Zinc opposes MetaDAO’s ZKFG 007 buyout proposal at $0.15

Someone’s trying to buy the house, and the tenant doesn’t want to move. Zinc has come out firmly against ZKFG-007, a MetaDAO proposal that would acquire ZKFG governance tokens at $0.15 USDC each, effectively paving the way to take Turbine Cash DAO LLC private.

The proposed price sounds generous on paper. ZKFG currently trades at roughly $0.0847, making the $0.15 offer a premium of about 77% over market. It’s also roughly 1.5 times the token’s original issue price. But Zinc isn’t interested in a premium exit. It wants the cash flow.

Why Zinc is saying no

Zinc has made clear that its priority is continuing to generate revenue and provide updates to the community, not cashing out through a two-day Dollar Cost Averaging mechanism that MetaDAO has proposed as the acquisition vehicle.

The ZKFG token serves as the governance and ownership instrument for a MetaDAO project that raised nearly $969K during its initial coin offering. Zinc’s tokenomics include a revenue split that directs 1% to the ZKFG treasury, creating a recurring income stream for holders.

This isn’t the first time a buyout attempt has stumbled. A prior proposal, ZKFG-006, failed due to what were described as escrow and execution flaws. Zinc has distanced itself from MetaDAO’s current effort, signaling that the previous failure didn’t inspire confidence in the process.

MetaDAO’s futarchy model meets real-world friction

MetaDAO operates on a futarchy governance model, a system where proposals get traded in conditional markets rather than decided by simple token-weighted votes.

A previous proposal for an OTC sale of up to 2 million ZKFG tokens at a 25% discount was actually approved through this system. So MetaDAO’s governance mechanics aren’t inherently hostile to deals. The question is whether this particular deal, at this particular price, with these particular consequences, passes the market’s smell test.

What this means for investors

The 77% premium over current market price creates an interesting dynamic for ZKFG holders sitting on the fence. If you bought at the initial offering and you’re looking at a 50% premium over your entry, the offer has a certain gravitational pull. If you bought recently at market prices near $0.0847, a nearly doubled exit might seem hard to refuse.

But Zinc’s opposition reframes the calculus. If the revenue-sharing model continues and the project grows, the long-term value of holding ZKFG could exceed $0.15. That’s the implicit argument Zinc is making by walking away from the deal.