Balancer is considering an orderly shutdown under a governance proposal that would distribute remaining treasury assets to BAL holders. The plan would replace an earlier buyback approach with a redemption process, shifting the discussion from restoring growth to deciding how the protocol's remaining resources should be allocated.

The proposal identifies at least $9 million in treasury tokens, with additional wallets and positions to be inventoried. Eligible holders would burn BAL to receive a proportional share of assets. Treasury-held BAL would generally be excluded, with a limited exception involving the tetuBAL liquid staking wrapper.

If approved, pools would move to withdrawals-only on October 30 and contributor notice would run through October 31. The first redemption window would begin at the end of May 2027 and last six months. Later distributions would address remaining funds and receipts after that initial process.

A governance vote is expected from September 25 to 29, and Balancer said the proposal does not change current operations before the vote. For BAL holders, the central questions are approval, eligibility, and the final asset inventory, all of which determine how the proposed redemption would work.