Aragon Launches Ownership Token Framework And Dashboard To Bring Evidence-Based Transparency To Crypto Assets

Aragon has announced the public launch of the Ownership Token Framework, a new evidence-based methodology designed to evaluate cryptocurrency tokens based on tangible fundamentals rather than narrative or perception. Alongside the framework, the firm introduced the Ownership Token Dashboard, a publicly accessible tool intended to make token ownership auditable and transparent in practice.

The launch addresses a longstanding challenge in the cryptocurrency sector: while tokens are widely traded and actively invested in, there has been no standardized approach to determine what a token genuinely owns or what rights it confers. Many tokens have historically been valued on assumptions regarding governance influence, future revenue capture, or alignment with protocol success, without clear evidence that tokenholders hold enforceable claims over the assets or value flows that define economic outcomes. 

In cases where these rights are weak, discretionary, or bypassable, markets typically adjust valuations downward. A recent study by CoinGecko found that 11.6 million crypto tokens failed in 2025 alone, representing approximately 86% of recorded project failures between 2021 and 2025, underscoring the prevalence of tokens lacking sustainable economic foundations.

The Ownership Token Framework seeks to bring transparency to these realities. Rather than treating governance as a proxy for ownership, the framework assesses whether tokenholders have enforceable, programmatic control over economically significant decisions and value flows. The methodology relies on primary evidence, including deployed smart contracts, upgrade and execution pathways, value routing mechanisms, and verifiable offchain dependencies that may either reinforce or undermine tokenholder rights.

“Smart contracts make it possible to encode and enforce economic rights directly in code, but those rights only exist where systems actually implement that control plane,” said Anthony Leutenegger, CEO of Aragon, in a written statement. “When ownership is discretionary or unverifiable, tokenholder exposure becomes a matter of trust. The framework is built to educate market participants on the hard power a token has, and furthermore, point out offchain dependencies that may create misaligned incentives that could negatively impact a token’s value,” he added.

Delivering Transparent, Evidence-Based Evaluation Of Crypto Token Rights And Governance

The framework evaluates tokens across five key dimensions. Onchain control examines whether tokenholders have ultimate authority over materially significant actions, including upgrades, parameter adjustments, emergency interventions, and supply changes. Value accrual considers whether mechanisms exist to generate observable economic benefit or token-scarcity effects for holders. 

Verifiability assesses whether economically material code and deployments can be independently confirmed through primary onchain evidence. Token distribution analyzes whether ownership and voting power are meaningfully dispersed rather than concentrated in single-control blocs. Offchain dependencies are also considered to determine whether external incentives align with the token’s economic and security outcomes.

The Ownership Token Dashboard operationalizes the framework by providing structured ownership profiles for live protocols. The dashboard leverages continuously updated, publicly verifiable onchain and offchain data, enabling users to inspect how ownership claims correspond to deployed systems. 

The initial release includes profiles for UNI, CRV, LDO, AERO, and AAVE, with further tokens planned for addition. Each profile was developed in collaboration with the respective protocol teams, ensuring that assessments reflect validated deployments and governance structures rather than third-party interpretations or speculation.

Dashboard entries link directly to the underlying evidence supporting each evaluation, including smart contracts, governance execution paths, and relevant offchain structures. Token listings are updated on a rolling basis, with the dashboard intended to evolve into a dynamic reference for token fundamentals as the standard expands.

The framework and dashboard were created with input from participating protocol teams and reviewed by governance, legal, and policy experts specializing in onchain systems and digital assets. The review process emphasizes the practical functioning of ownership and control after a token’s launch, highlighting risks introduced by discretionary or opaque dependencies.

“Aragon’s framework provides much needed transparency for network tokens,” said Miles Jennings, General Counsel at a16z Crypto, in a written statement. “It shows who still has power over a token after it launches, what that means for users and investors, and what risks come with those hidden dependencies,” he added.

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