The Open Network (TON) Foundation Launches Society DAO Governance Model

The Open Network (TON) Foundation has launched a new governance model, Society DAO, aimed at fostering a more decentralized ecosystem.

Community Involvement in Decision-Making

Society DAO encourages community members to take an active role in decision-making, resource allocation, and project management. The goal is to enhance autonomy and growth within the TON ecosystem, moving away from centralized governance which can create a single point of failure. According to the TON Foundation blog, this community model reallocates resource allocation power back to its members.

Steve Yun, President of the TON Foundation, and Jack Booth, co-founder of Ton Society, stated:
> "TON Foundation is advancing a community model that redistributes resource allocation power back to the community. Under this approach, respected and proven community members are empowered to coordinate vision, goals, and strategies, collectively determining resource allocation in alignment with TON's overall growth."

Need for Adaptable Governance

While centralization was effective in the early stages of development, a more adaptable governance model is now essential to support growth. Over the past year, many founders have relied on the foundation as a central source of capital and support. However, with the ecosystem maturing, limitations of a layer 1 governance model are becoming evident.

Yun and Booth added:
> "We envision a governance framework that enhances decentralization, transparency, inclusion, competition, autonomy, participation, and resilience by democratizing access to the financial, socio-political, and human capital."

Open-Source Access to Capital

The Society DAO governance model aims to implement open-source access to capital, where community projects earn resources transparently and are rewarded for achieving key performance indicators (KPIs). Its primary objectives are:
1. Positioning TON as the gateway to real-world cryptocurrency use cases.
2. Establishing TON as the most stable and scalable blockchain.
3. Growing the developer and user community in app markets.

Strategic Proposals from Members

Society DAO will drive community-led growth by enabling members to submit strategic proposals. These proposals will outline specific goals, timelines, and measurable outcomes aligned with TON's larger objectives.

Specialized working groups comprised of DAO members will evaluate these proposals. The TON Foundation will fund approved proposals, while the community team will monitor progress to ensure alignment with the original goals.

Society DAO will serve as the organizing body for core TON ecosystem functions, with founding members including TON Core, TON Studio, and TON Society.

In January 2025, Society DAO will publish its key initiatives and objectives, inviting community feedback to shape its strategic direction. The half-year evaluation will include contributions from skilled members in marketing, app development, DeFi, stablecoin integration, and identity solutions.