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Governance Tokens

Digital tokens granting holders voting or decision-making rights within decentralized projects, enabling participants to influence the development and policies of blockchain platforms or organizations.

[
Code
IN0032
]
[
Name
Governance Tokens
]
[
Version
1.0
]
[
Category
Crypto & Other Digital Tokens
]
[
Created
2025-03-12
]
[
Modified
2025-04-02
]

Related Techniques

T0067
|
Virtual Token
|
  • Criminals layer illicit proceeds by moving them into governance tokens, presenting these transfers as legitimate participation in decentralized protocol governance.
  • The added voting utility can mask large or frequent token transfers under the guise of platform engagement, complicating compliance monitoring.
  • Clandestine swaps and sales on minimal-KYC or decentralized exchanges obscure beneficiary identities, hindering law enforcement tracing.
T0067.003
|
Governance Token Obfuscation
|
  • Criminals exploit voting or protocol control features to add extra complexity to layering, interspersing governance token transactions among other assets to obscure the original source of funds.
  • Minimal regulatory classification in some jurisdictions enables evasion of certain AML checks, reducing KYC requirements and allowing beneficial owners to remain hidden.
  • By bridging governance tokens across multiple blockchains, adversaries break address continuity and frustrate straightforward analytics, creating dense transactional webs.
T0144.003
|
Rug Pull
|
  • Rug pull schemes in DeFi often involve governance tokens that promise holders voting or revenue rights, attracting significant liquidity.
  • Once investors lock funds in the project, the perpetrators remove or drain the liquidity pool, rendering governance tokens worthless while escaping with the proceeds.
T0144.013
|
Tokenized Fundraisings
|
  • Criminals launch alleged DeFi or DAO projects that offer governance tokens, claiming investors will gain voting rights and control over the platform.
  • By collecting funds in these governance token sales and subsequently transferring or swapping the proceeds across various wallets, criminals obscure fund origins and can disappear with the raised assets (exit scam).