Docs & whitepaper
Technical reference
Smart-contract building blocks behind DAO governance, a working glossary, and trusted public tools.
Reference architecture
This is a generic model of a token-governed protocol, useful for reading any DAO's documentation. It is not the specification of a particular project.
TOKENVotes tokenCheckpointed balances & delegation
GOVERNORGovernorProposals, voting, counting
TIMELOCKTimelockDelay, then execute
TARGETSTreasury & protocolOwned by the timelock
Core contracts
| Component | Responsibility | Key functions (typical) |
|---|---|---|
| Votes token | Tracks historical voting power | delegate(), getPastVotes() |
| Governor | Creates and tallies proposals | propose(), castVote(), state() |
| Timelock | Delays and executes actions | schedule(), execute() |
| Multisig (Safe) | M-of-N custody / Snapshot execution | execTransaction() |
For implementation details, see the OpenZeppelin Governance documentation.
Security notes
- Voting power should be read from a past block to block flash-loan voting.
- The timelock, not an EOA, should own privileged roles.
- Set proposal thresholds and quorum so a cheap token purchase can't pass proposals.
- Consider a guardian or veto role for emergencies — and a plan to remove it.
Public tools
Snapshot ↗
Off-chain gasless voting.
Tally ↗
Interface for on-chain governors.
Safe ↗
Multisig smart-account wallet.
DefiLlama ↗
TVL and protocol analytics.
Glossary
- DAO
- Decentralised autonomous organisation — a group governed by on-chain rules and token or membership voting.
- Governance token
- A token that grants voting rights over a protocol or treasury.
- Delegation
- Assigning your voting power to another address without transferring tokens.
- Quorum
- Minimum participation required for a vote to be valid.
- Proposal threshold
- Voting power required to submit a proposal.
- Snapshot
- An off-chain, gasless voting tool based on signed messages.
- Voting strategy
- Rules Snapshot uses to compute each wallet's voting power.
- Governor contract
- A smart contract that manages on-chain proposals and votes.
- Timelock
- A contract that enforces a delay before approved actions execute.
- Multisig
- A wallet that requires M-of-N signatures to move funds.
- Signer threshold
- The number of signatures a multisig needs (the “M” in M-of-N).
- Vote escrow (ve)
- Locking tokens for time-weighted, decaying voting power.
- Staked governance token
- A derivative received for staking, used to vote.
- Vesting
- Gradual release of allocated tokens over time.
- Cliff
- A period before any vested tokens unlock.
- Flash loan
- An uncollateralised loan borrowed and repaid in one transaction.
- Governance attack
- Using acquired voting power to pass a malicious proposal.
- Temperature check
- An early, non-binding poll to gauge sentiment.
- Runway
- How many months a treasury can fund operations.
- TVL
- Total value locked — assets deposited in a protocol's contracts.
- Emissions
- New tokens minted over time, often as rewards.
- Veto / guardian
- A role that can cancel malicious proposals, usually a security council.
- Optimistic governance
- Actions pass unless vetoed within a challenge window.
- Rage quit
- A mechanism letting dissenters exit with their share of the treasury.