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Arbitrum DAO has been officially announced, and the $ARB airdrop is live. Claim
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Arbitrum DAO - Governance docs
GitHub




 * A gentle introduction
 * Why decentralize governance?
 * Airdrop eligibility and distribution
 * State of decentralization
 * The Constitution of the Arbitrum DAO
 * Creating new Arbitrum chains
 * How-to guides
   * Submit a DAO proposal
   * Resubmit a proposal
   * Delegate your voting power
   * Become a delegate
   * Build a delegate platform
   * Vote on proposals
 * Governance concepts
 * Governance architecture
 * Foundational documents
 * Comprehension check
 * Glossary
 * FAQs

On this page
✏️Request an update


A GENTLE INTRODUCTION TO THE ARBITRUM DAO

PUBLIC PREVIEW DOCUMENT

This document is currently in public preview and may change significantly as
feedback is captured from readers like you. Click the Request an update button
at the top of this document or join the Arbitrum Discord to share your feedback.

In a nutshell:

 * Arbitrum Rollup and Arbitrum AnyTrust are protocols that make Ethereum
   transactions faster and cheaper. Developers use Arbitrum One and Arbitrum
   Nova, the chains that implement these protocols, respectively, to build
   user-friendly decentralized apps.
 * The distribution of the $ARB governance token decentralizes governance of
   these protocols and their respective chains, as well as any future chains the
   Arbitrum DAO authorizes.
 * $ARB tokens can be used to vote on Arbitrum DAO governance proposals,
   allowing $ARB holders to shape Arbitrum's future together.
 * Token holders will be able to delegate their voting power to delegates.
 * The $ARB airdrop began on 3/23/2023 and ended on 9/24/2023.
 * You can become an Arbitrum DAO delegate by engaging with the Arbitrum
   community and convincing $ARB holders to delegate their votes to you, or by
   holding $ARB yourself.
 * To build decentralized apps on Arbitrum, check out the developer docs.



HELLO! WHAT'S ARBITRUM AGAIN?

Arbitrum is a protocol that makes Ethereum transactions faster and cheaper.
Developers use Arbitrum to build user-friendly decentralized apps (dApps) that
can take advantage of the scalability benefits of the Arbitrum Rollup and
AnyTrust protocols.

Arbitrum's flagship chain, Arbitrum One, was launched in 2021. This was quickly
followed by the launch of Arbitrum Nova, a separate AnyTrust chain built for
ultra low-cost transactions. In August 2022, Arbitrum One was upgraded to the
Arbitrum Nitro stack, bringing a 7-10x upgrade to its scaling capabilities.

The distribution of $ARB governance tokens decentralizes governance of Arbitrum
One and Arbitrum Nova and their underlying protocols. $ARB tokens can be used to
vote on Arbitrum DAO governance proposals, allowing $ARB holders to collectively
shape the future of Arbitrum protocols and chains. Token holders can also
delegate their voting power to delegates.


WHAT'S GOVERNANCE?

Governance is the way that decisions get made. To understand what this means,
let's compare traditional web2 governance to web3 governance.

Web2 technologies are traditionally built by corporations governed by a board of
directors. This board is usually a small group of people elected by
shareholders.

When a corporate decision needs to be made, members of the board meet and vote.
The board's decision-making protocols aren't always visible to shareholders.
Although the board has a fiduciary duty to its shareholders, shareholders must
trust the board. This is a sort of social contract expressed as corporate
legalese and enforced by law.

Web3 technologies (like Arbitrum's protocols and chains) are often built
initially by corporations governed by a board of directors. Once these
technologies achieve product-market fit and a community of users and
stakeholders develops, decision-making authority can be gradually decentralized.
This is called progressive decentralization, and it's what Arbitrum is doing.
Progressive decentralization is usually facilitated by three key ingredients:

