Orbs has announced the launch of OIP-9 (Orbs Improvement Proposal 9), the project's first formal community governance vote to establish the Orbs DAO and introduce its governance framework. According to reports from crypto.news and a press release shared with Cryptowisser, if approved by the community, the proposal will create the DAO's initial governance layer, giving eligible participants authority over defined areas of the protocol while laying the foundation for progressive decentralization. The proposal marks the next stage in Orbs' governance evolution following more than seven years of protocol development and nearly four years of on-chain governance. As reported by Cryptowisser, Ran Hammer, Vice President of Business Development at Orbs, emphasized that "Decentralization works best when responsibility grows alongside the community's ability to govern effectively." The introduction of OIP-9 represents the next milestone in Orbs' governance journey after more than seven years of protocol development and nearly four years of on-chain governance.
Under OIP-9, governance participation will initially be available to users who have staked ORBS tokens in the network's Proof-of-Stake (PoS) contract. As reported by crypto.news and Cryptowisser, the DAO will operate through a combination of community governance proposals and Snapshot voting that execute approved decisions through dedicated DAO-controlled multisig wallets. The DAO will initially oversee several core governance responsibilities, including managing selected Proof-of-Stake network parameters, approving or revoking Guardian certifications, voting on major protocol upgrades, and authorizing new protocol deployments and network-level product modules. The limited initial scope is intended to provide meaningful community oversight while ensuring governance remains practical and secure during the DAO's early stages.
Rather than attempting to decentralize every aspect of the protocol at once, the proposal adopts a progressive governance model that expands community responsibility over time. According to crypto.news and Cryptowisser, the phased approach is designed to strengthen governance processes before assigning broader responsibilities to the community. Future governance proposals may address areas including protocol revenue, treasury management, liquidity strategies, grants, burn mechanisms, and broader tokenomics as the DAO develops operational experience and governance processes. To help ensure network stability during the transition, the proposal includes a limited emergency mechanism that would allow the Orbs core team to take action in situations where immediate intervention is required, and community voting is not practical. However, any emergency action would later require ratification through the DAO, ensuring transparency and preserving community oversight.
If approved, the proposal will establish the governance infrastructure needed for the next phase of the Orbs roadmap, including the planned Season 1 tokenomics proposal. As reported by crypto.news and Cryptowisser, by creating a formal DAO before introducing broader economic changes, Orbs aims to enable future community-led decisions on protocol economics, network incentives, treasury management, and ecosystem growth through an increasingly decentralized governance process. The network has evolved into a live Layer-3 blockchain infrastructure supporting decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and execution products across multiple blockchain ecosystems. By first establishing the DAO's structure and authority, Orbs aims to create a strong foundation for the next phase of the Orbs ecosystem, with the formal DAO structure providing the necessary framework for community-driven decision-making on protocol economics and network incentives. If adopted, the framework is designed to support progressive decentralization by gradually expanding the DAO's authority as the community gains governance experience.
