Overview
During Week 4 (Protocol Week) of Edge City Lanna, I led a discussion on Token Mechanics, introducing the concepts of Token Program Proposals (TPPs), Token Programs, and token mechanics to a broader audience. The event was open to all Edge City attendees, and approximately 22 participants joined to learn more about token mechanics within the ZKsync Governance System.
During Token Mechanics for Governance: “Pipes” not “Buckets”, I covered what a token mechanic is, the long-term mindset shift it aims to inspire reimagining distribution of community funds in decentralized ecosystems, its intended use within the ZKsync Governance System and the challenges and potential limitations of this model. This presentation also highlighted key resources on TPPs, such as TPP Guidelines, the TPP FAQ, and Token Programmes as a Path Towards a True Cybernetic Governance Framework.
Participation
This marked the first time the Gov Team presented this concept to a wider audience beyond the ecosystem. There was great engagement, and there was generally a positive response to the vision and purpose of token mechanic vision for TPPs. Numerous questions were raised, which have already helped us refine our approach to explaining token mechanics and Token Programs more effectively. Limitations and challenges to achieving the automated vision of TPPs were also discussed, where participants shared and explored new ideas to address these obstacles (e.g. prevent gaming of KPIs, capturing qualitative/offchain impact to be accounted for as metrics). Presenting to diverse audiences in this way allows the Gov Team to enhance the documentation and resources we create for the ecosystem.
Thank you to everyone who joined the discussion! I’m excited to see what ideas emerge for token mechanic design and to witness experiment going forward.
If there are any events during Devcon or beyond where this discussion would be a relevant topic, please share them below or feel free to reach out to @rafa or myself (@theshelb)!