 1. DAO formation: The Arbitrum DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) is a
    new entity with decision-making authority over the Arbitrum One and Arbitrum
    Nova chains, along with their underlying protocols. This DAO is governed by
    The Constitution of the Arbitrum DAO, which is a set of rules that describe
    how the DAO will operate. The Constitution is enshrined within a number of
    social contracts that are used by the Arbitrum DAO to govern itself and its
    technologies.
 2. Governance token launch: Ownership of governance tokens represents
    membership within the DAO. Token holders can vote on DAO proposals.
    Arbitrum's governance token is $ARB, and will be distributed to eligible
    wallet addresses via an upcoming airdrop.
 3. Code: DAO governance is usually facilitated by a series of open source smart
    contracts that enforce a specific decision-making protocol. These trustless
    smart contracts are used to gradually replace a traditional board's trusted
    social contract. Arbitrum DAO uses smart contracts to codify the
    decision-making protocol articulated within The Constitution of the Arbitrum
    DAO.


SO $ARB IS A TOKEN, KIND OF LIKE $ETH?

Kind of! Let's compare them:

How $ETH and $ARB are similar:

 * Both are powered by decentralized blockchain technology.
 * Both can be owned by any cryptocurrency wallet that supports $ETH.
 * Both can be bought, sold, and traded.

How $ETH and $ARB are different:

 * $ETH is a transactional token, while $ARB is a governance token.
 * $ETH is used to pay for transaction fees, while $ARB is not.
 * Governance of Arbitrum is facilitated by $ARB and governance smart contracts,
   while Ethereum's governance is handled socially.
 * Holding $ARB gives you the ability to govern Arbitrum, while holding $ETH
   doesn't impact your ability to govern Ethereum's protocol.


WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

Decentralization of Arbitrum's technology governance represents an important
step towards community governance of Ethereum's scaling technologies, and
further aligns the Arbitrum community's incentives with those of the Ethereum
community at large. This is a big deal because it means that the Arbitrum DAO
will be able to democratically make decisions that are in the best interest of
the Arbitrum and Ethereum communities, rather than having faith in the good will
of a small group of people.

$ARB tokens represent stake in Arbitrum's - and by proxy, Ethereum's -
decentralized future. You can use $ARB to collectively determine how we as a
community scale Ethereum's infinite garden into the future.

More generally, possession of $ARB tokens places you at the cutting edge of
governance mechanism design. This is a new frontier with society-scale
implications, and your voice matters. $ARB tokens give you an immutable voice!

See State of decentralization for a more in-depth overview of Arbitrum's
decentralization journey.


COOL BEANS. WAS THERE AN AIRDROP?

The airdrop ended on 9/24/23; claiming is no longer live. See Airdrop
eligibility and token distribution details for more information.


HOW DOES ARBITRUM'S GOVERNANCE WORK?

Governance of the Arbitrum Rollup protocol is driven by two governing bodies:
the Security Council and the Arbitrum DAO.

 * The Security Council is a 12-member council of entities elected by members of
   the Arbitrum DAO. This council is responsible for ensuring Arbitrum's
   security and performance through the selective application of emergency
   actions if/when necessary. See Delegates and delegation for a conceptual
   overview of Arbitrum DAO's delegation mechanics.
 * The Arbitrum DAO is the worldwide community of $ARB token holders and the
   delegates that they select. The DAO is responsible for governing Arbitrum and
   its Security Council. The DAO can use constitutional proposals to modify the
   Security Council's powers, or even to eliminate the Security Council
   entirely. The Security Council's powers are delegated to the Security Council
   by the DAO, and are to be exercised in the best interests of the DAO. See
   Arbitrum DAO for an introductory overview of the DAO's various components.


WHAT SORTS OF DECISIONS IS ARBITRUM’S GOVERNANCE SYSTEM RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING?

Arbitrum's governance system is responsible for making many types of decisions.
One important responsibility is upgrading Arbitrum chains’ core contracts, which
define and enforce the Arbitrum protocols. An upgrade like this could be
motivated by any of the following reasons:

 1. An upgrade could improve the system in some way, like increase its
    decentralization or optimize its performance and lower fees.
 2. An upgrade could fix a critical vulnerability.
 3. An upgrade could address a non-critical decision that affects the Arbitrum
    ecosystem at large.

The Arbitrum DAO is also responsible for authorization of the creation of new L2
chains (see New Chains).

