[DRAFT PROPOSAL] Proposal to Implement Privileged SubDAOs for Enhanced Governance and Responsiveness

General Proposal Discussion
1

Summary

This proposal seeks approval from the main DAO to implement an upgrade allowing the creation of privileged subDAOs. These subDAOs will have the authority to change specific chain parameters, providing a more agile and responsive governance structure while maintaining the overarching authority of the main DAO.

Background

Currently, the main DAO is the sole entity with the permissions to change all chain parameters. While this centralization ensures robust oversight, it also imposes a 2-week voting period on any parameter changes, potentially hindering timely responses to urgent needs. SubDAOs presently function primarily as multisigs holding funds for specific purposes / having the ability to pause specific DAO contracts, without the authority to modify chain parameters.

Introduction of Privileged SubDAOs

The proposed upgrade introduces privileged subDAOs with the ability to modify specific network parameters. These subDAOs will be subject to the following conditions:

  • Privileged subDAOs will have narrowly defined scopes of authority, such as modifying specific parameters of a particular module.
  • The main DAO retains exclusive rights to grant and revoke permissions for any privileged subDAO.
  • Privileged subDAOs will have shorter voting periods and smaller, more specialized memberships to ensure swift decision-making.

Benefits

  1. Enhanced Responsiveness: By empowering privileged subDAOs to make specific parameter changes, the network can swiftly adapt to urgent situations, such as updating the gas prices for non-NTRN denoms.
  2. Focused Expertise: Privileged subDAOs can be composed of members with specialized knowledge, ensuring informed decision-making tailored to specific modules or functions.
  3. Maintained Oversight: The main DAO retains ultimate control by granting and revoking permissions, ensuring that the broader governance framework remains intact and secure.
  4. Operational Efficiency: Shorter voting periods and a more agile governance process will enhance the overall efficiency of network operations.

Implementation Details

  • Chain Manager: a smart contract is introduced to the governance structure which can give either general (”allow all”) of fine-grained permissions to specific addresses, and one of the chain admins in the admin module (alongside the Neutron DAO core contract).
  • Creation and Composition: Privileged subDAOs will be established through a proposal to the main DAO, outlining their specific scope, member composition, and voting procedures.
  • Scope of Authority: Each privileged subDAO’s authority will be limited to predefined parameters, ensuring they operate within their designated boundaries.
  • Governance and Oversight: The main DAO will periodically review the performance and necessity of each privileged subDAO, retaining the right to revoke permissions as needed.

Scope of the current proposal

The following section describes the proposal’s scope in details and provides guidance on how to formally/objectively verify that the description matches the proposal’s executable content.

  1. Give network admin privileges to the Chain Manager contract (keeping the old admin, which is the Neutron DAO core contract). The contract is owned by the Neutron DAO and can be found at neutron1zjgp6ca6n68ar57glrs4r8zffqf9txjcqd3kuls6046a5x7zdvysyrk8jk.
    To verify the contract binary you need to do the following:

    1. Download and build the latest Neutron DAO source codes:

      $ git clone https://github.com/neutron-org/neutron-dao.git
$ cd neutron-dao
$ git checkout v0.9.0
$ make build

    2. Calculate a hashsum of the Neutron Chain Manager contract:

      $ shasum -a 256 artifacts/neutron_chain_manager.wasm
b2d5559176a1c7796f851c3279a1572519f290b5e24804b9e4da40a676c3cbab  artifacts/neutron_chain_manager.wasm

      b2d5559176a1c7796f851c3279a1572519f290b5e24804b9e4da40a676c3cbab - is the hashsum.

    3. Go to a contract page on Celat.one block explorer: Explorer | Celatone Explorer

    4. Click Contract Information → From Code → 2025

    5. After the page is opened you see that Code Hash on Celat.one equals to one you got previously.

  2. Assign an AllowAll strategy to the Neutron DAO core contract address, allowing the DAO to execute any message with no limitations through the Chain Manager. The DAO can still execute any messages bypassing the Chain Manager as The DAO’s core address is still listed as one of the chain admins.

  3. Assign an AllowOnly strategy with a permission to modify the set of allow listed tokenfactory hooks to the Tokenfactory Hooks Multisig (2/3, @Mikhail Mozhaev), which consists of the following members:

    1. Andrei Zavgorodnii | Neutron
    2. Mikhail Mozhaev | Neutron
    3. Kai Tiurin | Drop

    Creation of the Tokenfactory Hooks SubDAO will allow to quickly onboard new projects that require the tokenfactory hooks functionality.

  4. Assign an AllowOnly strategy with a permission to submit Software Upgrade Proposal and Cancel Upgrade Proposal messages to the Expedited Software Upgrades Multisig (2/3, @Mikhail Mozhaev), which consists of the following members:

    1. Andrei Zavgorodnii | Neutron
    2. Mikhail Mozhaev | Neutron
    3. Claimens | CryptoCrew

    The creation of the Expedited Software Upgrades Multisig will allow emergency security upgrades with a halt height that is set globally, making it easier for the validators to halt the network and perform security upgrades in a coordinated manner.

  5. IMPORTANT NOTE 1: the following additional members will be soon added to the Expedited Software Upgrades Multisig to make it a 3/5 multisig:

    1. Barry Plunket - Skip
    2. Andres Monty - Range & Scanworks

  6. IMPORTANT NOTE 2: both multisigs will be migrated to Neutron SubDAOs in the nearest future, which is currently impossible due to the limitations of the timelock contract. After turning into SubDAOs, the Tokenfactory Hooks SubDAO will become timelocked, and the Expedited Software Upgrades SubDAO will remain not timelocked, to allow for a faster response time.

Conclusion

The introduction of privileged subDAOs represents a significant step forward in our governance framework, balancing the need for rapid response capabilities with the overarching control of the main DAO. This proposal seeks to enhance our network’s agility, operational efficiency, and overall governance effectiveness. We urge the main DAO members to approve this upgrade, enabling our network to better meet the demands of a dynamic blockchain environment.

Audits