Citizens' House Overview
Purpose and Evolution
The Citizens' House is a cornerstone of Optimism's governance system, designed to ensure that the Superchain's evolution is guided by those who use and depend on it most. Since its inception, the Citizens' House has operated on the principle of ‘one member, one vote’, creating a non-plutocratic counterbalance to the token-weighted voting in the Token House.
The Citizens' House, and Optimism governance in general, exist to reduce the platform risk to the users of the Superchain -- chains using the OP Stack, and applications and end-users using Superchain blockspace.
The goals of the Citizens’ House are to:
- Reduce concentration of power
- Safeguard against capture of Token House
- Ensure that the Superchain evolves in a direction aligned with the interests of its users
As of Season 8, these three groups of stakeholders (chains, apps, end-users) are represented in the Citizens' House. This arrangement is designed to allow the Superchain's stakeholders to drive its evolution without any single group capturing excessive power or extracting disproportionate value. This evolution builds on years of experimentation and learning about what makes governance effective and representative. Past learnings from experiments can be found [here] (community.optimism.io/citizens-house/experimentation-with-citizenship).
Relationship with Token House
While membership in the Token House and Citizens' House can overlap, each is designed to balance power in different ways:
- The Token House uses token-weighted voting, giving influence proportional to OP token holdings
- The Citizens' House uses a ‘1 member, 1 vote’ model, so all members have the same level of influence
Together, these two houses create a governance system that balances the different types of interests in the Superchain, making the system more resistant to capture and more aligned with the diverse stakeholders in the ecosystem.
Citizens' House Governance Powers and Responsibilities
The Citizens' House has several key governance powers and responsibilities. These powers are designed to help Citizens protect their interests in the Superchain with limited day-to-day involvement in decision-making. The primary role of Citizens is to express their preferences in the evolution of the Superchain and to hold proposers accountable.
Protocol Upgrades
Citizens have the power to veto decisions about protocol upgrades made by the Developer Advisory Board (DAB). This veto power serves as a critical check on technical changes, ensuring they align with the interests of those who rely on the protocol.
Resource Allocation
Citizens participate in resource allocation decisions, including:
- Approving the Collective Intent, missions, and budget
- Electing Budget Board representatives (in future Seasons)
Representative Elections
Citizens elect representatives to the Developer Advisory Board, ensuring it remains accountable to their interests.
For a full description of the voting mechanics for each of these proposal types, please refer to the Operating Manual (opens in a new tab).
In future phases, the Citizens House may gain additional governance powers.