[GP-4] Governance Reform Proposal

Summary

This proposal aims to carry out a governance reform in order to enhance the efficiency of the DAO by making adjustments to the governance process.

Context/Background:

​​The Seamless DAO and Governance system has been fully operational for over 4 months, during which dozens of governance proposals have been deliberated within the community through platforms like Discourse and Discord. Notably, many proposals have seen offchain Snapshot labs signaling votes, with six proposals having progressed to full on-chain voting (and execution). This has resulted in community initiatives like the Seamless Community Grants Program and Seamless Spark as well as numerous protocol parameter updates.

However, these experiences have highlighted the need for additional pathways for off-chain governance actions, such as nominating SCGP committee members. Moreover, the lengthy governance process, particularly for basic administrative updates like borrow/supply caps adjustments, has been acknowledged. Looking at the operational histories of other DeFi liquidity market protocols, it is expected that such governance proposals will persist or even increase in frequency.

Therefore, a comprehensive review of the governance proposal processes is recommended, along with the following proposed reforms for community consideration and voting to streamline and enhance the current governance model.

Proposal:

This governance reform proposal focuses across four areas:

1. Introduction of a governance category that requires offchain snapshot voting, ONLY - i.e. General Proposals (GPs)
2. For Protocol Change Proposals (PCPs) and Governance Change Proposals (GCPs) - the removal of offchain component and utilizing the onchain voting mechanism, ONLY
3. Suspension of the Fast-track procedure

Introduction of General Proposals (GPs)

A new governance category is proposed to be added to the current governance structure. General Proposals (or GPs) are governance proposals that are fit for only an offchain vote on Snapshot Labs. Quorum will be set to 1 million SEAM and a simple majority is required to have been considered as “passed”. This will be utilized for various offchain initiatives such as nominating SCGP committee members, or other future special initiatives that do not have an onchain component. In cases where there are protocol changes or other similar onchain changes, the normal onchain governance process will be utilized.

Reform PCPs and GCPs to onchain voting component, ONLY

It is proposed that Protocol Change Proposals and Governace Change Proposals no longer utilize Snapshot Labs for offchain signaling prior to an onchain vote. Rather, the process proceeds from discussion in Discourse, with optional signaling via Discord or Discourse polls. If a discussion has passed previously outline parameters AND has enough delegated voting power to form an onchain proposal, then it is permissible for a proposal to proceed directly to an onchain vote. The low voting costs on Base Layer 2 and high quality of proposals so far mean the signaling and spam filter nature of offchain signaling prior to onchain voting is obsolete for the protocol’s current needs. This allows for a more streamlined onchain voting process.

Suspension of the Fast-track procedure

The implementation of a new governance process will enable the DAO to address proposals within a timeframe as expedited as 7 days, mirroring the efficiency of the current fast-track procedure. Consequently, should the current proposal pass, the fast-track procedure will be discontinued.

PS. Additional part of this proposal concerning "Creation of of special purpose community-run multisigs to handle (very) limited low-security risk responsibilities" will be put separately to an on-chain Tally vote.