On-chain Governance
Governance is at the heart of what defines us. Our goal is to make participation easy, effective, and fair, experimenting with different on-chain governance frameworks that give citizens real influence over the DAO’s evolution.
Our governance mechanisms combine token-based, Sowellian, and Futarchy models, all powered by the $ISLAND token.
This multi-framework approach makes IslandDAO the first DAO to experiment with all three systems in parallel, pioneering new ways of achieving decentralized decision-making.
Governance Participation
Section titled “Governance Participation”All $ISLAND token holders are eligible to participate in IslandDAO governance.
Voting power is directly proportional to the amount of $ISLAND held or locked within Realms, enabling open and community-driven decision-making.
- To vote: Deposit $ISLAND tokens onto Realms to receive voting power. You can cast a Yes or No vote on active proposals.
- To propose: You must have a minimum of 100,000 $ISLAND tokens deposited as voting power to create a new proposal on Realms.
IslandDAO operates a hybrid governance model:
- Multi-Sig Voting — Managed by a five-member Council, elected by the community. Each council member holds a unique Council Token that enables voting on multi-sig proposals and hardcoded veto power to block malicious or security-risk proposals.
- Token-Based Voting — Open to all citizens via Realms, with defined quorum and approval thresholds.
Token-Based Governance
IslandDAO uses the open-source SPL Governance smart contract on Solana, accessed through the Realms interface.
Here, $ISLAND tokens are deposited to vote on proposals related to:
- Treasury management
- Community initiatives
- Council elections and governance upgrades
We use a VSR (Vote Stake Registry) plugin, allowing members to optionally lock their tokens for a set period and receive a voting power multiplier based on the duration of the lock-up.
All votes and results are recorded transparently on-chain.
Sowellian Governance
Sowellian Governance introduces a prediction-based model where citizens bond $ISLAND tokens to propose ideas and attach measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
Members place one-way YES or NO bets (using $ISLAND) that remain locked until the proposal settles.
If quorum is met and YES outweighs NO, the proposed action is executed. After the evaluation window, the KPI outcome determines the winning side.
Losing stakes are redistributed pro-rata to the winners, with a small rake directed to the treasury.
IslandDAO is the first community to implement Sowellian Governance in practice, expanding the boundaries of how decentralized decision-making can function.
Futarchy
Futarchy enables the DAO to trade on the expected outcomes of proposals using $ISLAND.
Instead of voting directly, members buy and sell outcome tokens in a prediction market that reflects their confidence in a proposal’s success.
When the market resolves, the proposal associated with the higher-value outcome is automatically enacted.
This approach allows governance to align with collective intelligence rather than simple majority votes.
Treasury Overview
Section titled “Treasury Overview”IslandDAO’s treasury is held securely within the Realms smart contract, divided into distinct accounts for transparency and operational clarity.
Each wallet is governed on-chain through token-based proposals and subject to council oversight.
| Treasury | Address |
|---|---|
| IslandDAO Treasury | 7A6CrNWAFFBpQTBRo5fULibqqB3MouNLgbVBf8D3MJAx |
| Community Reserve ($ISLAND) | DY9NzNSbbDJk4NYXN2TBMkF8oBbZaq7UYSy3VzKcviNS |
| Liquidity Reserve ($ISLAND) | EZ3V9DRoUpewNyNTyG3ya7TiPwe27XGDCgFHgfXNprJX |
| Strategic Reserve ($ISLAND) | FThth1Uwkw1JJKMkKohpgiEshYKZojMpfhGHMf2rLZNR |
The IslandDAO Governance Ethos
Section titled “The IslandDAO Governance Ethos”Governance at IslandDAO is not static — it’s a living system that evolves with the community.
We treat governance as a continuous experiment, blending on-chain mechanics with social consensus to achieve coordination at scale.
Every citizen has the right — and the responsibility — to participate in shaping the DAO’s direction, ensuring IslandDAO remains transparent, accountable, and collectively owned.