👨🔬 Governance Lab #109
Lab Report #109 - Sonic DAO’s U.S. Expansion Vote, Ronin L2 Migration Offers, Jito Validator Set Proposal, and More
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Welcome back to the Governance Lab, your weekly source for all things StableLab, DeFi, and DAO Governance.
At a Glance 👀
⚡ Sonic DAO votes on U.S. expansion and Nasdaq-linked treasury vehicle
🎮 Ronin Network fields L2 migration offers from Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, and ZKsync
💧 Jito DAO proposes expanding validator set and revising stake pool ranking
Let’s dive in 🏊
Sonic DAO
Sonic DAO votes on $200M expansion plan including Nasdaq-linked treasury vehicle
Sonic DAO is voting on a proposal from Sonic Labs to establish a U.S. entity, create a Nasdaq-connected treasury company, and launch an ETF as part of a push into institutional markets. To fund the initiative, Sonic Labs is requesting the minting of $200 million worth of new S tokens — nearly a 20% increase in supply.
The move is positioned as a way to strengthen Sonic’s tokenomics and attract institutional capital, with treasury structures that could mirror recent trends in publicly listed digital asset firms. Sonic Labs argues that, unlike peers who hold 50–90% of their native supply, it controls only 3% due to Fantom’s earlier community distribution, leaving it at a competitive disadvantage in dealmaking and growth initiatives.
The proposal has drawn mixed reactions in the community. Some members have questioned the scale of dilution, governance safeguards, and the bundled nature of the proposal, while others see the plan as a chance to expand Sonic’s reach and legitimacy with institutional investors.
The vote comes as Sonic faces mounting pressure: DeFi deposits on the chain have fallen from $1.7 billion at their May peak to $598 million today, a 64% decline following a widely criticized airdrop. The Snapshot vote will determine whether governance proceeds with the expansion or maintains the current structure.
Ronin Network
Ronin receives competing L2 migration proposals from Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, and ZKsync
Ronin is evaluating four competing offers to support its migration from a gaming sidechain to an Ethereum Layer 2. Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, and ZKsync have each submitted incentive packages alongside their technical migration plans.
Arbitrum Gaming Ventures has offered a 750,000 ARB grant spread across three years, revenue sharing on sequencer fees, access to a $200M gaming fund, $10M in audit subsidies, and co-marketing through Arbitrum’s gaming and creator programs.
Optimism’s proposal includes $5–7M in combined grants and subsidies, such as 2M OP from the Optimism Foundation, 750K EIGEN from Eigen Labs, and 700K ZKC from Boundless, as well as access to Optimism’s retro funding pool.
Polygon Labs committed $3.15M in milestone-based grants, $1M in zk proving credits, 750K EIGEN tokens for data availability costs, and priority growth support. It also offers Ronin up to $6–8M annually through Vault Bridge yield revenue, with 75% allocated directly to Ronin.
ZKsync’s package includes $3M in ZK gas subsidies, full sequencer fee ownership for Ronin, governance incentives from the ZK Token Assembly, and Elastic Network distribution through partners like Xsolla, Zepeto, and Abstract.
The winning partner will be chosen by Ronin’s Governing Validators after a two-phase review and voting process, with migration planned for completion in early 2026.
Jito DAO
Jito DAO proposes to expand validator set and overhaul stake pool ranking
Jito DAO is considering JIP-25, a proposal to double the validator set size to 400 and revise how the Jito Stake Pool ranks validators. The update responds to concerns that StakeNet’s current design rewards sybil behavior and validators that over-optimize for vote credits without contributing to Solana’s broader health.
The proposal introduces a new ranking framework that prioritizes validators with lower commission rates, lower MEV commissions, and longer operating history, while relegating vote credits to a last-resort tiebreaker. MEV commission will also be measured across longer reference periods to prevent short-term manipulation.
JIP-25 also pauses the previously approved priority fee sharing system from JIP-16, citing a 72% decline in network priority fees since late 2024 and reduced benefits for JitoSOL stakers. Although the technical infrastructure is ready, the DAO argues that the economic environment no longer justifies immediate rollout.
Supporters say the changes will create a more balanced staking environment, strengthen incentives for high-quality validators, and prepare the foundation for future upgrades such as directed staking and DeFi-integrated delegation models.
Links
🚀 Launches, Deployments, Partnerships, and M&A
📑 Reads, Insights, and Reports
Built in America, Owned by the Community—Syndicate Forms U.S. DUNA
Ethereum Treasury Companies: Anchoring Institutional Adoption
The Buyback Paradox: Improving How Protocols Return Value to Token Holders
🧗 Milestones & Updates
Sky Ecosystem - Protocol Economics Report 2025-Q2
Sky Ecosytem - Zero Governance-Determined Fixed Core Expenses
🔒 Security, Risk, & Hacks
Institutional RWA: Powering Risk Infrastructure for Horizon
Aave DAO - Strengthening Stability Between Aave and Ethena: Redemption Priority and Protocol Safeguards
Arbitrum DAO - Security Council Election Process Improvements
🗞️ Everything Else
Gnosis DAO - Should Gnosis DAO extend the Gnosis Pay Cashback budget (GIP-110) by 2,000 GNO?
Nouns DAO - Conditional Funding Markets Development Grant for Crowdfunding Module (Part 1/2)
Velora DAO - Velora Contributors Program (VCP) - Cycle 2 Renewal
ZK Nation - ZKsync Community Activation Pilot Program (2025–2026)
📺 Podcasts, Presentations, & Listens
Traver Normandi: Gauntlet’s Playbook for DAO Success on The Tally Pocast
The LayerZero-Wormhole Contest Shows How to Value a Crypto Business on Unchained Podcast
Proposal Tracker™️
⚡ VOTING UNDERWAY | Velora DAO - Velora Treasury Management
Summary: This proposal seeks to establish a structured treasury management framework for Velora DAO by diversifying assets and implementing risk-managed strategies. The initiative would authorize allocations into stablecoins and yield-generating instruments while setting clear reporting requirements and oversight processes. The goal is to extend the DAO’s runway, reduce exposure to market volatility, and ensure sustainable funding for operations and ecosystem growth.
⚡ VOTING UNDERWAY | Gnosis DAO - Gnosis Pay Cashback Budget Extension
Summary: This proposal (GIP-133) seeks to allocate 2,000 GNO to extend the Gnosis Pay Cashback Program under the current rules (GIP-110). The temporary funding aims to prevent disruption in cashback rewards while the community debates a longer-term redesign (GIP-131). All existing tiers, caps, and conditions remain unchanged for this extension. The goal is to maintain user engagement, buy time for consensus on sustainable updates, and ensure continuity as Gnosis Pay continues to grow.
From the Lab
Proposal - Funding Research for DAO Decentralization Dashboard
We’ve submitted a proposal to ZKNation to fund research and development of a Forse Terminal tracking DAO liveness, security, and decentralization. The Terminal would measure quorum speed, whale influence, collusion signals, and decentralization metrics like Gini and Nakamoto coefficients. The goal is to strengthen transparency and resilience across the DAO.
Blogpost - From Inputs to Oucomes: Why Incentives Must Evolve
In our latest blogpost, we explore why incentive programs need to move beyond surface-level activity metrics toward frameworks that measure persistence, counterfactuals, and true outcomes. The piece highlights how leading ecosystems are already experimenting with new incentive models and why protocols must adapt.
❲ Our Voting ❳
📆 August 22nd → August 28th | 🗳️ Total Votes: 10
See our full vote history and detailed rationale HERE.
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