Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has taken a deep dive into token-based decentralized governance, suggesting that existing voting mechanisms are flawed and may be holding the DeFi sector back from realizing its full potential.

In a lengthy blog post published Aug. 16, Buterin stated the crypto community needs to "move beyond coin voting as it exists in its present form.”

Currently, the majority of decentralized finance (DeFi) projects manage their protocol upgrades, reward issuance, and other facets of governance elections where votes are distributed among token holders according to the size of their holdings.

However, many projects have come under fire for allowing their voting process to be dominated by whales holding vast swathes of the governance tokens, allowing them to vote in support of their personal interests.

Buterin highlighted two issues relating to token-based governance, emphasizing the risk of incentives misaligning among community members, and its vulnerability to “vote-buying” and “outright attacks” influencing the outcome of governance votes. He added:

“The most important thing that can be done today is moving away from the idea that coin voting is the only legitimate form of governance decentralization.”

Buterin noted the prevalence of "unbundling," whereby “vote-buying” can be achieved and governance systems can be manipulated by borrowing on crypto collateral and using the tokenized assets to vote.

In the context of unbundling, “the borrower has governance power without economic interest, and the lender has economic interest without governance power,” he added.

Looking beyond token-based governance, Buterin advocated the exploration of “Proof-of-Humanity”-based governance systems where one vote is allocated per each of a protocol’s users.

Buterin also offered “Proof-of-Participation” as a possible solution, where voting is limited to the users of a protocol that have contributed work to the benefit of a project or its community, suggesting voting rights could be exclusively distributed to addresses that complete a specific task.

Ethereum’s co-founder also suggested quadratic voting — where the power of a single voter is proportional to the square root of the economic resources that they commit to a decision — could offer unique solutions to decentralized governance.

He also suggests a “skin in the game” approach that makes individual voters responsible for their decisions, stating:

“Coin voting fails because while voters are collectively accountable for their decisions (if everyone votes for a terrible decision, everyone's coins drop to zero), each voter is not individually accountable.”


Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers.

Recommended content


Recommended Content

Editors’ Picks

Litecoin Price Prediction: LTC tries to retake $100 resistance as miners halt sell-off

Litecoin Price Prediction: LTC tries to retake $100 resistance as miners halt sell-off

Litecoin price grazed 105 mark on Monday, rebounding 22% from the one-month low of $87 recorded during last week’s market crash. On-chain data shows sell pressure among LTC miners has subsided. Is the bottom in?  

More Litecoin News
Bitcoin fails to recover as Metaplanet buys the dip

Bitcoin fails to recover as Metaplanet buys the dip

Bitcoin price struggles around $95,000 after erasing gains from Friday’s relief rally over the weekend. Bitcoin’s weekly price chart posts the first major decline since President-elect Donald Trump’s win in November.

More Bitcoin News
SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce sheds light on Ethereum ETF staking under new administration

SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce sheds light on Ethereum ETF staking under new administration

In a Friday interview with Coinage, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce discussed her optimism about upcoming regulatory changes as the agency transitions to new leadership under President Trump’s pick for new Chair, Paul Atkins.

More Cryptocurrencies News
Bitcoin dives 3% from its recent all-time high, is this the cycle top?

Bitcoin dives 3% from its recent all-time high, is this the cycle top?

Bitcoin investors panicked after the Fed's hawkish rate cut decision, hitting the market with high selling pressure. Bitcoin's four-year market cycle pattern indicates that the recent correction could be temporary.

More Bitcoin News
Bitcoin: 2025 outlook brightens on expectations of US pro-crypto policy

Bitcoin: 2025 outlook brightens on expectations of US pro-crypto policy

Bitcoin price has surged more than 140% in 2024, reaching the $100K milestone in early December. The rally was driven by the launch of Bitcoin Spot ETFs in January and the reduced supply following the fourth halving event in April.

Read full analysis
Best Forex Brokers with Low Spreads

Best Forex Brokers with Low Spreads

VERIFIED Low spreads are crucial for reducing trading costs. Explore top Forex brokers offering competitive spreads and high leverage. Compare options for EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, and Gold.

Read More

BTC

ETH

XRP