Governance framework
How the Aeltrix protocol is governed
Validator-first governance with bounded upgrade surface, mandatory cooling periods, and determinism-preservation requirements.
Validator-weighted governance
The Aeltrix governance model assigns voting power proportional to validator stake. Only active validators can submit and vote on proposals. Delegation of governance power to non-validator entities is not permitted. This ensures that governance decisions are made by participants with economic stake in network correctness.
Process
Proposal lifecycle
1
DRAFT
Any active validator can submit a proposal in draft form. The draft must include: formal specification, determinism impact analysis, rollback plan, and estimated activation timeline. Incomplete drafts are returned without review.
2
REVIEW
Draft proposals enter a 7-day public review period. All validators and Foundation observers can submit commentary. The proposer may amend the draft during review. Material amendments restart the review clock.
3
VOTE
After review, proposals enter a 72-hour voting window. Voting is stake-weighted. A proposal passes with ⅔ supermajority of total stake (not just participating stake). Minimum 80% validator participation required for quorum. Abstentions count against quorum.
4
EXECUTE
Passed proposals enter a 14-day cooling period before activation. During this period, validators upgrade their nodes. If critical issues are discovered, a fast-track cancellation vote can be initiated (requires ⅔ supermajority within 48 hours).
Governance parameters
Recent proposals
Submitted: 3 days ago
Upgrade state commitment from simplified Merkle hash to Sparse Merkle Tree v2 with proof generation for light client verification.
Submitted: 8 days ago
Reduce epoch length from 10 seconds to 8 seconds to increase credit refresh frequency and improve burst transaction capacity.
Submitted: 14 days ago
Increase minimum validator stake from 10,000 AELX to 25,000 AELX to improve economic security and reduce validator churn.