The New ZK-Rollup DAO Has Some Exciting Features
NIX is transitioning to a new ecosystem called Mute to launch a new ZK-Rollup DEX.
NOTE: This article has been edited in relation to our rebranding announcement, relevant references to ‘NIX’ and ‘NBT’ have been changed to their new names, ‘MUTE’ and ‘VOICE’ respectively.
NBT (NIX Bridge Token) started life as a vehicle for Bridge governance on the legacy platform. With the decision to transition over to a rebranded and more streamlined ZK-Rollup ecosystem, it therefore makes sense for NBT to receive a new name and ticker as it gets a more prominent and deeper integration into being the governance token for not only the ZK-Rollup DEX, but that of the entire upgraded ecosystem. This new name is VOICE, which reflects its standing as a governance token giving users voting power over the Mute DAO.
VOICE— a deflationary governance token
VOICE and MUTE (the new NIX token) work in tandem to create a community governed DAO which will steer the permissionless ZK-Rollup DEX as well as the future direction of the wider ecosystem.
As with similar governance tokens such as YFI (yearn.finance), VOICE has an extremely low circulating/total supply. However, there is no minting capability on VOICE itself — instead it uses a deflationary mechanism driven by the DEX and wider ecosystem. More information will be revealed in a future article on the ecosystem tokenomics. Users can earn additional VOICE by providing liquidity on Uniswap and then staking these LP tokens, with a minor tax on LP token withdrawals getting permanently locked in the liquidity pool, supporting an ever increasing price floor.
How does governance itself operate?
Here we will break down the structure of the on-chain governance system and how the dual tokens enshrine it, firstly by explaining some of the terms and how they will function.
Overview of proposals
Proposals are how VOICE holders bring ideas and suggestions to the table to improve the ecosystem. Putting forward changes and tweaks which benefit the ecosystem and ensure everyone is getting a fair deal. Proposals could range from changing the fees charged on the DEX, a new marketing initiative, or creating and integrating a new DeFi dApp that benefits the ecosystem. The latter two examples would be requesting (in USD value) the minting of new MUTE as funding, and is paid out to the nominated address in MUTE once the proposal is approved.
Once VOICE governance approves a funding/minting request, the VOICE governance contract automatically submits the same proposal to MUTE governance for ratification by MUTE holders of any amount. Only the VOICE governance contract can create MUTE minting proposals. This acts as a failsafe on the minting of new tokens and ensures the integrity of the MUTE supply, providing resilience against bad actors attempting to manipulate the token supply via events such as flash loan attacks.
Governance of specific parameters of the DEX and wider ecosystem is driven solely by holders of VOICE — these types of proposals do not need to pass ratification with MUTE holders This ensures MUTE holders are not seen as overlords of the ecosystem, but are responsible only for token supply integrity checks.
Overview of voting
Using Voice Control — the governance dApp, users can vote on proposals as they are made, or delegate their vote out to a ‘Controller’. Controllers are community figureheads who come to the table with ideas and push the project forward in their specialized area. Once created, proposals will require 20% of the supply threshold in favour to be considered. 50%+ of the supply threshold will be needed for the proposal to pass.
Key points for VOICE governance:
- Holders of any amount of VOICE can vote
- Possible to delegate your votes to other people (known as ‘Controllers’)
- Holders or Controllers requires at least 500 VOICE vote weight to make a proposal
- 20% supply quorum is needed with >50% approval to pass
Role & function of MUTE holders in the DAO:
- Holders of MUTE can only ratify approved funding/minting proposals
- MUTE holders can’t make proposals (Unless they own 500+ VOICE)
- It is possible to delegate your votes to others
- 10% supply quorum is needed with >50% approval to pass
What kind of things can be proposed through VOICE governance?
To start with, there will be minting and some ecosystem parameter capabilities — parameters will grow as the ecosystem develops.
- Funding requests in MUTE (to be project managed by the proposer)
- Changing the % for VOICE transaction tax
- Changing the % for MUTE transaction tax
- Changing the % for the VOICE LP token withdrawal tax
- & more will be added once the DEX is live & beyond.
Closing words on the VOICE governance DAO:
The two tokens work in unison to create a robust, community driven ecosystem which will allow users to be confident that the ecosystem will work for them, not for a central entity that has its own agenda.
The system is not intended as a way to control what the core team-members or contributors do with their own time, but rather to allow the users of the ecosystem direct control over certain parameters of the DEX and the direction of the ecosystem itself. Controllers are incentivized to step up and actively campaign in order to add value and gain a reputation for performing ongoing work.
Join the revolution.
