Governance Minimization — Fred Ehrsam

Formalizing stakeholders for on-chain governance today typically occurs through simple token ownership and the governance itself through tokenholder voting. Unfortunately, token holdings are not an accurate reflection of stakeholder value in a protocol for a number of reasons

Credible neutrality is primary value proposition of crypto today.

Credible neutrality is dependability. It means a stakeholder (e.g a user or a developer) can use or build on a protocol with confidence it will not change against their interests. Protocols remain credibly neutral by avoiding "capture" by any particular group.

Governance minimized protocols will see the most use. It is the core attribute which kicks off the positive feedback loop between trust and adoption as a standard. It also puts powerful, basic tools in the hands of all creators, generating more opportunity and faster progress for the entire crypto ecosystem.

Even if participants don't explicitly capture a system, governance may still create unintended side effects. For example, formal governance systems can encourage action versus inaction, even when inaction is superior.

Governance minimization means reducing the power and reliance on governance wherever possible.