Is Crypto Governance Dead? w/ Eugene Leventhal | Devconnect 2025

In this episode recorded at DevConnect in Buenos Aires, I sit down with Eugene Leventhal (researcher at Metagov, podcaster at Governance Futures, new head of governance at Octant) to discuss the current crisis in crypto governance. The general feeling is that governance has been declared dead, foundations are being pushed aside, and the decentralization theater is being abandoned now that Trump's election has lifted compliance pressure.

Eugene unpacks what he calls the "original sin of DAOs" (most were created purely for regulatory cover) and why most failed. But it's not all doom, we discuss the few projects still genuinely committed to decentralization, institutional interest in deliberative tooling, and why work on transparency and democratic innovation still matters, even as the industry pivots toward unregulated founder worship.

Links:

• Bread Cooperative's Democratic Multisig webinar
• Guide book can be downloaded here

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ICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking.

The book is officially published and you use this linktree to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.