Governance

The ZippyChain on-chain DAO governance is a process by which the ZippyChain community members can create and vote on proposals that minimize the cost of blockchain upgrades. The following describes the scope of these proposals for the ZippyChain on-chain governance:

• Changes to the blockchain parameters, for example, the epoch duration, and the minimum required and maximum allowed validator stake.

• Changes to the core blockchain code.

• Upgrades to the ZippyChain modules for fixing bugs or for adding or enhancing the ZippyChain functionality.

• Deploying new modules.

How a proposal becomes ready to be resolved:

• The ZippyChain community can suggest a ZippyChain Improvement Proposal (ZIP) in the Zippy Foundation ZIP GitHub.

• When appropriate, an on-chain proposal can be created for the ZIP via the zippy_governance module.

• Voters can then vote on this proposal on-chain via the zippy_governance module. If there is sufficient support for a proposal, then it can be resolved.

• Governance requires a minimal number of votes to be cast by an expiration threshold. However, if sufficient votes, more than 50% of the total supply, are accumulated prior to that threshold, the proposal can be executed without waiting for the full voting period.

Who can propose:

• To either propose or vote, you must stake, but you are not required to run a validator node. However, we recommend that you run a validator with a stake as part of the validator set to gain rewards from your stake.

• To create a proposal, the proposer’s backing stake pool must have the minimum required proposer stake. The proposer’s stake must be locked up for at least as long as the proposal’s voting period. This is to avoid potential spam proposals.

• Proposers can create a proposal by calling zippy_governance::create_proposal.

Who can vote:

• To vote, you must stake, though you are not required to run a validator node. Your voting power is derived from the backing stake pool.

• Voting power is calculated based on the current epoch’s active stake of the proposer or voter’s backing stake pool. In addition, the stake pool’s lockup must be at least as long as the proposal’s duration.

Verify proposals before voting. Ensure each proposal is linked to its source code, and if there is a corresponding ZIP, the ZIP is in the title and description.

Who can resolve:

• Anyone can resolve an on-chain proposal that has passed voting requirements by using the ZippyChain governance execute-proposal command from Zippy CLI.

ZippyChain Improvement Proposals (ZIPs)

ZIPs are proposals created by the ZippyChain community or the Zippy Labs team to improve the operations and development of the ZippyChain. To submit a ZIP, create an issue in Zippy Foundation's GitHub repository using the template To keep up with new ZIPs, check the #zip-announcements channel on ZippyChain’ discord channel. To view and vote on on-chain proposals, go to ZippyChain' Governance website.

Technical Implementation of ZippyChain Governance

The majority of the governance logic is in zippy_governance.sol and voting.sol. The zippy_governance module outlines how users can interact with ZippyChain Governance. It’s the external-facing module of the ZippyChain on-chain governance process and contains logic and checks that are specific to ZippyChain Governance. The voting module is the ZippyChain governance standard that can be used by DAOs on the ZippyChain to create their own on-chain governance process.

If you are thinking about creating a DAO on ZippyChain, you can refer to zippy_governance’s usage of the voting module as an example. In zippy_governance, we rely on the voting module to create, vote on, and resolve a proposal.

• Ecosystem governance model (Decentralized Autonomous Organization, DAO).

• Decision-making processes (on-chain voting, proposal submission).

• Community incentive mechanisms.