High Voter Turnout in DAOs May Indicate Governance Apathy

Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are being hailed as the future of governance in the cryptocurrency space. However, a closer look at their decision-making processes reveals that high voter turnout may not always be a good thing.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Dr. Michael Egorov, founder of Curve Finance, pointed out that when all votes pass automatically and without debate, it often means participants have stopped paying attention to governance altogether. This apathy is reflected in low or absent voter participation, which can lead to a concentration of decision-making power among a small group of consistently active members.

Egorov cited two recent examples that illustrate this point. In 2024, a proposal to grant Swiss Stake AG $6.3 million faced pushback from DAO members. However, when the revised proposal went to a vote in December 2025, it drew over 80% member turnout. This level of participation is rare in the industry, with an analysis by LamprosTech finding that voter turnout across most DAOs rarely exceeds 15%.

The second example Egorov mentioned was a dispute between Aave Labs and its DAO. The conflict centered on fees generated through an integration with DeFi exchange aggregator CoW Swap, which were directed to a wallet controlled by Aave Labs rather than the DAO treasury. Members challenged the arrangement, sparking a broader debate about which entity holds rightful control over intellectual property on the platform.