Refer to the Constitution for a precise overview of the scope of the DAO's
decision-making responsibilities. See Why governance? to learn more about the
importance of governance. See Comprehension check to test your understanding of
the Constitution's protocol.


WHO CARES ABOUT THIS STUFF?

You can think of Arbitrum stakeholder groups as a stack of layers. The web3 user
layer is at the top of the stack. All other layers work together to support the
web3 user layer:

 * Web3 user layer: Includes decentralized app (dApp) users - users of web3
   applications.
 * Web3 app layer: Includes all of the developers, dreamers, and makers who are
   building decentralized apps and tooling to support dApp development.
 * Layer 2 (L2): Includes Arbitrum DAO, the Arbitrum community, node operators,
   sequencers, and other Layer-2 builders (including Offchain Labs) who are
   working hard to fulfill Ethereum's rollup-centric roadmap.
 * Layer 1 (L1): Includes consensus & execution layers.
   * Consensus layer (CL): Includes Prysm and other consensus-layer teams who
     support Ethereum's beacon chain with consensus-layer client software.
   * Execution layer (EL): Includes Geth and other execution-layer teams
     building execution-layer client software.
 * Research layer: Includes researchers and protocol engineers who are working
   on the cutting edge of cryptography, mechanism design, and governance
   protocols.


ALL OF THESE PEOPLE CAN GOVERN ARBITRUM ONE AND ARBITRUM NOVA?

Yep! As long as they either hold $ARB or are a delegate.


WHAT'S A DELEGATE AGAIN?

A delegate is like an elected representative. $ARB token holders can delegate
their voting power to delegates.


WHY WOULD I WANT TO BECOME A DELEGATE?

There are a lot of people who don't have time to actively participate in
protocol governance. Delegates help these people by offering to vote on their
behalf.

Delegates are a critical component of Arbitrum's decentralization because they
allow token holders to passively participate in the governance of our
technology. Although becoming a delegate is a serious responsibility that
requires a significant time commitment, it allows you to ensure that Ethereum's
values (and those of the delegators who have entrusted you with their voting
power) are forever enshrined within the DAO's decisions and decision-making
protocols. See How to become a listed delegate to learn more.


I'D LIKE TO PARTICIPATE! WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS?

 1. Select a delegate to vote on your behalf. Choose this option if you're too
    busy to regularly vote on Arbitrum DAO proposals. See Delegate your voting
    power for detailed instructions.
 2. Self-delegate to vote directly on DAO proposals. Great for studious fans of
    direct democracy. See Vote on proposals for detailed instructions.
 3. Become a delegate to vote on behalf of token holders who entrust you with
    their voting power. Great for the community's most passionate evangelists.
    See Become a delegate for detailed instructions.
 4. Participate in governance discussions on the Arbitrum DAO governance forum.
 5. Join the community of Arbinauts on Discord.


WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE?

You're in the right place! The following docs elaborate on the finer details of
Arbitrum DAO and its underlying governance mechanisms:

 * Airdrop eligibility and token distribution details: Tells you how $ARB
   eligibility was determined, and how $ARB tokens were initially distributed.
 * The Constitution of the Arbitrum DAO: The human-readable governance protocol
   that the DAO's smart contracts implement.
 * Arbitrum DAO Glossary: An index of governance terms and definitions.


WHERE CAN I ASK FOR HELP?

 * Discord
 * Telegram
 * Arbitrum DAO governance forum

Welcome to the future of governance!

Edit this page

Next
Why decentralize governance?
 * Hello! What's Arbitrum again?
 * What's governance?
 * So $ARB is a token, kind of like $ETH?
 * Why is this important?
 * Cool beans. Was there an airdrop?
 * How does Arbitrum's governance work?
 * What sorts of decisions is Arbitrum’s governance system responsible for
   making?
 * Who cares about this stuff?
 * All of these people can govern Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova?
 * What's a delegate again?
 * Why would I want to become a delegate?
 * I'd like to participate! What are my options?
 * Where can I learn more?
 * Where can I ask for help?

Docs
 * Get started

Community
 * Discord
 * Twitter

Copyright © 2023 Arbitrum Foundation.