📋 Proposal Lifecycle: Idea to Execution
Track governance proposals through every stage
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0 / 5 completed📋 Proposal Lifecycle: The Long Road from Idea to Execution
DAO proposals aren't instant. From idea to implementation takes 2-4 weeks minimum. Why so long? Safety. Fast governance = easy attacks. The lifecycle has 5 stages: draft, snapshot vote, on-chain vote, timelock, execution. Each adds friction—but that friction prevents disasters like governance attacks, rushed decisions, and community splits.
🎮 Interactive: Lifecycle Stage Explorer
Click through the 5 stages of a DAO proposal. See duration, purpose, and what happens at each step.
Stage 1: Draft & Discussion
3-7 daysProposal posted on forum, community debates, temperature checks
Real Example: Uniswap proposals start on gov.uniswap.org forum with 3-day discussion minimum
⚡ Why So Slow?
Without delays, attackers could buy tokens → pass malicious proposal → execute → dump tokens in hours. Timelock forces them to hold during delay.
Complex proposals need time to analyze. Rushing = bad decisions. Compound's cUSDC parameter change was debated for 14 days before voting.
If a proposal passes that you hate, timelock gives you 1-14 days to sell tokens and leave before it executes. Vote with your wallet.
💡 Key Insight
The proposal lifecycle is intentionally slow. Traditional companies decide in hours. DAOs take weeks. Trade-off: security vs. agility. The 2-4 week minimum prevents bad actors but also prevents rapid responses to crises. When Compound needed to emergency-freeze a market during exploit risk, governance took 3 days—by then, $160M was gone. Some DAOs add guardian multisigs (3-of-5 trusted addresses) for emergencies, but this undermines decentralization. The lifecycle stages create checks and balances—but also gridlock. Next sections dive into each stage in detail.