- Polygon Labs has proposed a “protocol council” to oversee smart contract upgrades.
- The group comprises 13 persons, including Coinbase and Ethereum Foundation staff.
- The protocol council is one of three significant governance changes unveiled with the Polygon 2.0 roadmap.
As part of the 2.0 roadmap unveiled in June 2023, the Polygon ecosystem will transition into a decentralized network of zero-knowledge-powered app chains. In line with this vision, the network is set to undergo several massive changes for which Polygon Labs, the development team behind the network, has unveiled a series of governance proposals in recent weeks.
Sponsored
While Polygon Labs has centered previous proposals around upgrading the network’s native token from MATIC to POL, the latest proposal hopes to kick-start the protocol’s planned governance overhaul in line with the new roadmap.
The Protocol Council
On Wednesday, October 18, Polygon Labs submitted a Polygon Improvement Proposal (PIP) to create a “protocol council” to supervise smart contract upgrades across the Polygon ecosystem, suggesting 13 persons to comprise the inaugural group. These include Polygon zkEVM technical lead Jordi Baylina, Coinbase protocol specialist Viktor Bunin, Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake, and prominent on-chain sleuth ZachXBT.
Per the proposal, selected members were chosen based on several criteria, including reputation, diversity, and technical ability.
If the community approves the proposal dubbed PIP-29, the group acting as representatives would perform regular and emergency changes to Polygon smart contracts through a Gnosis Safe multi-signature contract. A seven out of 13 quorum would be required for regular upgrades with a ten-day timelock. Emergency changes, however, require a ten out of 13 quorum with no time lock.
Polygon Labs asserts that the protocol council would be integral to future upgrades, including those required for the MATIC to POL upgrade.
Sponsored
The proposed protocol council is one part of three governance pillars unveiled by Polygon Labs in July 2023 as part of efforts to revamp the ecosystem’s governance structure in line with the envisioned multichain future. The other pillars involve expanding the PIP framework to support community education and the creation of a community treasury and a board to manage it.
“Future PIPs based on the ideas visualized in the Three Pillars of Governance infographic will also soon expand on direct and indirect community control over the Council,” Polygon Labs wrote in a blog post.
On the Flipside
- The proposal has to pass the community vote to become binding.
- The protocol council will work in tandem with the community-led on-chain governance mechanism.
Why This Matters
Governance changes can make or break a blockchain project. The proposed changes in PIP-29 hope to ensure secure and seamless smart contract upgrades for the envisioned multichain Polygon ecosystem.
Read this to learn more about proposed governance changes to the Polygon ecosystem:
How Governance Works on Polygon 2.0 Under New Proposal
Follow the debate as Lido considers an exit from the Polygon ecosystem:
Lido Mulls Polygon Shutdown After Sunsetting on Solana
