The Aragon Association is a public entity that serves the Aragon Network. To serve the Network in the most transparent and unbiased way possible, we are disclosing the following conflict of interest.
As Aragon cofounders, Luis Cuende and Jorge Izquierdo cofounded both the Aragon Association and Aragon One AG, one of the teams taking care of Aragon’s development.
Those were early efforts to unbundle the early organization that was employing everyone in the Network, and separate oversight from development functions.
You can read more about the rationale here:
The plan was to level the playing field so that Aragon One is just one team in the Network with no special privileges. Right now Aragon One needs to go though the AGP process in order to get funds, similar to any other team. The only special privilege it has now it’s that both Luis and Jorge are the Board of Directors of the Aragon Association.
As part of the plan to decentralize governance and development, the Aragon Association will eventually lose its special powers, as detailed here:
Decentralizing Aragon's development II: Minimum Viable Foundation
In the meantime, we are disclosing that Aragon Association Executive Director, Luis Cuende, also sits in the Board of Directors of Aragon One AG and is a shareholder too.
Here are some immediate measures and future solutions to mitigate those conflicts of interest:
Luis Cuende, Aragon Association Executive Director, will refrain from voting in favor of all AGPs that imply performing a direct monetary transfer to Aragon One AG. Check signature here:
The Board of Directors commits to decentralize the Aragon Association’s power, namely:
It is not easy to start centralized and decentralize over time, but we want to show it is possible. It is the best showcase of how decentralized organizations can be used, after all.