A certain DEX will create a DUNA legal entity to pave the way for collecting protocol fees.

[Coin World] It is reported that a certain decentralized exchange's foundation has proposed to establish a new legal entity for its governance organization based on the decentralized non-profit association framework of Wyoming (DUNA). This new legal entity named "DUNI" will retain the existing governance structure of the exchange's DAO and place it within a legal framework, enabling it to retain service providers, enter contracts, and fulfill compliance obligations related to regulations and taxes. The DAO of the exchange will be the largest decentralized organization adopting this legal framework. According to the proposal's terms, it will receive tokens worth $16.5 million to meet previous tax obligations and fund legal defense budgets. Since the exchange has never chosen to be treated as a corporation for tax purposes, the foundation expects the IRS bill to be less than $10 million to meet prior tax obligations and any penalties. The foundation noted in the announcement that adopting the DUNA framework will pave the way for the exchange to open protocol fees, transferring a small portion of LP fees to the DAO treasury.

"With a legal framework, DUNA has unlocked tremendous potential in what it can do, participate in, and trade," said Brian Nistler, the foundation's general counsel. "This clearly lays the groundwork for the arrival of fee conversion voting... and truly formalizes the activities of [the exchange governance], while protecting participants in collective decision-making." Nistler pointed out that under the DUNA framework, fee revenues cannot be directly distributed to token holders. "While we are adopting this legal framework, it hasn’t really changed the decentralization of the exchange governance or the DAO," he said. The proposal also allocates $75,000 to the consultancy Cowrie, co-founded by David Kerr, to serve as the administrator of DUNI. Kerr was deeply involved in the drafting of Wyoming regulations, which passed in March 2024. Nistler called him "an excellent confidant and advisor throughout the entire DUNA evaluation process."

At the time this proposal was introduced, other cryptocurrency protocols were seeking to re-centralize some operations, often in the name of efficiency, such as the LayerZero Foundation's proposal to acquire the StarGate bridge, or NFT giant Yuga Labs' proposal to dissolve its ApeCoin DAO. "For me personally, a major unlocking in our industry is not just redoing things on-chain, but rethinking how we do things as a selective and collective decision-making process," Nistler said. "DAOs are a bit behind in this regard, but I believe that with DUNA entities, DAOs can enhance their operational levels through a pathway, gain protection, and still be able to collectively participate and take action toward the future they want to maintain."