Greenfield Capital Files Swiss Regulatory Complaint Against Safe Ecosystem Foundation Amid Growing Governance Dispute

Greenfield Capital, a prominent investor in the web3 infrastructure project Safe, has escalated a prolonged internal disagreement by filing a formal supervisory complaint with Switzerland’s federal foundation watchdog. The legal and regulatory move seeks to force comprehensive changes to the leadership of the Safe Ecosystem Foundation after more than a year of private engagement failed to resolve mounting concerns over corporate governance, independent oversight, and overall market performance.

In a detailed open letter addressed to the broader Safe community, Greenfield founding partner Jascha Samadi announced that the firm took the step of petitioning Switzerland’s Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA) following months of growing frustration. Samadi explained that his firm had grown increasingly concerned about the strategic trajectory and operational health of Safe since early 2025, pointing specifically to lagging performance metrics relative to the broader cryptocurrency market and a conspicuous absence of independent voices within the foundation’s governing board.

According to Samadi, the decision to involve Swiss regulatory authorities was not made lightly. After more than twelve months of intensive research, constructive dialogue, and institutional patience, the investment firm arrived at the firm conclusion that Safe simply cannot reach its full market potential under its current governance structure and leadership configuration.

In response to the developments, a spokesperson for the Safe Ecosystem Foundation, Samuel Akpan, stated that the foundation has not yet received any formal inquiry or notification from the ESA, declining to comment further on the specific details or merits of the potential regulatory complaint.

The public governance dispute arrives at a critical juncture for the project, as Safe navigates an ambitious commercial roadmap aimed at achieving break-even financial status and doubling its revenue streams throughout 2026. Earlier in February, the project publicly reported pulling in more than $10 million in project-wide annualized revenue by the conclusion of 2025. Furthermore, leadership outlined an ambitious long-term strategic vision targeting an impressive $100 million in annual recurring revenue by the year 2030, highlighting the expanding commercial viability of its decentralized custody solutions.

Greenfield Questions Safe’s Revenue Growth and Market Share

Despite the optimistic financial targets laid out by project leadership for the coming years, Greenfield Capital’s assessment of Safe’s current financial reality paints a far more conservative and cautionary picture. The investment firm drew sharp attention to the project’s second-quarter revenue figures, which registered at $1.98 million. This performance translates to an annualized run rate of approximately $8 million, a figure that Greenfield notes falls drastically short of the projected $20 million expectation that leadership has set for 2026.

The critique extends far beyond top-line revenue figures, with Greenfield arguing that Safe is steadily losing vital ground and market share despite a rapidly expanding broader cryptocurrency market environment. Providing comparative data to illustrate the scope of the decline, Samadi pointed out that between January 2024 and August 2026, the total value of digital assets held securely within Safe accounts experienced a steep downward trajectory, falling from $66 billion down to $30 billion. This represents a contraction of more than 50% over a two-and-a-half-year span.

During that exact same operational window, the total value locked across the broader decentralized finance ecosystem grew by roughly 40%, highlighting a stark divergence between Safe’s trajectory and the wider industry’s growth patterns.

Macroeconomic and sector indicators within the stablecoin economy further compounded Greenfield’s concerns. Over the same multi-year period, the total circulating supply of stablecoins across the crypto economy expanded by approximately 135%. In stark contrast, stablecoin balances held inside Safe accounts on the Ethereum network grew by a meager 11%. More critically, Safe’s market share of USD Coin in active circulation plummeted from 12.8% down to just 2.5%.

Emphasizing the gravity of these performance metrics, Samadi noted that in the very sector of the blockchain economy that has experienced the most explosive growth—and one where professional self-custody infrastructure is theoretically best positioned to capture market share—Safe has consistently lost ground for thirty consecutive months.

Greenfield attributes many of these underlying structural deficiencies and underperformances directly to what it characterizes as a profound lack of independent board members possessing objective, experienced decision-making capabilities. Specifically, the investor’s critique highlighted potential conflicts of interest within the current leadership structure. The firm pointed to board member Stefan George and his ongoing professional roles associated with Gnosis, as well as fellow board member Richard Meissner, whose professional ties link him directly to entities actively developing and operating core Safe products.

To rectify these perceived structural imbalances, Greenfield revealed that it has spent months formally requesting that the foundation radically restructure its governance framework. These proposals included replacing George and expanding the board significantly by bringing in independent, externally recruited members who possess deep professional expertise in corporate finance, institutional risk management, and long-term business strategy. Having exhausted private negotiation channels, the firm is now asking the Swiss foundation watchdog to conduct a comprehensive examination of the foundation’s administrative practices and determine whether mandatory corrective regulatory measures are required to protect the ecosystem’s future.