Safe's Own Stakeholders Aren't Feeling So Safe 🏦

Greenfield Capital, an investor in Safe, said Sunday it has filed a supervisory complaint with Switzerland's Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA), seeking changes to the Safe Ecosystem Foundation's board after months of engagement failed to resolve governance concerns. In an open letter to the Safe community, Greenfield founding partner Jascha Samadi said the complaint comes after his firm became "increasingly concerned" about the state of Safe since early 2025, citing its performance relative to the broader market and a lack of independent voices on the foundation board. "But we have come to believe, after more than a year of research, dialogue and patience, that Safe will not reach its potential under its current governance," Samadi said.

The dispute arrives against a backdrop of ambitious internal targets. In a February announcement, the project reported more than $10 million in project-wide annualized revenue at the end of 2025 and outlined a longer-term ambition to reach $100 million in annual recurring revenue by 2030. Greenfield, however, pointed to $1.98 million in second-quarter revenue, equivalent to an annualized run rate of $8 million, as falling well short of the $20 million expectation for 2026. The firm argued that Safe was losing ground even as growth in the broader crypto market accelerated.

Samadi said that between January 2024 and August 2026, total value held in Safe accounts fell from $66 billion to $30 billion, a decline of more than 50%, while total DeFi total value locked grew 40%. Over the same period, total stablecoin supply grew roughly 135%, while stablecoins held in Safes on Ethereum grew only 11%, and Safe's share of USDC in circulation fell from 12.8% to 2.5%. "In the category that has grown the most and that self-custody infrastructure is best placed to serve, Safe has been losing ground for two and a half years," Samadi said.

Samadi attributed many of those concerns to a lack of independent board members with "experienced decision-making." He also alleged conflicts of interest involving board member Stefan George's role at Gnosis and fellow board member Richard Meissner's ties to companies developing and operating Safe products. Greenfield said it had spent months asking the foundation to restructure its governance, replace George, and expand the board with independent, externally recruited members with expertise in finance, risk management and business strategy.

The firm is now asking the Swiss watchdog to examine the foundation's governance and determine whether corrective measures are needed. Safe is targeting break-even and a doubling of revenue in 2026.