The price of Across Protocol's native token, ACX, surged by approximately 85% following a landmark governance proposal that could see the project transition from a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to a traditional U.S. C-corporation. The token's price jumped to around $0.063, lifting its market capitalization to nearly $45 million.
Market activity exploded alongside the price surge. Daily trading volume skyrocketed over 3,000% to roughly $51.7 million. In the derivatives market, trading volume surged over 7,700% to $138 million, while open interest increased by around 950% to $20 million, indicating a massive influx of new speculative positions.
The proposal, titled "The Bridge Across," was submitted on March 11, 2026, to the Across governance forum by Risk Labs, the protocol's core development group. It outlines a plan to form a new entity, tentatively called AcrossCo, which would take over development, partnerships, commercialization, and hold the protocol's intellectual property.
The proposal offers ACX holders two distinct paths. The first is a 1:1 token-to-equity swap, where each ACX token would be exchanged for one share in AcrossCo. Holders with more than 5 million ACX could convert directly, while smaller holders would participate through a special purpose vehicle. The second option is a buyout offer of $0.04375 per ACX, paid in USDC, representing a roughly 25% premium over the token's average price from the previous 30 days. This buyout window would remain open for six months if the proposal passes, funded by the protocol's liquid treasury.
The primary motivation for the shift is to overcome institutional barriers. The team argues that the DAO structure creates friction when trying to sign enforceable contracts, establish liability frameworks, and negotiate commercial agreements with traditional partners. "The type of agreements that would drive the next phase of growth require a structure that a DAO, today, simply cannot provide," the proposal states.
Co-founder Hart Lambur indicated that if community sentiment from this initial "temperature check" is positive, a formal governance vote could occur in early April. The underlying cross-chain bridging infrastructure, which has processed over $35 billion in volume, would continue to operate permissionlessly. The protocol is backed by investors including Paradigm, which led a $41 million funding round with participation from Bain Capital Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, and Multicoin Capital.
