In this episode of Governance Futures, Eugene and Jamilya speak with Anthony Leutenegger, CEO of Aragon, about tooling, regulation and DAO governance today.
We dig into why ownership and control matter more than vague notions of decentralization, and how design choices like Aragon OSx are reshaping the way DAOs govern themselves.
We also explore lessons from experiments like Lido’s dual governance, the impact of emerging regulation such as the Clarity Act, and what it could mean if decentralized ownership becomes a legal requirement. In this conversation we also discuss the role of modular systems, incentives, and AI agents in shaping the next generation of governance.
This episode is for those questioning what real decentralization means, and how governance in Web3 must evolve to balance founder control, community power, and legal clarity.
Some of the materials we mention in the episode:
- Aragon documentation: https://docs.aragon.org/
- The Growth Engine: How veLockers & Gauges Drive Value Accrual: https://blog.aragon.org/the-growth-engine-how-velockers-gauges-drive-value-accrual/
- Aragon OSx: https://docs.aragon.org/osx-contracts/1.x/index.html#the_aragon_osx_dao_framework
- Anthony's talk at ETH Prague 2025 "Ownership and Governance always needs the right Incentives": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAIA625hLR0
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Time-stamps:
00:00 Intro
01:02 Introduction to Governance Futures Podcast
02:39 The Importance of Human-Centered Governance
03:57 Rebuilding Aragon: The Need for Modular Governance 04:18 The Evolution of DAOs and Governance Models
09:57 Decentralization: A Spectrum of Control
12:13 Aragon's Mission and Governance Infrastructure
14:08 Decentralization: Leadership vs. Control
18:39 Challenges of Multisig and On-Chain Governance
21:55 The Role of DAOs as Executors
23:22 Reframing DAOs and Governance Structures
24:48 The Evolution of Aragon and Its Vision
26:29 Introducing Aragon OS X: A Modular Governance Framework
30:03 Dual Governance: Aligning Interests in DAOs
36:05 Regulatory Impact on Governance
43:59 Proactive Governance in a Changing Regulatory Landscape
46:04 Building Adaptive Organizations
47:52 Core Principles of Successful Governance
49:13 Aligning Incentives for Token Holders
51:37 The Role of Trust in Governance
53:00 AI's Impact on Future Governance
57:15 Understanding Gauges in Tokenomics
01:01:06 Challenges in Modular Governance Adoption
01:04:26 Quiz Segment
01:05:32 Outro