharging Yield Optimization | Standard Oversight | $50,000 | $20,000 | $30,000 | Active |
| Quadratic Funding for the AEZ | Standard Oversight | $200,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 | Active |
| Huggin: ATOM Community Activation in Istanbul | Standard Oversight | $16,000 | $10,000 | $6,000 | Active |
| Votion: Hydro Vote Aggregator | Standard Oversight | $50,000 | $25,000 | $25,000 | Active |
| Immunefi: Bug Bounty Program for Hydro Ecosystem | Standard Oversight | $57,882 | $14,471 | $43,411 | Active |
| Zephrus: Hydro Vote Aggregator | Standard Oversight | $85,000 | $20,000 | $65,000 | Active |
| Token Terminal | ICL Primary | $200,000 | $200,000 | $0 | Active |
| Archive Node for Cosmos Hub | ICL Primary | $12,000 | $6,000 | $6,000 | Active |
| Zellic (Cosmos Hub audits) | ICL Primary | $440,000 | $308,000 | $132,000 | Active |
| TOTALS | — | $1,310,882 | $803,471 | $507,411 | — |
Note
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Standard Oversight: Milestone-based disbursements supervised by AADAO Oversight with ICL support (as needed).
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ICL Primary: Supervised by Interchain Labs with AADAO Oversight support (as needed).
Discontinued Grants (2)
| Grant Name | Approved | Disbursed | Cancelled | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asteroid Protocol | $111,000 | $76,000 | $35,000 | Discontinued |
| Margined Protocol (Delta Neutral Vaults for Hydro) | $50,000 | $20,000 | $30,000 | Discontinued |
| TOTALS | $161,000 | $96,000 | $65,000 | — |
Note
Cancelled amounts will be added to the unused balance returning to the Cosmos Hub Community Pool. Both grants were terminated during the recent wind-down period.
Active Investments (10)
Of the ten investment agreements, six are publicly disclosed: Elys Network, Union, Convexity Labs (Plaza Finance), Drop, Sphinx, and Shaga.
Four are fully executed but remain confidential under nondisclosure provisions.
Ventures Portfolio – Legal Remediation Required
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Issue: Investment agreements with Elys Network and Union Labs were executed by contributors lacking signing authority, rendering contracts invalid.
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Resolution: Agreements are being novated with a valid Trustee signature; investee teams have been notified.
Financial Provisions
Trustee Operational Reserve
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Restricted Expense Grant (REG): $40,000 USDC to Lemma Ltd (AADAO Trustee)
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Purpose: Cover third-party legal & administrative expenses through Dec 31, 2028
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Rationale: With AADAO wallets being deprecated, a pre-authorized reserve of funds is needed to ensure the Trustee can meet episodic legal and administrative costs without operational delays or funding friction.
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Restriction: Funds may be used only for permitted expenses
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Return: Unused funds returned to the Cosmos Hub Community Pool within 30 days of trust dissolution or 30 days after Dec 31, 2028
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Technical Support: ICL will facilitate fund returns as needed
Trustee Approves ICL for “Venture Support”/”Protocol Support” Duties
After the Venture Specialist’s departure, a gap emerged in support services for AADAO investee teams. The Trustee interviewed @Mag, consulted his provided references, and concluded that Mag/ICL is well-qualified to assume this role. The venture-support function is limited in scope: offering ad-hoc technical guidance and facilitating introductions to ecosystem investors.
Trustee Service Extension
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Term: 2 years (2027–2028)
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Fee: $6,000 per year ( $12,000 total )
Infrastructure & Data Management Risks
Data Loss
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Slack: Material messages lost due to deletion or non-renewal/downgrade (administrator and owner of AADAO Slack: Ryan Orr/“Better Future”); root cause unclear. Oversight has repeatedly stated that it does not seek access to or preservation of contributors’ private 1:1 messages. However, substantial discussions and governance records were exchanged in sub-DAO group channels and various ad-hoc formations. All non-1:1 correspondence must therefore be retained.
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Documentation Gaps: ClickUp insufficiently populated; lacks key information because vital context was created and kept in Slack, much of which has since been lost. Oversight first identified these data gaps in June 2024, yet they remain unaddressed. The resulting inconsistencies are especially problematic for understanding and evaluating investment decisions and activities.
Info Integrity Measures
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System Renewals (2 years):
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Google Drive, Dual seat access (Oversight + ICL)
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ClickUp, Dual seat access (Oversight + ICL)
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Slack: Renewal status uncertain.
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Socials
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Administrative access to the AADAO website, X/Twitter account, and Cosmos Hub Forum account have been shared Oversight and @qxnico (ICL).
Next month’s report will include a detailed cost breakdown for all essential tooling renewals, with expenses projected to stay below $3,000. I’ve also asked the Internal Auditor & Accountant for updated Financial Statements – will be posted here as soon as they’re made available.
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Reading through the detailed update on AADAO’s “sunset,” I’ve put together a quick summary to help clarify things. Hope this helps! 
: When AADAO announced its “sunset” last year, it wasn’t an immediate shutdown. Operations continued, and they even approved $1.9 million in new grants with payments extending into late 2025. This wasn’t a full and instant halt.
: Funds couldn’t be returned immediately due to active contracts, pending milestones, and ongoing administrative commitments. These obligations needed to be honored.
: AADAO received a total of 1,563,811 ATOM from the Cosmos Hub through Proposals 95 and 865. They also manage a 450,000 ATOM POL deployment from Proposal 800.
:
: The 450,000 ATOM POL requires the cooperation of the 4-of-7 multisig for its return, with the unbonding process happening in four tranches.
: The multisig signers are listed, with some being highly responsive (Cosmostation, Imperator) and others less so (Ryan Orr, Youssef Amrani).
: Funds have been allocated to ensure the proper management and winding down of the AADAO Guernsey Trust, including securing services from Lemma until 2028 and covering necessary operational costs.
: All financial transactions and subDAO actions have been communicated transparently. The request is to keep further questions within the forum thread for clarity and accountability.