When @zhayitong told me he used to design governance for Gary Gensler, I couldn’t help but laugh. Because if you’ve been in crypto long enough, you know the bizarre dance of guessing what “sufficient decentralization” even means.

Yitong Zhang, co-founder of @AgoraGovernance, joined me on Chainmakers to talk about what DAO tooling actually looks like when you stop pretending it’s clean and perfect. Governance isn’t a checkbox. It’s a human system.

Yitong’s journey is full of building from scratch. @Coinbase. Crypto rabbit holes. And now @AgoraGovernance, built with the belief that on-chain coordination should be easier, faster, and actually useful.

We talked about the real stuff: 🧠 Why token voting is broken 🌍 Why founders still go offshore 🔧 How Aerodrome keeps governance simple 🤖 And why AI won’t save us from misaligned incentives

I was especially struck by the humility in how Agora supports teams like @Optimism and @ensdomains. Not pushing “the future of governance”, but listening, iterating, simplifying. That’s the kind of design thinking crypto needs more of.

Yitong also framed this moment as a “regency period.” We’re in a leadership vacuum. Regulation isn’t here, but it’s coming. So founders are left guessing and adapting in real-time, with stakes that feel incredibly high.

If you’re designing a DAO, launching a token, or just trying to build with community in mind, this conversation is one of the most grounded takes I’ve heard. No hype. Just hard-earned insight from someone in the arena.

📺 Watch the full Chainmakers episode here:

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