🎯 Quorum Thresholds: Minimum Participation
Learn why minimum voter turnout prevents governance attacks
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0 / 5 completed📊 Quorum & Thresholds: The Double Gatekeepers
Two numbers decide if proposals pass: quorum (minimum participation required) and threshold (minimum approval percentage). Set quorum too high? Nothing passes (governance gridlock). Too low? Small groups control decisions (governance attack). Thresholds vary: simple majority (50%+) for routine changes, supermajority (66-75%) for critical upgrades.
🎮 Interactive: Quorum Calculator
Adjust quorum requirements, voting thresholds, and participation rates. See how these parameters determine whether proposals pass or fail.
⚖️ Quorum Trade-offs
Too High (>20%)
- •Gridlock: Nothing passes. Low participation = perpetual failure. Compound had 10% quorum, many proposals never reached it.
- •Apathy wins: Even majority approval fails if turnout low. Governance becomes impossible.
- •Status quo bias: Inaction is the default. Prevents necessary changes.
Too Low (<4%)
- •Attack risk: Small coordinated groups pass proposals. Buy 4%, vote as bloc, control DAO.
- •Low legitimacy: Decisions by 5% feel undemocratic. Community backlash and forks.
- •Whale dominance: Single large holder can unilaterally pass proposals.
Sweet Spot: Most successful DAOs use 4-10% quorum. Uniswap: 4% (40M UNI). Compound: lowered from 10% to 4% due to gridlock. Aave: 2% for routine, 6.5% for critical.
🎯 Threshold Types
Routine decisions: treasury allocations under $100k, parameter tweaks, marketing approvals. Fast, flexible.
Important changes: large treasury spends (>$1M), interest rate changes, tokenomics updates. Broad consensus required.
Critical upgrades: smart contract changes, governance system overhauls, constitutional amendments. Near-unanimous support needed.
💡 Key Insight
Quorum and thresholds are political compromises. High quorum = hard to pass anything. Low quorum = easy to manipulate. Simple majority = fast decisions but divisive. Supermajority = broad agreement but slow. DAOs constantly adjust these parameters—Compound lowered quorum after gridlock, Uniswap raised thresholds after governance attacks. No perfect settings exist. The real question: do you optimize for agility (low quorum, simple majority) or security (high quorum, supermajority)? Most DAOs start conservative (high bars) then relax over time as governance matures. Next: how delegation changes the power dynamics entirely.