The Onyx DAO multi-sig guardians have unanimously voted 5/5 to veto a series of recent community polls. The decision was executed through the DAO’s established guardian multi-signature process and reflects a procedural intervention rather than a structural change to the governance framework.
Background
Over the past several weeks, a large number of polls were submitted through the Onyx governance interface. While community participation remains a core value of the DAO, many of these proposals were not submitted through the formal Onyx Improvement Proposal (OIP) process, which is the required pathway for governance changes or structural decisions.
Because the proposals bypassed the formal OIP framework, the guardians determined that the polls could not be treated as binding governance actions. As a result, the guardian council initiated a multi-sig vote, which concluded unanimously (5/5) in favor of vetoing the affected polls.
Polls Vetoed
The following polls were included in the veto decision:
#f33dd
#63263
#27b28
#1fc34
#e67ce
#6db92
#29646
#a1561
#5c921
#aa79c
#5692c
#bbc61
#a6f9e
#172d5
#87479
#53316
#50f34
#83db8
#38db2
#87e24
#3735f
#135a9
#95cee
#8dd74
#28659
#cacbe
#38ae6
#d0317
#fef8d
#b9d91
#0614e
#aed32
#a6936
#d49b1
#1351c
#9b055
#153c1
#ac809
#2f2b5
#a1b78
#113f2
#67591
#04e02
#98753
#2320b
#6704a
#ab7be
#7e2fd
No Structural Governance Changes
Importantly, the guardian veto does not introduce any structural change to the governance model of the Onyx DAO. Because these polls were not submitted through OIPs, the veto simply resets the governance state to the previously established framework.
The only operational change implemented relates to poll creation requirements. The minimum requirement to create a poll has now been set at 10 million XCN, intended to reduce spam and low-effort proposals that dilute governance signals.
Additionally, the community will be asked to consider a separate poll proposing that quorum requirements represent 50% of total vote weight, which would align governance participation more closely with the capital securing the network.
Governance Efficiency and Poll Spam
One of the primary motivations behind the veto decision was the increasing inefficiency of the poll system. Due to the relatively low capital required to initiate polls and the current market capitalization of XCN, a large volume of proposals were being submitted with minimal economic alignment.
This created several issues:
• Poll spam, where large numbers of low-quality proposals crowded the governance interface
• Diluted signal, making it harder for meaningful proposals to stand out
• Reduced governance efficiency, as community members had difficulty tracking legitimate proposals
The guardians emphasized that governance systems must remain capital-aligned and efficient, ensuring that the economic weight securing the network is reflected in governance participation.
Guardian Multi-Sig Decision Process
The veto was carried out through the Onyx DAO guardian multi-signature system, which is designed to protect the protocol from governance failures or procedural violations.
In this case, all guardians participated in the decision, resulting in a 5-of-5 unanimous vote to veto the polls. The guardians’ role is not to override community governance arbitrarily, but to ensure that the DAO’s formal governance framework is followed.
By enforcing the OIP process and preventing governance spam, the guardians aim to preserve the integrity and long-term sustainability of the DAO.
Capital-Efficient Governance Through Delegation
Community members who wish to propose or support governance initiatives still have powerful tools available to them.
The Snapshot voting system used by Onyx DAO supports vote delegation, allowing token holders to delegate their voting power to trusted representatives or community leaders. This mechanism enables:
• Capital-efficient proposal creation
• Stronger governance coordination
• More meaningful participation from the community
Delegation allows individuals or groups with strong proposals to aggregate voting power, ensuring that governance participation remains proportional to the economic security of the network.
In practice, this means that if the community strongly supports a proposal, they can coordinate voting power through delegation to meet the required thresholds without requiring each participant to act independently.
Looking Ahead
The guardians reaffirmed their commitment to transparent, structured governance within the Onyx ecosystem. While community participation remains critical, governance must also remain resilient against spam and procedural misuse.
Moving forward, the DAO encourages contributors to:
• Submit governance changes through the formal OIP process
• Coordinate with the community through vote delegation
• Ensure proposals reflect meaningful economic alignment with the network
We also remind the community that the Onyx polling system is advisory in nature and any Goverance actions must be carried out via the longstanding OIP framework. The polling system is designed and was implemented to elevate opinions within the community so that larger holders can sponsor polls that attract wide community support where appropriate.
By strengthening governance processes and improving capital efficiency, the Onyx DAO aims to maintain a robust and scalable governance system that supports both community participation and protocol stability.