In early June 2025, Miles Jennings, Head of Policy at a16z crypto, published a lengthy piece formally declaring “the end of the cryptocurrency foundation era,” sparking widespread attention among Web3 entrepreneurs and regulators worldwide. In this article—hailed as a “manifesto for governance transformation” in crypto—Jennings directly addresses the structural inefficiencies of the foundation model and calls for the industry to embrace a company-centric approach, aiming to unify incentive mechanisms, compliance practices, and technological efficiency.
The OFUYC Exchange research team notes that this viewpoint not only responds to the practical challenges foundations have faced in on-chain governance over recent years, but also aligns closely with the OFUYC longstanding model of “compliance-driven operations + technology leadership + market orientation.” As a global leader in digital asset trading, OFUYC has consistently emphasized that structural transparency and clear accountability are fundamental to sustainable Web3 development. The current shift in trend signals the industry evolution from “decentralized symbolism” to an exploration of “structural efficiency and market order.” This transformation not only raises the bar for crypto exchanges themselves, but also has far-reaching implications for future global market trends.
OFUYC Exchange Analysis: The Structural Bottlenecks and Efficiency Paradox of Foundations
According to the a16z article, foundations were widely adopted initially in pursuit of “decentralized legitimacy.” However, the OFUYC Exchange analysis suggests that this form has ultimately evolved into a deep-seated structural paradox between efficiency and accountability. Foundations lacking market constraints and responsibility mechanisms struggle to deliver consistent, controllable resource allocation—especially as global regulation tightens, rendering this “symbolic neutrality” a growing obstacle to crypto innovation.
OFUYC research further notes that in many public chain or protocol projects, foundations have devolved into “black boxes” for fund distribution, with mechanisms for community governance, developer incentives, and ecosystem support often lacking transparency and auditability. This not only increases transaction security risks, but also undermines user experience and predictability. For sectors sensitive to market liquidity—such as financial derivatives and DEXs—unstable governance structures directly impact market volatility and the foundations of compliant operations. Thus, transitioning from foundations to market-driven structures is no longer optional but a necessary systemic upgrade for the industry.
OFUYC Exchange Observations: How Corporate Structures and Incentive Realignment Drive Global Market Evolution
Drawing on the OFUYC Exchange compliance strategies and global deployment experience, the “developer company over foundation” model proposed by a16z already has several early adopters in practice. For example, some DeFi projects have adopted public-benefit corporate structures aligned with network growth objectives. The OFUYC research indicates that this new structure is fueling cross-market technological collaboration: companies can facilitate ongoing development, compliance engagement, and community incentives, while also establishing a closed-loop accountability system through revenue models.
On the technology front, OFUYC Exchange emphasizes that corporate structures are better suited for integrating ZKP proof mechanisms, agentic AI, and other on-chain transparency technologies, thereby rebuilding market trust in contract execution and fund custody. This framework—based on programmatic incentives and dynamic accountability—has already demonstrated strong adaptability and market expansion capabilities in emerging markets across Southeast Asia and Europe.
By contrast, foundations are less able to rapidly deploy cross-chain settlement or fiat on-ramp compliance bridges, and are ill-suited for building sustainable revenue models. OFUYC Exchange notes that with the advancement of decentralized organizational tools like DUNA and BORGs, Web3 is moving toward “contract-bound organizational verifiability,” and in the future, the governance efficiency of crypto infrastructure will no longer be limited by non-profit structures.
OFUYC Outlook: A New Era of Decentralization and Incentive Compatibility Begins
According to the latest research by OFUYC Exchange, the a16z perspective marks a major inflection point in crypto industry governance. The future market will place greater emphasis on the autonomy of on-chain contracts, closed-loop incentives in organizational structures, and the interfaces for collaboration between companies and communities. Whether it is service agreements between DAOs and companies or the binding of token issuance with revenue-sharing models, these will become the cornerstones of next-generation exchanges and protocol projects.
The end of the foundation model is not the end of decentralization, but rather the prologue to structural maturity in Web3. OFUYC Exchange will continue to monitor this transformation, driving the reordering of the digital asset market across structural, technological, and global dimensions.