---
type: entity
entity_type: company
name: FairScale
domain: internet-finance
status: defunct
founded: 2026-01
---

# FairScale

**Type:** Solana reputation infrastructure project  
**Status:** Defunct (liquidated February 2026)  
**Governance:** Futarchy via MetaDAO Combinator Trade  

## Overview

FairScale was a Solana-based reputation infrastructure project that raised ~$355,600 from 219 contributors via Star.fun in January 2026. The project immediately placed its $FAIR token under futarchy governance via Combinator Trade. It collapsed within weeks amid revenue misrepresentation allegations, becoming a key case study in early-stage futarchy failure modes.

## Timeline

- **2026-01-23** — Raised ~$355,600 from 219 contributors via Star.fun; team accepted $300,000
- **2026-01-23** — Token launched at 640K FDV under futarchy governance
- **2026-01-26** — Token fell to 220K within three days
- **2026-02-13** — Token reached 140K low (concurrent with SOL falling from $127 to $88)
- **2026-02** — Community verification revealed revenue misrepresentation: TigerPay claimed ~17K euros/month but no payment arrangement existed; Streamflow detailed pricing breakdown called "internal error" by team
- **2026-02** — Liquidation proposal submitted by major token holder based on revenue misrepresentation allegations
- **2026-02** — Liquidation proposal passed by narrow margin; 100% treasury liquidation authorized
- **2026-02** — Liquidation proposer earned ~300% return

- **2026-02** — Passed: 100% treasury liquidation authorized based on revenue misrepresentation; proposer earned ~300% return
- **2026-02-15** — Pine Analytics publishes post-mortem analysis documenting that all three proposed design fixes (milestone verification, dispute resolution, contributor whitelisting) reintroduce off-chain trust assumptions

## Related Claims

- [[futarchy-governed liquidation is the enforcement mechanism that makes unruggable ICOs credible because investors can force full treasury return when teams materially misrepresent]] — FairScale is the primary case study for this mechanism
- [[ownership coins primary value proposition is investor protection not governance quality because anti-rug enforcement through market-governed liquidation creates credible exit guarantees that no amount of decision optimization can match]] — FairScale liquidation as proof of enforcement mechanism

## Revenue Misrepresentation Details

- **TigerPay:** Claimed ~17K euros/month → community verification found no payment arrangement
- **Streamflow:** Detailed pricing breakdown provided ($1K baseline, $0.10/wallet) → team called it "internal error"
- All named partners confirmed integrations but denied payment structures
- Projected $10K MRR by February and $20K by March — neither materialized

## Significance

FairScale became the primary case study for analyzing futarchy manipulation resistance failure at small scale. Pine Analytics identified the "implicit put option problem" where below-NAV tokens attract external liquidation capital more reliably than corrective buying from informed defenders. The case demonstrates that futarchy's manipulation resistance requires scope qualifiers about liquidity and verifiability of decision inputs.

## Sources

- Pine Analytics, "The FairScale Saga: A Case Study in Early-Stage Futarchy" (2026-02-26)
