How It Works
Five stages from idea to execution — every step on-chain.
Propose
Any community member can submit a governance proposal on-chain. Proposals define the action to execute, the target contract, and the rationale. There are no gatekeepers — the process is fully permissionless.
Vote
Soulbound NFT holders cast weighted on-chain votes during a defined voting period. Votes are transparent and immutable. A quorum threshold must be met for the proposal to pass.
Queue
Approved proposals enter a security timelock. This delay provides the community time to review and react before execution. The timelock is enforced at the contract level.
Execute
After the timelock expires, the proposal executes automatically. Treasury transfers, contract upgrades, and parameter changes all happen on-chain with full auditability.
Disclose
All outcomes are publicly reported and independently verifiable. Proposal execution records, treasury movements, and governance decisions form a permanent on-chain record.
Treasury Funding
How the Olympia Treasury is funded — sustainably and without impacting miners.
100% of EIP-1559 basefee funds the Olympia Treasury
Block rewards remain completely untouched — miners are unaffected. The basefee, which would otherwise be burned (as on Ethereum mainnet), is redirected to a protocol-managed treasury contract. This creates a sustainable funding mechanism without introducing inflation or reducing miner compensation.
Funding Flow
Transactions
Users pay gas fees
Basefee
EIP-1559 fee mechanism
Treasury
Protocol-managed vault
Governance
Community proposals
Ecosystem
Development funding
Safeguards
Built-in protections that keep governance secure and compliant.
Timelock
Every approved proposal must wait through a configurable delay period before execution. This gives the community time to review, object, or prepare — preventing hasty or malicious actions from taking effect immediately.
Sanctions Screening
The governance system includes on-chain sanctions compliance at three layers: proposal submission, active voting, and execution. Sanctioned addresses cannot participate in governance or receive treasury funds.
Soulbound Voting
Voting power is tied to non-transferable (soulbound) NFT membership tokens. This prevents vote buying, flash-loan governance attacks, and ensures that only committed community members can influence decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Olympia governance, treasury funding, and the DAO LLC structure.
A DAO LLC is a legal entity recognized under Wyoming law that wraps a decentralized autonomous organization in a traditional corporate structure. It provides limited liability protection to members while preserving on-chain governance. Ethereum Classic DAO LLC was registered in Wyoming in 2025 (Filing ID 2025-001671865).
The Olympia Treasury is funded by 100% of the EIP-1559 basefee — the portion of transaction fees that would otherwise be burned. Block rewards remain completely untouched and go entirely to miners. This creates sustainable development funding without inflation or miner impact.
Any community member can submit a governance proposal on-chain. There are no gatekeepers or permission requirements. Proposals define the action to execute, the target contract, and supporting rationale.
Voting power is tied to soulbound (non-transferable) NFT membership tokens. During the voting period, holders cast on-chain votes for or against proposals. A quorum threshold must be met, and a majority of votes must approve the proposal for it to pass.
The Olympia hard fork is the most significant protocol upgrade in Ethereum Classic's history. It introduces EIP-1559 fee markets, protocol-level treasury funding, and sets the foundation for on-chain governance. Three independent client implementations (core-geth, besu, fukuii) support the upgrade.
Olympia activates on the Mordor testnet at block 15,800,850 (approximately March 28, 2026). Mainnet activation is targeted for approximately mid-June 2026 at block 24,751,337, pending successful testnet validation.
Multiple safeguards protect treasury funds: a configurable timelock delay on all approved proposals, three-layer on-chain sanctions screening (submission, voting, and execution), soulbound voting tokens that prevent vote buying, and full on-chain transparency for every transaction.
Ethereum Classic is positioned for classification as a digital commodity under the proposed CLARITY Act. As a Proof-of-Work blockchain with no pre-mine, no ICO, and decentralized governance, ETC aligns with commodity characteristics. The regulatory classification is pending congressional action.