Happy New Year! As we kick off 2026, the first newsletter of the year serves double duty:

A look back at everything we accomplished in 2025 and a look at the road ahead.

Our first DAO call of the year was a 2025 Wrapped celebration where community members shared highlights and reflected on the work that brought us to where we are today. It was also a moment of transition, with significant announcements about leadership changes and DAO funding that will shape how we operate going forward.

2025 tested the resilience of the Web3 space, and Unlock Protocol DAO proved it has what it takes to grow in the face of adversity. Dedicated contributors ushered in strategic collaborations, and as a community, we marched forward to new levels of decentralization; we've built something worth being proud of! Now, as we step into 2026, the DAO is poised to take full ownership of its future in new and exciting ways.

Let's dig into what happened and what's next.

• Unlock Labs Funding Update: Julien shared that Unlock Labs has reached the end of its runway and will no longer be able to fund DAO operations beyond January 2026. The protocol itself remains fully decentralized and onchain—it doesn't need Labs to function.

• Foundation Wind-Down: The Unlock Labs Foundation will be dissolved later this year, as it no longer serves a purpose that justifies the operational cost. When this happens, approximately 40% of the token supply currently held by the Foundation will transfer to the DAO treasury, providing long-term resources for community-driven development.

• Decentralization Milestone: These changes represent a significant step toward full decentralization. There's never been a more accessible entry point for new participants to get involved in governance and help shape Unlock's direction.

• Stella's Transition: After nearly two years of dedicated stewardship, Stella is not renewing her Steward role in order to return focus to her own project, The ALANA Project, as it approaches key stages of growth. She will continue as a community contributor, seeing through the collaborations and integrations she initiated. Under Stella's leadership, the DAO guidelines have been completed to a point that will ensure continued DAO operations without her direct hand.

• Content Contribution System: The Charmverse-based contribution system is evolving to Incented, a platform that will enable more decentralized content curation where the community—not a single reviewer—decides which contributions rise to the top.

• Collaboration Updates: The DAO built meaningful partnerships throughout the year with Hats Community, Carrot Castle, Crypto Sapiens, PizzaDAO, and Burner Pro

• RUMS Collaboration Momentum: The Rise Up Morning Show partnership continues to deliver. A recent TikTok livestream generated strong engagement, with viewers sending coins that can be used for Unlock TikTok advertising. RUMS headquarters is building a scholarship program using Unlock memberships, demonstrating practical utility for the protocol.

• Channel Growth: YouTube analytics show steady growth, and a comprehensive statistics report across all channels is in development for the next DAO call. Gozman now manages the X (Twitter) account, while Jonathan handles TikTok alongside LinkedIn.

• Celo Campaign: Active conversations with Celo's marketing manager are expected to produce a collaborative campaign in the near future.

• Content Contributors: Four contributors from different communities are now actively creating content, including memes and threads for X and Farcaster. Video content for TikTok and YouTube Shorts remains a gap that Incented will help address.

• Social Media Team: Ceci continues leading marketing efforts, supported by contributors including Louis, Mani, Gozman, and Soho.

• ApeBond/ichi Vault Success: The transfer of UP tokens to the ICHI vault will be establishing sustainable DAO-owned liquidity through collaboration, creating an ongoing revenue stream.

• Gitcoin Campaigns: Two successful Gitcoin rounds in 2025 delivered over 10k in funding for the DAO.

• Budget Management: Andreu and the Steward Council refined budgeting processes throughout the year, establishing healthier financial oversight.

• Ninja Promo: The marketing agency partnership contributed significantly to the DAO's marketing capabilities throughout 2025.

• FarCon Rome: Interest continues in using Unlock for ticketing infrastructure at the May 2026 Farcaster conference.

• Community One Bot: The Discord support bot saw mixed reception—some find it invaluable for quick answers when no one's online, while others find it intrusive. Overall, it's handling support queries effectively.

• GitHub issue reporting and feature suggestions are live with incentives for contributions to resolve and improve the protocol.

Here's how you can get involved and prepare for the discussions coming up:

1. Vote on our onchain proposals via Tally or degov

2. Review the following topics to add to the discussion:

   • Merch store proposal —share your feedback in the Discord thread

   • Incented content contribution program design

   • Community feedback on the path forward for 2026

3. If you are an Unlock Community Member, don't hesitate to post in our spotlight channel so we can shed some light on what you are building on and with the protocol!

4. Share our social media posts and engage with campaigns across X, Tik Tok, LinkedIn, YouTube,

Thanks for following along, fellow locksmiths, and always remember:

Stay classy out there, Trigs

• X

• Tik Tok

• LinkedIn

• YouTube

• Farcaster

Happy New Year! As we kick off 2026, the first newsletter of the year serves double duty:

A look back at everything we accomplished in 2025 and a look at the road ahead.

