Greenfield Capital escalates Safe governance conflict to Swiss regulatory authority
After months of unsuccessful attempts to reform the Safe Ecosystem Foundation's board composition, Greenfield Capital has approached Switzerland's foundation regulator.
An investor in Safe, Greenfield Capital, has disclosed that it submitted a supervisory complaint to the Swiss foundation oversight body, demanding modifications to the Safe Ecosystem Foundation's board composition following months of unsuccessful attempts to address its governance-related concerns through direct engagement.
Through an open letter published to the Safe community on Sunday, Jascha Samadi, founding partner at Greenfield, revealed that the complaint submitted to Switzerland's Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA) follows a period during which his firm grew "increasingly concerned" regarding Safe's condition since the beginning of 2025, pointing to its underperformance compared to the wider market and an absence of independent representation on the foundation's 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
This governance conflict emerges at a time when Safe has set its sights on achieving break-even status and doubling its revenue throughout 2026. According to a February announcement from the project, it reported over $10 million in annualized revenue on a project-wide basis at the conclusion of 2025, while also laying out a more extended ambition of achieving $100 million in annual recurring revenue by the year 2030.
Greenfield questions Safe's revenue growth
Nevertheless, Greenfield highlighted $1.98 million in revenue generated during the second quarter, which translates to an annualized run rate of $8 million, describing this as substantially below the anticipated $20 million target for 2026.
The investment firm contended that Safe has been losing market position even as the wider cryptocurrency market experienced growth. According to Samadi, during the timeframe spanning January 2024 through August 2026, the total value stored in Safe accounts dropped from $66 billion down to $30 billion, representing a decline exceeding 50%, whereas total value locked in DeFi experienced growth of 40%.
During this identical timeframe, the overall stablecoin supply expanded by approximately 135%, whereas stablecoins stored in Safes on Ethereum increased by merely 11%, and Safe's portion of USDC in circulation decreased from 12.8% down 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 traced many of these concerns back to an insufficient number of independent board members possessing "experienced decision-making" capabilities. He additionally raised allegations of conflicts of interest concerning board member Stefan George's position at Gnosis and the connections of fellow board member Richard Meissner to companies that develop and operate Safe products.
Greenfield disclosed that it had dedicated months to requesting that the foundation reorganize its governance structure, removing George and expanding the board's composition with independent, externally recruited members possessing expertise in areas including finance, risk management and business strategy. The firm is now requesting that the Swiss oversight authority examine the foundation's governance practices and decide whether corrective actions are necessary.