On the Road to the First Blockchain Constitution

In October, at the 4th annual Cardano Community event in Buenos Aires, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson delivered a keynote that addressed the questions of: “Why Blockchain?” “Why now?” and “Why Here?.” You can read our write up about the keynote HERE.

It is no surprise that Charles was in Argentina this year, giving this keynote. Also in Argentina is where the Cardano ecosystem is planning to kickstart the future of its blockchain, and perhaps a new era for the entire blockchain space.

If all goes according to plan, an over one year long process will culminate in Argentina with 50 Cardano community members from 6 continents and 49 countries agreeing to and signing a document: The Cardano Constitution.

The Cardano Constitution is a philosophical and technical document that is being designed to safeguard the blockchain and provide aspiration for anyone participating in or contributing to Cardano. The first version of the document was released in June, following a series of workshops around the world. The goal of each workshop was to: Provide suggestions or commentary about the draft Select a delegate (and an alternate) that would be able to participate in revisions of the constitution to make sure that their community voices needs and concerns are addressed.

Since kicking off the workshops, elected delegates have been meeting on zoom to discuss findings from the workshop, review revisions to the constitution, and provide continuous feedback as the document evolves.

On Oct 2 and 3, some delegates met in Costa Rica for an in-person session. Those who could not attend in Costa Rica had the opportunity to join in-person in Nairobi Kenya on the 9th and 10th. There will be one final meeting and review in November before all 50 delegates and their alternates meet in Argentina for final review and signing of a final document.

The Constitution that comes out of Argentina will then be put on the blockchain for a vote by the Cardano community requiring a ⅔ threshold for formal ratification. This will be a first for any blockchain ecosystem.

The Co-Founder and leading thought leader from Ethereum, Vitalik Buiterin, famously said that “Formal on-chain blockchain governance is not a panacea, and it’s not even clear that it’s an improvement.“ Bitcoin’s approach to governance is more akin to anarchy, with change mostly originating from Software Developers. Governance was always part of the plan for Cardano, appearing on its original development roadmap. The code is now written; the first version of the constitution will soon be here.

What comes next is participation from every ada holder. Lido Nation is doing our part by committing to voting with our stake pool key, voting a DRep with our DRep keys, and encouraging our team to participate where they can. Our founding co-dreamer, this author, will be one of the 50 delegates making history in Argentina. What are your thoughts on Cardano’s attempt at on-chain governance? Leave them in the comments below.