Our first DAO call of the year was a 2025 Wrapped celebration where community members shared highlights and reflected on the work that brought us to where we are today. It was also a moment of transition, with significant announcements about leadership changes and DAO funding that will shape how we operate going forward.

2025 tested the resilience of the Web3 space, and Unlock Protocol DAO proved it has what it takes to grow in the face of adversity. Dedicated contributors ushered in strategic collaborations, and as a community, we marched forward to new levels of decentralization; we've built something worth being proud of! Now, as we step into 2026, the DAO is poised to take full ownership of its future in new and exciting ways.

Let's dig into what happened and what's next.

• Unlock Labs Funding Update: Julien shared that Unlock Labs has reached the end of its runway and will no longer be able to fund DAO operations beyond January 2026. The protocol itself remains fully decentralized and onchain—it doesn't need Labs to function.

• Foundation Wind-Down: The Unlock Labs Foundation will be dissolved later this year, as it no longer serves a purpose that justifies the operational cost. When this happens, approximately 40% of the token supply currently held by the Foundation will transfer to the DAO treasury, providing long-term resources for community-driven development.

• Decentralization Milestone: These changes represent a significant step toward full decentralization. There's never been a more accessible entry point for new participants to get involved in governance and help shape Unlock's direction.

• Stella's Transition: After nearly two years of dedicated stewardship, Stella is not renewing her Steward role in order to return focus to her own project, The ALANA Project, as it approaches key stages of growth. She will continue as a community contributor, seeing through the collaborations and integrations she initiated. Under Stella's leadership, the DAO guidelines have been completed to a point that will ensure continued DAO operations without her direct hand.

• Content Contribution System: The Charmverse-based contribution system is evolving to Incented, a platform that will enable more decentralized content curation where the community—not a single reviewer—decides which contributions rise to the top.

• Collaboration Updates: The DAO built meaningful partnerships throughout the year with Hats Community, Carrot Castle, Crypto Sapiens, PizzaDAO, and Burner Pro

• RUMS Collaboration Momentum: The Rise Up Morning Show partnership continues to deliver. A recent TikTok livestream generated strong engagement, with viewers sending coins that can be used for Unlock TikTok advertising. RUMS headquarters is building a scholarship program using Unlock memberships, demonstrating practical utility for the protocol.

• Channel Growth: YouTube analytics show steady growth, and a comprehensive statistics report across all channels is in development for the next DAO call. Gozman now manages the X (Twitter) account, while Jonathan handles TikTok alongside LinkedIn.

• Celo Campaign: Active conversations with Celo's marketing manager are expected to produce a collaborative campaign in the near future.

• Content Contributors: Four contributors from different communities are now actively creating content, including memes and threads for X and Farcaster. Video content for TikTok and YouTube Shorts remains a gap that Incented will help address.

• Social Media Team: Ceci continues leading marketing efforts, supported by contributors including Louis, Mani, Gozman, and Soho.

• ApeBond/ichi Vault Success: The transfer of UP tokens to the ICHI vault will be establishing sustainable DAO-owned liquidity through collaboration, creating an ongoing revenue stream.

• Gitcoin Campaigns: Two successful Gitcoin rounds in 2025 delivered over 10k in funding for the DAO.

• Budget Management: Andreu and the Steward Council refined budgeting processes throughout the year, establishing healthier financial oversight.

• Ninja Promo: The marketing agency partnership contributed significantly to the DAO's marketing capabilities throughout 2025.

• FarCon Rome: Interest continues in using Unlock for ticketing infrastructure at the May 2026 Farcaster conference.

• Community One Bot: The Discord support bot saw mixed reception—some find it invaluable for quick answers when no one's online, while others find it intrusive. Overall, it's handling support queries effectively.

• GitHub issue reporting and feature suggestions are live with incentives for contributions to resolve and improve the protocol.

Here's how you can get involved and prepare for the discussions coming up:

1. Vote on our onchain proposals via Tally or degov

2. Review the following topics to add to the discussion:

   • Merch store proposal —share your feedback in the Discord thread

   • Incented content contribution program design

   • Community feedback on the path forward for 2026

3. If you are an Unlock Community Member, don't hesitate to post in our spotlight channel so we can shed some light on what you are building on and with the protocol!

4. Share our social media posts and engage with campaigns across X, Tik Tok, LinkedIn, YouTube,

Thanks for following along, fellow locksmiths, and always remember:

Stay classy out there, Trigs

• X

• Tik Tok

• LinkedIn

• YouTube

• Farcaster