‘Decentralized Court’ Aragon Association Hit With Flurry of Resignations

Twelve staffers of the Aragon Association (AA) announced their resignations Thursday due to an apparent lack of financial transparency.

In a letter posted on GitHub and shared in the group’s Discord channel, AA governance lead John Light said he was leaving. “I no longer recognize the place that I used to love to work,” he wrote. “I believe it no longer reflects my values, nor the values of the Aragon Manifesto.” Light was with the AA for three years, according to his blog.

Aragon Network is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) seeking to build digital courtrooms that “make it possible for organizations, entrepreneurs and investors to do business without a legal nexus,” according to Messari.

While Light declined to comment to CoinDesk, he implored in his letter for the AA to “to publish all meeting minutes and financials for public review” going forward.

Light’s resignation was then followed by 11 other public resignations in the group’s Discord as well. Almost every resignation post was linked to Light’s letter. CoinDesk has reached out to several former AA developers for comment.

Aragon Association financials

At least some of that ETH – worth $63.9 million at press time – was moved into various other cryptocurrencies and tokens, particularly the dollar-pegged tether (USDT) stablecoin. It’s unclear if the mass transfer of funds was a catalyst for the resignations. Light declined to comment.

The AA retains ownership over the group’s ICO funds, according to the Aragon Manifesto, which was the fourth-largest ICO at the time of its completion.

Aragon Association co-founder Luis Cuende said the ETH was moved for “portfolio diversification” when asked by community members in Discord. CoinDesk’s request for comment was not replied to by Cuende at press time.

This is a developing story and will be updated.