Snapshot integration for both on-chain and off-chain voting solutions

Voting aggregation + Delegation + Incentivization

Snapshot — Sunder: Governance for all

As we’ve stated in previous works like our SushiSwap integration and overall seen with Sunder’s approach towards an inclusive framework for governance participation & interest bearing solutions, we believe it is of vital importance to update the conflict of interests DeFi and Governance is currently exposed to.

A key component to improve is the option for any user to be able to engage in governance participation, and lowering the entry-barriers for doing so. Snapshot, being born off a toolset for Balancer, has now become one of the benchmarks in the industry to lower these barriers. Off-chain voting frameworks have proven to be one of the pieces of infrastructure that has brought the DAO-space forward in multiple ways. From zero-gas cost of execution benefitting the average user to eliminate cost-related components vs on-chain governance, having been implemented as the to-go solution for many protocols for when it comes to having their community share their voice on proposals, to integration with on-chain governance modules as a barometer for reading sentiment off their community prior to setting up a final vote on-chain. Multiple iterations over Snapshot’s product allowing for strategy customisation, and further features have been part of the success that has catered to many protocols as the to-go solution for their governance modules.

Now we’ve come to a point, under which Snapshot is a ‘2B’ solution, where it’s up to the protocols/teams/communities to agree on such integration. With Sunder, one can look at it as a ‘2C’ iteration, where independent of which protocol we look at and the governance structure, a Snapshot Hub can be utilised as an alternative for governance participation, forwarding these benefits to the end user. For the first time, e.g. a compound holder will have the individual choice on whether he’d be interested in participating directly on-chain with any proposal, or follow through the alternative framework of the Snapshot Hub on Sunder.

But how does this work?

1. On-chain Frameworks
   With Sunder, we have set up a dedicated Snapshot Hub, that mirrors proposals occurring elsewhere (e.g. On-chain, Aragon, or other gov module approaches), which tracks any proposal vote live on the underlying protocol. This is mirrored via the Hub to the Sunder App, under which holders of the sundered Governance token can participate with their isolated token (dToken). Prior to the underlying proposal concluding, the mirrored proposal would have collected the voting intention of all participants in Sunder and broadcast to the original proposal. In the background, Sunder Vaults that operate the underlying governance token holdings for interest bearing strategies, relocates the needed tokens for forwarding the collected voting participation and engages directly with the governance module, broadcasting the results on-chain in time.
   This Snapshot Hub is a separated environment from the main Snapshot dashboard that has been set up for best customisation and broadcast of participation. The difference between snapshot.org and Sunder vote page can be concluded like the following: 1. On-chain proposal. Sunder.finance backend will monitor every proposal transaction and make sure it will appear in the Sunder vote page (now in simulation). 2 After the snapshot result (Stored on IPFS) is collected sunder vault will allocate tokens to different address and delegate the vote process (example transaction​)
2. Snapshot Frameworks
   For frameworks such as Sushi Governance (and many others!), where the community voice is set up off-chain via Snapshot, we have come up with a new Strategy on the main Snapshot dashboard, that protocols can select. This Strategy includes it’s sundered dToken to be eligible for voting on any snapshot-based proposal directly launched by the protocol’s governance module. Given the 1:1 collateralization ratio between any governance token and minted dTokens, this would in no way inflate or jeopardize the voting participation.
   In other words, any stakes of governance tokens that may have been allocated elsewhere due to interest in yield acquisition, would now be able to both enjoy revenues and be utilised for governance simultaneously independent on where these have been allocated. Here are the details of the token strategy integrated on Snapshot for the more curious minds.
3. Mesh governance modules
   As you may have already come across, each protocol and it’s governance module often have unique distinctions. From veCRV on Curve for staked governance participation to Aave’s on-chain centric framework with exemption to their Stakers directly on their protocol, or mStable’s dual model of staking rewards with off-chain voting including a parameter of the user’s voting power based on how long he’s been staking for; there is a large variety on approaches.
   As for Sunder, we actively look for ways to integrate different modules in the most efficient way with the aim of extracting the maximum inclusive utility to holders. Together with Sunder’s Snapshot Hub and the Strategy integration into Snapshot’s core infrastructure, we look towards having a wide array of governance tokens integrated.

Note: The way Sunder’s mint function has been set up is similar to Uniswap’s open framework for listing pools on any token, but with requirements on criteria for becoming whitelisted. On Sunder, anyone can mint d- & eTokens out of any governance token and through our own governance, strategies and proposals can be set up for adding functionalities to it, from interest bearing strategies to voting integration. This is a process that is completely open and encourages community participation on identifying nouvelle opportunities to be integrated.

As bottomline on this article, the intention of Sunders bilateral integration with Snapshot is to set up alternative frameworks that allow not only for lower entry-barriers when it comes to participation in governance, but also with the aim to increase these levels of governance participation, supporting any protocol to have an even more inclusive alternative to its community members for engaging in these. We’re glad to have the support from Snapshot in this collaboration and look forward to integrating updated iterations on their product into our Hub.

Learn more about Snapshot:

Snapshot is an off-chain gasless multi-governance client with easy to verify and hard to contest results.

Documentation: https://docs.snapshot.page/

About Sunder Protocol | Vision

The vision of Sunder Protocol is to allow any user to extract full value of governance tokens through Sunder Protocol. Participating in governance while earning yield to be simultaneously achievable, avoiding excessive overhead cost spent on fees.

Governance Participation should not be an excluding factor for alternative utilities, left available to fewer large holders.

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For inquiries, collaborations or direct outreach:
Find us on Discord (recommended) or send an email to: contact@sunder.finance