Fully Decentralized DAO Architecture

This document describes the fully decentralized architecture of the Anya-core DAO, explaining the design principles, implementation details, and operational considerations.

Core Principles

  1. Elimination of Single Points of Control: Replacement of single-owner administrative controls with multi-signature governance and timelocks.
  2. Decentralized Oracle Network: Implementation of a threshold-based oracle system with economic incentives and consensus mechanisms.
  3. On-Chain Governance: Moving critical decisions to transparent on-chain governance mechanisms.
  4. Economic Security: Adding economic incentives and stake-based participation to ensure honest behavior.
  5. Code Reusability: Using shared constants, traits, and libraries to improve maintainability.

Architecture Components

1. Multi-Signature Governance

The multi-signature governance mechanism replaces the previous single-owner control model, implementing:

  • M-of-N Signature Threshold: Requiring multiple authorized signers to approve administrative actions.
  • Timelock Delays: Enforcing waiting periods before sensitive operations can be executed.
  • Transaction Proposals: Formalized process for proposing, voting on, and executing governance actions.
  • Transparent History: All governance actions are recorded on-chain with complete transparency.

Contract: multi-sig-governance.clar

2. Decentralized Oracle Network

The decentralized oracle system replaces the previous centralized oracle model with:

  • Staked Participation: Oracle operators must stake tokens to participate, creating economic incentives for honest reporting.
  • Threshold Signatures: Requiring a minimum percentage of oracles to agree on data before it's accepted.
  • Consensus Mechanism: Implementation of data validation through cryptographic consensus.
  • Reward Distribution: Automatic reward distribution to oracles who provide accurate data.
  • Slashing Conditions: Economic penalties for malicious or inactive oracles.

Contract: decentralized-contribution-oracle.clar

3. Shared Libraries and Constants

To improve maintainability and reduce code duplication, we've implemented:

  • Shared Constants: Common error codes, thresholds, and governance parameters.
  • Reusable Traits: Interfaces for governance, multi-signature, and oracle functionality.
  • Standard Error Handling: Consistent error codes and messages across contracts.

Contracts: dao-constants.clar, governance-traits.clar

4. Decentralized Reward System

The reward system has been re-engineered to:

  • Remove Administrative Privileges: No special admin controls for reward manipulation.
  • Automating Distributions: Programmatic calculation and distribution of rewards.
  • Transparent Metrics: On-chain visibility into reward calculations and distributions.
  • Claim-Based Model: Self-service claim mechanism for contributors to receive rewards.

Contract: decentralized-reward-controller.clar

Implementation Details

Multi-Signature Governance

The multi-signature governance contract implements:

  1. Signers Management: Functions to add and remove authorized signers.
  2. Transaction Proposals: Any authorized signer can propose a transaction.
  3. Signing Process: Other signers can review and sign proposed transactions.
  4. Threshold Execution: Transactions execute automatically once the required number of signatures is reached.
  5. Timelock: Enforces a waiting period between proposal and execution.
  6. Parameter Updates: Functions to update governance parameters (threshold, timelock period).
  7. Transaction History: Maintains a record of all executed transactions.

Decentralized Oracle Network

The decentralized oracle contract implements:

  1. Oracle Registration: Staking-based application process for new oracles.
  2. Governance Approval: Multi-sig approval for oracle applications.
  3. Data Submission: Two-phase commit process for data submission (hash then full data).
  4. Consensus Verification: Threshold-based consensus mechanism.
  5. Reward Distribution: Automatic reward calculation and distribution for consensus participants.
  6. Oracle Management: Functions to manage oracle reliability and activity metrics.

Shared Constants and Error Codes

The shared constants contract provides:

  1. Common Error Codes: Standardized error codes with descriptive names.
  2. Governance Parameters: Thresholds, time periods, and other governance constants.
  3. Token Economics Constants: Supply limits, halving intervals, and distribution parameters.
  4. Oracle Network Parameters: Consensus thresholds and network size limits.

Security Considerations

  1. Threshold Configuration: Setting appropriate signature thresholds to balance security and operational efficiency.
  2. Timelock Periods: Ensuring timelock periods are long enough for community review but not disruptive to operations.
  3. Oracle Selection: Implementing a rigorous selection process for initial oracles.
  4. Economic Parameters: Calibrating stake requirements and rewards to ensure economic security.
  5. Migration Strategy: Carefully planning the transition from centralized to decentralized control.

Integration Points

Smart Contract Dependencies

  • Multi-sig Governance ← Reward Controller: Administrative functions are now governed by multi-sig.
  • Multi-sig Governance ← Oracle Network: Oracle approval and parameter updates are governed by multi-sig.
  • Oracle Network ← Reward Controller: Reward distribution depends on oracle-provided contribution data.
  • All Contracts ← Shared Constants: Common parameters and error codes.

Off-Chain Components

  1. Oracle Clients: Software used by oracle operators to submit contribution data.
  2. Governance Dashboard: Interface for viewing and participating in governance actions.
  3. Monitoring Tools: Systems to track oracle performance and network health.

Testing Strategy

  1. Unit Testing: Individual contract function testing with mocked dependencies.
  2. Integration Testing: Multi-contract interaction testing in simulated environments.
  3. Economic Simulation: Testing economic incentive mechanisms against various attack scenarios.
  4. Governance Simulation: Testing governance processes with multiple signers and proposal types.

Deployment and Upgrade Strategy

  1. Phased Deployment: Gradual transition from centralized to decentralized control.
  2. Initial Parameter Setting: Conservative initial governance parameters to be adjusted over time.
  3. Upgrade Mechanisms: On-chain governance process for approving contract upgrades.
  4. Emergency Controls: Time-limited emergency controls with multi-sig and high thresholds.

Conclusion

The fully decentralized DAO architecture represents a significant evolution from the previous hybrid model, eliminating single points of control while maintaining operational efficiency. By implementing multi-signature governance, a decentralized oracle network, and shared libraries, we've created a more secure, transparent, and maintainable system.

This architecture aligns with blockchain best practices and ensures that the DAO can operate in a truly decentralized manner, with decisions made collectively by stakeholders rather than individual administrators.