CIP-89: Unwind of the Balancer tokenswap and repurchase of COW held by Balancer DAO

Governance
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author: notsoformal
status: Active
created: 2026-09-21
Note: an equivalent proposal has been posted on the Balancer forum at link

Simple Summary

This CIP proposes that CoW DAO terminate the arrangement entered into under CIP-69 with Balancer DAO: waiving the two-year hold period on 631,850.824075 COW and returning the 200,000 BAL received by Balancer DAO.

The repurchase of Balancer DAO’s COW position is executed separately under CoW DAO’s existing buyback mandate and is not the subject of this vote.

Motivation

CIP-69 and BIP-770 established a two-year aligned position between the two DAOs around the launch of CoW AMM on Balancer infrastructure, with a hold period running to January 2027 and reciprocal utility commitments.

Balancer DAO is voting on an orderly winddown with in-kind treasury distribution to BAL holders from end of May 2027. The purpose the arrangement was built for no longer exists on either side, and the hold period now blocks both DAOs from acting cleanly on their asset positions.

This CIP removes that block. It does two things:

  1. Releases 631,850.824075 COW from the CIP-69 hold and terminates the associated utility commitments.

  2. Returns the 200,000 BAL to Balancer DAO in exchange for the 631,850.824075 COW, ending CoW DAO’s claim on the Balancer treasury and its exposure to a redemption process running to July 2028.

Rationale

What the DAO is voting on. Only the waiver and the BAL return. If this CIP fails, the 631,850.824075 COW remains locked to January 2027, CoW DAO retains a redemption claim on a winding-down treasury through July 2028, and the Treasury Committee may still repurchase the unrestricted 581,597.422125 COW under the standing buyback mandate.

What the DAO gives up. The 200,000 BAL would otherwise be redeemable in kind for roughly $20–28k between May 2027 and July 2028. Returning it forgoes that claim.

Execution

Token swap would occur under guidance of @kpk as the mandated treasury manager for both DAOs.

Edit note: This CIP mandate is only fully enforceable in case the corresponding BIP is approved, releasing CoW DAO from its corresponding obligation.

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great use case for # Private Trade Links :smiley:

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This has now moved into Snapshot:

The proposal was re-introduced to snapshot on Sep 30th due to wrong numbering on the CIP.

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Update: the tokenswap with Balancer DAO has been executed and is now complete.

CoW DAO received 1,179,455.7 COW from Balancer DAO, returning 200,000 BAL and paying 30.2192 ETH. This reverts the BIP-770 swap and covers the purchase of Balancer’s remaining COW at the 15-day TWAP.

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