Polycentric Decentralized Governance Framework
1. Governance Philosophy
ANCORA is governed by a polycentric constitutional model designed explicitly to prevent capture by any single entity – including founding teams, foundations, corporations, governments, venture capital firms, or AI agents. Governance power is deliberately fragmented across independent, overlapping councils with separated powers and checks and balances.
No individual or group may unilaterally control the network. All power derives from the community of users and validators.
2. Five-Tier Governance Stack
ANCORA implements five independent, complementary governance layers with strictly separated responsibilities:
Layer 1: Protocol Governance Council (21 Members)
Responsibilities:
Core protocol upgrades and parameter adjustments
Cryptography standard migrations and security patches
Consensus rule changes
Network fork coordination
Election & Composition:
21 members elected annually by validator vote
Maximum 7 members from any single geographic region
Maximum 3 members from any single organization
No founding team member may serve more than 2 consecutive terms
67% supermajority required for all decisions
Layer 2: Treasury Governance Council (7 Members)
Responsibilities:
System Operations Reserve budget management
Grant program administration
Ecosystem funding allocation
Expenditure review and approval
Election & Composition:
7 members elected semi-annually by community vote
No member may have financial interest in funded projects
5-of-7 approval required for all expenditures
All decisions fully public and auditable
Layer 3: Infrastructure Governance Council (11 Members)
Responsibilities:
Validator set policies and requirements
Node operation standards and incentives
Network capacity expansion planning
Infrastructure grant programs
Election & Composition:
11 members, all active validators elected by validator set
1-year staggered terms
60% majority required for decisions
Layer 4: Application Governance Layer
Responsibilities:
Agent marketplace policies
Developer ecosystem rules
Enterprise service standards
Application layer parameter adjustments
Election & Composition:
Elected by developer and application stakeholder community
Separate from base protocol governance to prevent application-layer capture
Layer 5: Community Governance Layer
Responsibilities:
Proposal submission and discussion
Community veto power over all council decisions
Oversight and recall of council members
Constitutional amendment initiation
3. Three-Factor Voting Weight System
Voting power is NOT determined by token wealth alone. Governance weight is calculated as a composite score:
Stake Score (40%): Amount and time-lock duration of staked ANC
Contribution Score (35%): Code contributions, node operation, ecosystem development, education, community work
Trust Score (25%): Historical behavior, governance participation, node performance, violation records
This model eliminates plutocratic "whale" control and rewards actual contribution to the network.
4. Proposal & Voting Lifecycle
All proposals follow a standardized, transparent process:
Draft Phase (7 days): Community discussion and feedback
Formal Submission: Complete proposal with budget, scope, and timeline
Review Phase (7 days): Relevant council technical and financial review
Voting Phase (14 days): Token holder voting weighted by three-factor score
Time Lock (48 hours): Public observation period before execution
Execution: Automatic on-chain execution of approved proposals
Audit: Post-execution review and transparency reporting
Approval Thresholds:
Ordinary proposals: 50% + 1 majority
Major protocol changes: 67% supermajority
Constitutional amendments: 80% supermajority + 90-day time lock
5. Checks & Balances
Community Veto: Any council decision may be vetoed by 51% community vote within 48 hours
Council Recall: Any council member may be recalled by 60% community vote
Power Separation: No council member may serve on more than one council simultaneously
Term Limits: All council positions have strict term limits to prevent entrenchment
Transparency: All governance discussions, votes, and decisions are permanently public and auditable