What is a governance token?
Intro to governance tokens
Un token de gobernanza es un tipo de criptomoneda que pretende democratizar la gestión de aplicaciones descentralizadas (DApp) y otros protocolos basados en blockchain.
Para que las aplicaciones y plataformas estén realmente descentralizadas, los equipos fundadores y los desarrolladores deben ceder el control parcial o total de sus proyectos a sus respectivas comunidades de usuarios distribuidos globalmente.
Ceder el control significa permitir que la comunidad proponga o vote decisiones clave que afectan al futuro del protocolo, por ejemplo, cómo deben gastarse los fondos de la tesorería y qué nuevas características del protocolo deben implementarse.
Los tokens de gobernanza permiten a una comunidad tener un impacto directo en la gestión estratégica de un proyecto de criptomoneda.
Para garantizar que solo los miembros honestos de la comunidad participen en el proceso, los tokens de gobernanza proporcionan derecho de voto a sus poseedores. Por lo general, un token de gobernanza equivale a un voto, lo que significa que quienes poseen un mayor número de tokens de gobernanza tienen una mayor capacidad para influir en la futura evolución de un proyecto que quienes poseen menos tokens.
Why do governance tokens have value?
Many governance tokens have a limited supply. This fact makes them more valuable to existing and new users who want to have more influence in the governance process of a particular blockchain project.
Uniswap and MakerDAO's governance tokens (UNI and MKR respectively) for example, have both experienced strong price rallies in the past, as have a number of other prominent DAO-based tokens.
While some of these rallies may have been short-lived, they also may illustrate the perceived value of being able to cast a vote in the future strategic decision making of an emerging technology platform.
How do governance tokens work?
The governance of blockchain protocols and dApps are most often managed through the use of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs).
A DAO is a type of organization that is run through a set of mutually agreed upon rules encoded as computer programs called smart contracts. The smart contracts allows these rules to be automatically enforced on a blockchain network. It is through smart contracts that DAOs are able to operate without a central authority or third-party intermediary.
The rules of the smart contract are validated and maintained by a computer algorithm referred to as a consensus mechanism. Consensus mechanisms help to maintain agreement between all participants. Consensus mechanisms achieve this in a decentralized way — without relying on a centralized intermediary to foster agreement across the network.
The goal of a DAO is to create an autonomous, self-sustaining organization that is able to make decisions and execute transactions without the need for a single intermediaries' intervention.
Smart contracts are also used in governance to ensure that votes are recorded correctly and the outcomes of each decision are enacted once votes have been submitted. All of this is accomplished thanks to the publicly available parameters of the blockchain network, rather than the private decisions of a single intermediary.
For example, a governance proposal vote might involve a decision on whether or not to burn (permanently remove) a set amount of a protocol’s native token from circulation. In this scenario, a smart contract would be created to automatically burn the tokens in the event a majority of governance token holders voted in favor of the proposal.
In this case, both the parameters of the vote, and the execution of the outcome of that vote, can be managed in a decentralized way as all information is transparently maintained on a blockchain.
How do you get governance tokens?
There are two main ways a person can acquire governance tokens:
- Purchase governance tokens.
- Earn governance tokens.
Purchase governance tokens
Many governance tokens can be purchased from platforms on the secondary market or during initial token offerings.
Initial token offerings are conceptually similar to initial public offerings in traditional finance, and involve the early sale or presale of governance tokens ahead of a protocol’s official launch.
Additionally, some protocols require users to purchase and stake native tokens in order to receive governance tokens.
For Curve, one of the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, users must first buy CRV tokens and lock them up in order to generate veCRV governance tokens in return.
Earn governance tokens
Another way of ensuring only honest, committed users participate in the governance of a protocol is by awarding tokens to users through airdrops for reaching certain usage milestones or completing certain activities within a protocol.
A well-known example of this was when Uniswap – a leading decentralized exchange – decided to airdrop over one billion dollars worth of its governance token, UNI, to anyone who had interacted with the platform prior to September 2020. 400 UNI tokens were freely distributed to each person, worth approximately $1,200 at the time.
Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Rarible also airdropped a sizable portion of its governance token, RARI, to anyone who had previously used its platform or purchased and owned an NFT.
How do you vote with governance tokens?
Aunque el proceso varía ligeramente de una plataforma a otra, existen tres partes principales para emitir votos usando tokens de gobernanza.
- Tokens de gobernanza: Los posibles votantes deben comprar y poseer una cantidad de tokens de gobernanza nativos.
- Foro de gobernanza: Cada plataforma tendrá su propio tablón de comentarios, donde se mostrarán las propuestas activas.
- Staking: Para empezar a votar, los tokens de gobernanza deben estar bloqueados dentro de un contrato inteligente o delegados. Mientras estén bloqueados, no se podrá acceder a los tokens para hacer trading con ellos.
Una vez que haya adquirido una determinada cantidad de tokens de gobernanza, deberá dirigirse a la plataforma de la DAO que desee y conectar su monedero digital de criptomonedas. En el caso de los proyectos basados en gobernanza más importantes, como Uniswap, se pedirá a los usuarios que conecten su MetaMask o WalletConnect.
En este ejemplo, también se pueden presentar nuevas propuestas para que la comunidad las vote haciendo clic en el botón "Crear propuesta".
La gobernanza de MakerDAO sigue un método similar. Los usuarios conectan su monedero al visitar el portal de votación del proyecto.
Algunas plataformas ofrecen a los usuarios la posibilidad de delegar su voto en personas de confianza dentro de la comunidad. Puede tratarse de contactos o de personas voluntarias que figuran en la plataforma y que votan en nombre de la persona que les delega el voto.
Las propuestas activas pueden tener un umbral mínimo de votos que deben emitirse antes de que estas puedan aprobarse o una vez transcurrido un período de tiempo asignado. Este tipo de parámetros tienen como objetivo garantizar que la comunidad es capaz de llegar conjuntamente a un consenso y que se alcanza el cuórum.
Examples of governance tokens
There are several governance tokens available to buy, trade, and sell on Kraken today.
Learn more about how you can acquire these tokens and take part in their strategic decision making process by checking out the Kraken price pages below:
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