The DAO Treasury Problem

DAO treasuries present a weird problem. Billions in assets, governance structures to manage them, but surprisingly poor capital deployment. The money just sits there.

Part of it is governance friction. Every spending decision requires proposals, voting, execution. By the time you fund something, the opportunity passed. Speed and DAOs don't mix well.

Conservatism dominates when it's other people's money. Nobody wants to propose something risky that might fail publicly. So treasuries default to holding native tokens and stables. Safe but unproductive.

Diversification attempts often fail politically. Selling native tokens for other assets looks like lack of confidence. Even when it's obviously good treasury management. Optics matter in public governance.

Some DAOs are experimenting with delegated treasury management. Committees with discretion over portions of the treasury. Faster decisions, more expertise. The decentralization purists hate it.

The best solutions I've seen involve clear mandates. Treasury pods with specific goals and budgets. Accountability without requiring votes for every transaction. Structured autonomy.