Back in 2021, @tarunchitra mentioned an idea he had for a decentralized treasury management protocol. @gauntlet_xyz had figured out a way to use a network of parameter submitters to collectively satisfy arbitrary treasury management objectives. Challenge This was one of the most exciting prompts for protocol design I'd heard. DAOs didn't have an effective and tailored way to trustlessly manage their capital. It was also clear that many parts of DeFi (e.g., options protocols) could benefit from organic institutional-style demand. From there, @auditless was enlisted as an R&D partner to help design and implement successive iterations of the protocol and we got to work. Solution @auditless worked closely with the Product, Engineering, Leadership and BD teams at @gauntlet_xyz as well as with our engineering partners @blockvis_team and security partners @SpearbitDAO. We collectively shaped & developed a trust-minimized treasury management protocol which uses current DeFi instruments and off-chain guardians to satisfy a variety of custom treasury objectives. The live Aera protocol is pioneering custom treasury objectives for each client, a frictionless deployment process and a path to decentralization through the use of a guardian role. Results +$4.3M (and counting) since inception Auditless helped develop 2 major versions of the Aera protocol which have led to several active treasury deployments. The flexibility of the underlying smart contracts allows Aera to address distinct needs with each deployment. These vary from volatility targeting, deepening liquidity, generating yield on idle holdings and diversifying treasury assets. Clients are drawn to the trust model that Aera provides. Guardian actions are highly limited and guarded by a variety of pre and post-execution hooks that include action whitelisting, allowance checks and limits on vault value changes — all enforced onchain. On the flipside, Aera clients have full and immediate control over their funds and are free to utilize their Aera vault as a wallet. +$8M raised for Aera The Aera Foundation has now raised $8M from @jump_ and @BainCapCrypto to continue scaling the protocol. From PR Newswire: “The Aera team has developed a much-needed solution perfect for crypto-native organizations looking to responsibly manage their treasuries,” said @stefancoh, partner at Bain Capital Crypto. “Aera is the first solution of its kind for DAO treasury management and was built by a team that’s amazingly well equipped to usher in a new era of responsible decentralized finance growth.” Most importantly – it's been a highlight of my career to collaborate and learn from the many talented individuals in the Aera team: @tarunchitra @ChiangRei @jmo_mx @shaanvaria @JuliusDegesys @mattdobel @_nickborg Victor Xu, Simon Yakunin @BenSchreck @saucekind Trey Sadiq, Jesse Kao, Nick Hewitt @jreem. This is only the beginning.
