Top cryptocurrency news: Ethereum founder speaks against transferable governance, community responds

29-Jul-2022 By: Anirudh Trivedi

As decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) gain popularity in the blockchain world, the governance debate heats up.

The conflict between granting authority to a selected few and the flexibility to voluntarily transfer decision power was emphasized in a Twitter debate started by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin.

Buterin brought up an old adage in a tweet, stating that power-hungry people are unfit to govern. The Ethereum founder emphasized that the statement can be extended to DAOs and said that DAOs with transferable governance tokens violate the entire concept of DAOs. Buterin observed that transferring governance empowers those seeking power.

While the Ethereum founder makes a reasonable point, others have expressed contrasting views. In response, Twitter user Muki pointed out that delegating decision-making authority is unavoidable. According to the community member, expecting everyone to engage is unrealistic, and voluntarily delegation of decision power is preferable to making rash decisions or not engaging at all.

Willyogo, a Twitter user, added to the debate by saying that owning transferrable governance tokens does not imply a desire to rule others. However, the community member also stated that there is definitely room for improvement in the voting procedures of DAOs.

Another Twitter user, also jumped in, noting that having completely recallable delegates is a good approach to move forward. According to this theory, the delegates chosen might lose their power the minute they stop representing those who delegated votes to them.

While others focused on governance mechanisms, some highlighted the use of blockchain-based technology, such as employing verified randomization to choose critical roles in a DAO. Another member of the community recommended picking token holders at random and rotating them when there is no on-chain activity.

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