Citizens House
Citizen FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Citizenship

General Questions

Why is the Citizens' House expanding in Season 8?

The goal has always been to expand the Citizens' House. In past Seasons, the Optimism Foundation ran several experiments to gain insights that would help pave the way for a more permanent expansion to the Citizens' House. These learnings are summarized here.

By including chains, apps, and users who are directly impacted by protocol decisions and contributing to shared resources, we're reducing platform risk for everyone who relies on the Superchain.

Can membership in the Citizens' House overlap with the 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, balancing influence among participants. Together, these two houses create a governance system that balances skin-in-the-game with stakeholder representation.

What powers does the Citizens' House have?

The Citizens' House has several key governance powers:

  • Approval of the Collective Intent, which determines the direction of the evolution of the Superchain
  • Veto power over protocol upgrades proposed by OP Labs and approved by the Developer Advisory Board
  • Participation in resource allocation decisions, including approving intents, missions, and budgets
  • Election of representatives to governance bodies like the Developer Advisory Board

Is there any financial reward for being a Citizen?

No, being a Citizen is no longer associated with any financial rewards, airdrops, points, or retroactive voter rewards. Governance participants should be motivated to participate in decisions that directly impact them.

Citizenship is about governance participation, not financial incentives. You should only register if you genuinely want to express your interests in the Superchain as a chain, app or Superchain end-user.

How long will I be a Citizen?

Citizenship eligibility is recalculated every Season. Being a Citizen now doesn't guarantee future Citizens' House membership, as the criteria may evolve.

Superchain end-users that register may be subject to manual review for suspected Sybil activity and required to present additional proof of personhood verification.

How much time will this take?

While the time commitment is up to you, we estimate that active Citizenship should take 1-3 hours per month. As a Citizen, you'll receive email notifications when there are proposals up for vote, and voting typically takes just a few minutes. As of Season 8, the Optimism Foundation is making a concerted effort to reduce the cognitive overhead and time commitment of participation.

Questions for Chains

How was my chain selected for Citizenship?

Chains are eligible to join the Citizens' House if they account for at least 2% of the total revenue share contributed by all chains over the past Season, or are among the top 15 chains by revenue contribution in the past Season. This approach is designed so that chains with significant economic stake in the ecosystem have a voice in governance.

Can multiple people from my chain vote?

No, only one person can register and vote on behalf of your chain. This person should be designated as the admin for your organization in Atlas (opens in a new tab) and will be responsible for casting votes on behalf of your chain.

What if my chain also has an eligible app?

If your organization has both an eligible chain and an eligible app, you will only receive one Citizen badge (for the chain). An organization and a project under that organization can never both get votes in the Citizens' House.

Will my chain remain eligible in future Seasons?

Eligibility is recalculated every Season based on revenue contribution. If your chain continues to meet the criteria, it will remain eligible. However, being a Citizen now doesn't guarantee future Citizens' House membership. The eligibility criteria are also subject to change.

How much voting power does my chain have?

Voting power distribution among the various groups of voters varies by proposal type and can be looked up in the Operating Manual (opens in a new tab). Within the chain group, each chain has equal voting power (1 chain, 1 vote).

Questions for Apps

How was my app selected for Citizenship?

Apps are eligible to join the Citizens' House if they are responsible for at least 0.5% of the total gas used across the Superchain over the past Season, or are among the top 100 apps by gas usage. This approach is designed so that applications driving significant activity on the Superchain have a voice in governance.

Can multiple people from my app vote?

No, only one person can register and vote on behalf of your app. This person should be designated as the admin for your project in Atlas and will be responsible for casting votes on behalf of your app.

What if my organization also has an eligible chain?

If your organization has both an eligible chain and an eligible app, you will only receive one Citizen badge (for the chain). An organization and a project under that organization can never both get votes in the Citizens' House.

Will my app remain eligible in future Seasons?

Eligibility is recalculated every Season based on gas usage. If your app continues to meet the criteria, it will remain eligible. However, being a Citizen now doesn't guarantee future Citizens' House membership. The eligibility criteria are also subject to change.

How much voting power does my app have?

Voting power distribution among the various groups of voters varies by proposal type and can be looked up here . Within the apps group, each app has equal voting power (1 app, 1 vote).

Questions for Superchain end-users

How do I know if I'm eligible to become a Citizen?

To be eligible as a user Citizen in Season 8, you need to:

How and why do I need to prove I'm a human?

Proof of personhood is required to prevent Sybil attacks, where a single entity creates multiple accounts to gain disproportionate influence. This ensures that the Citizens' House remains balanced and representative of genuine users.

To prove you are a unique human, you can either connect your World id, or link an address to your account that has a Human Passport score of at least 20. You can gather stamps and increase your Passport score at https://app.passport.xyz/ (opens in a new tab)

Can I have multiple Citizen accounts?

No, it is forbidden to create multiple accounts to attempt to get multiple votes in the Citizens' House. Each person should only have one Citizen account. In Season 8, the Optimism Foundation will screen accounts for suspected Sybil activity and may suspend and request additional verification from suspicious accounts.

What if I'm also an admin for an eligible chain or app?

If you are an admin of an eligible project or organization, you may not also join the Citizens' House as a Superchain end-user.

How much voting power do users have?

Voting power distribution among the various groups of voters varies by proposal type and can be looked up here. Within the end-users group, each user has equal voting power (1 user, 1 vote).

Questions for Existing Contributors

I was a Citizen before. Am I still eligible?

As a Superchain user who meets the new eligibility criteria, you can register as a Citizen in Season 8. The new criteria focus on sustained activity on the Superchain and proof of personhood. Check your eligibility at atlas.optimism.io/citizenship (opens in a new tab).

I'm a contributor but not eligible to vote as a Citizen. How can I still have influence?

There are several ways to have influence in the Collective beyond the Citizens' House:

  • Contributors receive OP tokens for their contributions, giving them governance power in the Token House
  • Contributors shape governance by writing select proposals, providing technical expertise, and building essential infrastructure
  • The purpose of Citizenship is to ensure accountability to the Superchain's users, while contributors influence through their expertise and work

Will these changes affect how grants and funding are allocated?

The Citizens' House will continue to have a role in resource allocation decisions, including approving intents, missions, and budgets. The specific mechanics are evolving, but the fundamental purpose remains: ensuring that resource allocation serves the long-term interests of the Collective and its stakeholders.

Is this a permanent change to the Citizens' House structure?

No. As with all aspects of Optimism governance, we expect to continue iterating based on what we learn. The eligibility criteria for Citizens will be recalculated every Season and may evolve further in the future.

Eligible Chains and Apps in Season 8