Hey Rocket Pool community,
I recently analyzed RP’s governance activity on Snapshot and wanted to share some findings that might be useful for the DAO’s ongoing governance discussions.
### THE DATA (based on 10 recent proposals):
**PARTICIPATION (The Good News):**
- 146 unique voters across recent proposals
- Consistent 70-86 votes per proposal
- Strong voter engagement compared to many other DAOs
**POWER CONCENTRATION (The Concerning Part):**
- Top 10 wallets control 53.1% of voting power
- Top 1 wallet: 8.4% of total power
- Nakamoto coefficient: 10 (only 10 entities needed for majority control)
- Gini coefficient: 0.695 (high inequality threshold)
**PARTICIPATION INEQUALITY:**
- Most active voters: ~1.3% participation rate
- Some high-power holders: as low as 0.13% participation
- Several large holders (ranks 9, 12, 16, 17) show <0.4% participation rates
### TRANSPARENCY GAP:
One interesting finding: All voters are classified as “TOP_VOTER” in the data because Snapshot’s strategy data doesn’t distinguish between:
- Direct RPL staking
- Delegated voting power
- Node operator voting power
This makes it harder to understand the true nature of power distribution.
### COMPARISON CONTEXT:
Compared to similar-sized DAOs:
- RP’s 146 voters is very healthy (some DAOs have <10)
- But the Gini coefficient of 0.695 is above the 0.6 “concerning” threshold
- Top 10 controlling 53% is moderate concentration (some DAOs see 80%+)
### QUESTIONS FOR THE COMMUNITY:
1. **Is the concentration acceptable?** Given RP’s two-DAO structure (PDAO + ODAO), is this level of concentration expected/acceptable?
2. **Should we address low-participation large holders?** Several high-power wallets barely participate. Should there be minimum participation expectations?
3. **Can we improve transparency?** Would it be valuable to better identify delegation vs direct voting power in our governance data?
4. **100% pass rate = healthy consensus or groupthink?** All recent proposals passed. Is this strong alignment or should we see more debate?
### MY TAKE:
RP is doing better than many DAOs on participation (146 voters is solid), but there’s room to improve on power distribution and transparency.
Would love to hear the community’s thoughts - especially from those who’ve been involved in governance longer than I have.
**Note:** Data from Snapshot analysis of recent proposals. Happy to share more detailed breakdowns if useful for governance discussions.