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Voting Process

StakeWise is governed entirely by its community. Anyone can propose changes to the protocol, and SWISE holders decide whether to adopt them. The sections below describe how an idea becomes a governance vote.

Governance Process​

Every proposal moves through three phases:

Phase 1: Ideation​

Anyone can start the process by posting an idea in the Ideas category with the phase-1 tag. The goal of this phase is to refine the idea through community discussion and stakeholder feedback. There is no formal threshold to move forward, only the need for visible community support.

Phase 2: Specification​

Once an idea has been refined, the proposer writes it up as a formal StakeWise Improvement Proposal (SWIP) using the template below and posts it in the Proposals category with the phase-2 tag. An informal forum poll then measures DAO sentiment over 5 days. To advance to Phase 3, the poll must close with more votes in favor than against; otherwise the proposal is dismissed.

IconSWIP Template

Every formal proposal posted in the Proposals category follows this structure:

  • Executive summary: a short, plain-language overview of what the proposal does.
  • Motivation: the problem the proposal solves and why it matters.
  • Specification: the precise details of the proposed change.
  • Considerations: risks, trade-offs, and alternative approaches.
  • Vote and discussion: the question put to the DAO and room for community discussion.

For a real example, see SWIP-40 ↗.

Phase 3: Snapshot​

A Snapshot vote opens for 7 days, during which SWISE holders cast their votes. The SWIP is updated with a link to the vote and the phase-3 tag to signal that DAO action is required.

  • Submission threshold: anyone holding at least 1,000,000 SWISE can submit a proposal and start the Snapshot vote.
  • Passing conditions: the proposal passes only if YES votes exceed NO votes and at least 3,000,000 SWISE participate in total.

On-Chain Execution​

Not every proposal has on-chain effects; some are signaling-only. Proposals that do include on-chain actions are secured by a bonding mechanism that guarantees execution matches the Snapshot result.

Execution moves through four steps:

Step 1: Bond Submission​

After the Snapshot vote ends, anyone can post a 1,000,000 SWISE bond asserting the vote's outcome (for example, "the vote ended YES"). This submission opens the escalation game.

Step 2: The Escalation Game​

A 24-hour countdown begins. During that window, anyone who disagrees with the submitted answer can challenge it by posting the opposite answer, but they must put up double the previous bond. Every challenge resets the 24-hour timer and doubles the required bond again:

1M SWISE → 2M → 4M → 8M → …

There is no formal cap; the progression continues until no one challenges within the window. When the timer finally runs out, the last-standing answer wins, and the winning side claims the losing side's bonds.

IconThe Escalation Game, Explained

The escalation game is an economic mechanism for settling disputes about a vote's result. Anyone can challenge an incorrect answer, but each challenge is twice as expensive as the previous one.

Because the community that voted for the true outcome has much greater economic power than any single attacker trying to flip the result, defending the correct answer is always cheaper than overturning it.

Step 3: Multisig Cooldown​

Once the escalation game settles, a 24-hour cooldown begins. During this window, the DAO multisig can reject the result.

Step 4: Execution​

After the cooldown ends:

  • Anyone can execute the vote on-chain (this costs gas).
  • Winning bonders can withdraw their bonds along with those claimed from the losing side.
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