Finance05 October, 20262 min read
Greenfield Capital Asks Switzerland’s ESA To Intervene In Safe Ecosystem Foundation Governance Dispute
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Greenfield Capital filed supervisory complaint with Switzerland’s foundation regulator to change Safe Ecosystem Foundation board. The move follows months of failed direct engagement with Safe Ecosystem Foundation over governance concerns.
6 outlets told this the same way.
Complaint to FINMA
Greenfield Capital asked Switzerland’s foundation regulator, the Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA), to intervene in a governance dispute involving the Safe Ecosystem Foundation. Jascha Samadi said Greenfield had concluded, after “more than a year of research, dialogue and patience,” that “Safe will not reach its potential under its current governance.” Greenfield said it filed the supervisory complaint after months of engagement with the Safe Ecosystem Foundation failed to resolve its concerns about board composition and independent voices.
Greenfield framed the dispute as a governance problem that could affect Safe’s value and stability, while Safe targeted break-even and a doubling of revenue in 2026. The Safe Ecosystem Foundation, founded in 2022, had not issued an official response to the intervention request, according to bitcoin.es.
Numbers and performance
Greenfield said Safe reported more than $10 million in project-wide annualized revenue at the end of 2025 and outlined an ambition to reach $100 million in annual recurring revenue by 2030. Greenfield pointed to $1.98 million in second-quarter revenue, which it described as an annualized run rate of $8 million, and it said that figure was far below the $20 million expectation for 2026. Samadi said that between January 2024 and August 2026, the total value held in Safe accounts fell from $66 billion to $30 billion, declining more than 50%, while total DeFi total value locked grew 40%.
Greenfield also said 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%. Greenfield argued that Safe was losing ground despite growth in the broader crypto market, and it linked that underperformance to governance choices it said were not delivering results.
Board independence at issue
Greenfield said it spent months asking the foundation to restructure its governance by replacing Stefan George and expanding the board with independent, externally recruited members with expertise in finance, risk management and business strategy. Samadi alleged conflicts of interest tied to Stefan George’s role at Gnosis and to Richard Meissner’s ties to companies developing and operating Safe products. Greenfield said it was increasingly concerned about the lack of independent voices on the foundation board since early 2025, and it argued that the current governance would not reach Safe’s goals.
Greenfield’s complaint asked the Swiss watchdog to examine the foundation’s governance and determine whether corrective measures were needed, after it said proposals to include community representatives were rejected or ignored. bitcoin.es said Greenfield’s request sought FINMA to examine the Safe Ecosystem Foundation’s governance structure and determine whether there were violations of transparency and fairness standards that might require intervention.