Governance Process

The governance process outlined below allows for members and stakeholders in the VMEX community to drive the decision making for improvements to the protocol, adjustments to risk parameters, and management of VMEX’s ecosystem incentives. Holders of the VMEX token are the official governors of the protocol and can use their token holdings to vote on the future of the protocol.

VRCs (VMEX Request for Comments)

VMEX Request for Comments (VRCs) are the starting point for all VMEX governance discussions. Anyone, regardless of whether they hold VMEX tokens, can create VRCs and contribute to governance. All VRCs should be crafted with the care and consideration that would be expected of a mission critical decision discussion, as changes can have adverse consequences on a system securing user funds.

VRCs posted on the governance forum should be considered a complete work in progress, containing all necessary information to inform a fruitful discussion. VRCs are an opportunity to receive community feedback, improvement suggestions, and gauge the relative support of a proposal.

All VRCs must contain the following information:

• A short and concise title of the VRC. I.e. Describe the VRC in 10 words or less.

• A short and concise abstract summarizing the proposal.

• Rationale for the VRC and goals of the proposal. This section should err on being verbose. Assume most participants require an ELI5 description.

• Bullet point summary of intended outcomes of the proposal, what relevant changes there will be to the protocol (e.g. Fees will change from 5% to 10%), and possible consequences to consider.

• The title of the forum post must include “VRC:” and the title of the VRC.

VIPs (VMEX Improvement Proposals)

Once all questions are addressed and comments are taken into consideration, VRCs can be submitted for a formal snapshot vote by any community member with sufficient stake in VMEX (requirements will be determined by the type of proposal put forth).

While it is not required, it is strongly recommended that all VIPs start with a VRC and have undergone a sufficiently rigorous discussion and improvement process prior to being submitted as a VIP.

All VRCs must contain the following information:

• A short and concise title of the VIP. I.e. Describe the VIP in 10 words or less.

• A short and concise abstract summarizing the VIP.

• A concise description providing the rationale and intended goals of the VIP.

• Link to the corresponding VRC and any other relevant community discussions.

• Bullet point summary of intended outcomes of the VIP, what relevant changes there will be to the protocol (e.g. Fees will change from 5% to 10%), and possible consequences to consider.

VIPs will be segmented into two types of proposals based on their impact on the protocol. Proposals that will only enact minor changes to the code base or protocol parameters will require less voting time and participation, so they can be quickly implemented. Critical proposals that structurally affect the protocol will require more vote time and participation.

In the event a VIP fails to pass the snapshot vote, the same proposal must undergo an additional 14 day VRC period before being resubmitted as a VIP to be considered legitimate.