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Curated List
Quick Take
A DAO is an organization governed by code and token holder votes. Launching one requires a 3-phase governance framework: Pre-DAO (launch to $25M TVL — multi-sig governance with transparent decisions), Partial Governance ($25M–$100M TVL — on-chain governance with multi-sig retaining emergency authority, Governor Bravo or OpenZeppelin Governor with 48-hour delay + 7-day voting + 48-hour timelock), and Full DAO ($100M+ TVL — all significant protocol decisions through governance). Minimum token supply for genuine decentralization: 10,000+ token holders, no single address > 10%.
DAO Governance Framework
Phase 1: Pre-DAO (Launch to $25M TVL)
Multi-sig governance: 3-of-5 Gnosis Safe holds all admin keys. Decisions made by founders. Transparent: publicly announce all significant decisions before making them. Community forum for discussion (Discourse or Commonwealth).
This is the correct starting point. "Decentralize when you have something to decentralize" — a DAO with 100 token holders and no TVL has less genuine decentralization than a transparent multi-sig.
Phase 2: Partial Governance ($25M–$100M TVL)
On-chain governance for some decisions; multi-sig retains emergency pause and upgrade authority. Token-weighted votes on: fee parameters, liquidity mining rates, new asset additions.
Governor Bravo or OpenZeppelin Governor. ERC-20 Votes for governance token. 48-hour voting delay + 7-day voting period + 48-hour timelock.
Phase 3: Full DAO ($100M+ TVL)
All significant protocol decisions go through governance. Multi-sig retains only emergency pause authority (with community-visible usage and documentation). Protocol treasury controlled by governance.
Governance Attack Prevention
// Prevent flash loan governance attacks: use historical snapshot
contract MyToken is ERC20Votes {
// ERC20Votes uses checkpointed balances
// Governance reads balanceOf at proposal block, not current
// Flash loan mints tokens that weren't there at proposal time: no governance power
}
// Governor configuration
contract MyGovernor is Governor, GovernorVotesQuorumFraction {
uint256 public constant PROPOSAL_THRESHOLD = 100_000e18; // 100K tokens to propose
uint256 public constant VOTING_DELAY = 7200; // 1 day (in blocks)
uint256 public constant VOTING_PERIOD = 50400; // 1 week (in blocks)
uint256 public constant QUORUM_FRACTION = 4; // 4% of total supply
// TimelockController: 48-hour delay between vote passing and execution
// This gives users time to exit if they disagree with the outcome
}Treasury Management
Treasury composition (mature DAO):
50% stablecoins (USDC/USDC-equivalent): operating expenses, grants
30% protocol tokens (own token, vested): ecosystem incentives
20% diversified assets (ETH, major DeFi tokens): long-term value
Treasury governance policy:
Small disbursements (<$50K): delegated to Core Team multi-sig, reported monthly
Medium disbursements ($50K–$500K): Simple governance vote (4-day proposal + 7-day voting)
Large disbursements (>$500K): Full governance process + mandatory community discussion period