DeFi Leadership Governance Dilemma: Imbalance Between High Salaries and Responsibilities

This is not just a compensation issue but points to the core contradiction within the entire ecosystem governance system.

**The Imbalance Behind the Numbers**

In 2024, a leading DEX foundation allocated approximately $9.99 million in ecosystem funding, while the total employee salary expenditure during the same period reached $4.79 million. The question is quite revealing: do these high salaries truly drive protocol growth? Earlier, core contributor Pepo left due to dissatisfaction with the foundation's operations, even bluntly stating that its salary structure was like a "hell mode."

**Inherent Flaws in Governance Structure**

A complex organizational structure has hidden risks—profit-oriented entities, non-profit foundations, and dispersed DAOs operate independently, with blurred boundaries of interests. After receiving $165 million in funding support from the DAO, the foundation was repeatedly accused of prioritizing its own interests over the community's as a whole. This misalignment of power and interests is at the root of the problem.

**The Paradox of Value Capture**

Ironically, while salary disputes intensify, proposals aimed at creating value for token holders are advancing—mechanisms like token burns and fee switches are gradually taking shape. On one side, there is a crisis of trust; on the other, promises of value recirculation. This split fundamentally reflects the ultimate dilemma of DeFi governance: the disconnection between the rights of token holders and actual benefits.

**The Alarm Has Sounded**

When the protocol succeeds, does the benefits truly flow to the community? If governance tokens cannot ensure holders share in the fruits of growth, and power institutions can set high salaries at will, then the promise of decentralized autonomous governance becomes empty talk. This case warrants reflection across the entire DeFi industry.

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