Concepts
Governance
Multisig

Multisig

::: tip Multisig Permissions

The core of Balancer smart contracts are immutable and do not use proxies or other upgrade mechanisms. The Multisig does not have custody of, nor control over, funds from liquidity providers that lie inside Balancer Protocol contracts. Balancer V2 was designed so that even if a multisig goes rogue, all the liquidity is safe and can be withdrawn by their rightful owners. Specific permisions can be found in the article below. :::

The Multisigs and their addresses

NamePurposeChainAddressSigner Set
Protocol Fees MultisigCollect fees, and set A-Factors and Fees on pools (default pool-owner, except on mainnet where a separate Multisig is used to set fees.MAINNET (opens in a new tab), ARBI (opens in a new tab), POLYGON (opens in a new tab)0x7c68c42De679ffB0f16216154C996C354cF1161BBAL Maxis
Mainnet Fee SetterDefault pool owner for Mainnet that can set A-Factors and protocol fees.MAINNET (opens in a new tab)0xf4A80929163C5179Ca042E1B292F5EFBBE3D89e6BAL Maxis
DAO MultlsigFunding BIPs, killing of gauges, veBAL allowlistingMAINNET (opens in a new tab)0x10A19e7eE7d7F8a52822f6817de8ea18204F2e4fDAO Signers
LM MultisigUsed to manage gauges and liquidity mining tokens and manage liquidity supplied to multichain (bridge). New Gauge requests go here.MAINNET (opens in a new tab), ARBI (opens in a new tab), POLYGON (opens in a new tab)0xc38c5f97B34E175FFd35407fc91a937300E33860BAL Maxis
Linear Pool ControlManage limits on Mainnet Linear PoolsMAINNET (opens in a new tab)0x75a52c0e32397A3FC0c052E2CeB3479802713Cf4BAL Maxis
Maxi PaymentsHolds the Maxi Budget and is used to pay people and expenses.MAINNET (opens in a new tab)0x166f54F44F271407f24AA1BE415a730035637325BAL Maxis
Managed TreasuryHolds treasury funds managed by Karpatkey as per BIP-162 (opens in a new tab)MAINNET (opens in a new tab)0x0EFcCBb9E2C09Ea29551879bd9Da32362b32fc89DAO Signers
Arbitrum DAO MultisigTreasury + Admin functions on ArbitrumARBI (opens in a new tab)0xaF23DC5983230E9eEAf93280e312e57539D098D0DAO Signers
Polygon DAO MultisigTreasury + Admin functions on PolygonPOLYGON (opens in a new tab)0xeE071f4B516F69a1603dA393CdE8e76C40E5Be85DAO Signers
Optimsim DAO MultisgTreasury + Admin functions on OptimismOPTIMISM (opens in a new tab)0x043f9687842771b3dF8852c1E9801DCAeED3f6bcDAO Signers
Opitimism Fees + LMFee and liquidity mining management on OptimismOPTIMISM (opens in a new tab)0x09Df1626110803C7b3b07085Ef1E053494155089BAL Maxis
Gnosis Chain DAODAO multisig on gnosis chainGNOSIS (opens in a new tab)0x2a5AEcE0bb9EfFD7608213AE1745873385515c18DAO Signers
Gnosis Chain Fees + LMFee and liquidity mining management on OptimismGNOSIS (opens in a new tab)0x14969B55a675d13a1700F71A37511bc22D90155aBAL Maxis

Context

Since its inception, the long term vision for the Balancer Protocol is to be fully governed by BAL token holders, while token ownership is aimed to be widely spread across the Balancer community.

But getting to that ideal, long-term vision of a truly decentralized and effective governance is no easy task. Protocol governance is a highly complex and rapidly evolving topic. The whole crypto ecosystem is still in the very early days of trying to figure out:

  • which mechanisms and processes work best
  • the necessary infrastructure, tooling, and user interfaces
  • the risks and concerns associated with each approach

While also actively experimenting with governance-related initiatives, the Balancer community has leaned towards the more cautious and thoughtful approach of not trying to rush the path to full decentralization, so each step towards a mature on-chain governance will be taken with due care, having learned from others’ experiences.

Balancer V1 contracts are immutable, so up until now, there have been no core protocol parameters to tweak/change. Instead, our governance has focused on a fair, inclusive BAL token distribution, which is carried out mainly through the protocol’s liquidity mining. BAL holders have tweaked liquidity mining via off-chain voting. And to make that possible, Balancer Labs proudly developed in-house an open-source tool called Snapshot, which became the widely popular gold standard for off-chain voting in blockchain land. Snapshot (opens in a new tab) was so successful that was as its own initiative. It has become a standard for DeFi governance.

Balancer V2 contracts, on the other hand, do allow for some tweaking of core protocol parameters, for instance, in turning on protocol fees. As a placeholder for a future on-chain DAO, such limited admin powers has been initially granted to a Multisig.

Balancer strives to continue to automate operations and governance execution. While the eventual goal is still to move the entire governance and execution on-chain, the current Multisigs have proven themselves as reliable executors of the wishes of veBAL voters. In the long run, BAL holders are expected to retire the Multisig in favor of a full-fledged Balancer DAO.

Current state of Multisig Operations

Balancer Governance has grown to into a system managed by a collection of Multisigs, which are activated by 2 different signer sets. First of all, a very important point: the Multisigs do NOT have decision making power, as their role is to simply enact and operate on-chain the decisions BAL holders make via off-chain voting and assist community members in the governance process.

Further, fee collection and processing requires tokens to be swept from the vault and swapped for dollars. This is an example of an operational pratice, defined by governance, that requires regular onchain intervention. The Balancer Maxis currently operate these processes through Multisigs, with a goal to automate as much as possible.

All Balancer Multisigs are deployed using Gnosis Safe (opens in a new tab), the most battle-tested Multisig contract on Ethereum. The DAO and Treasury Multisigs with the ability to change protocol operations or access to treasury funds are require 6-of-11 singers to process transactions. The signer structure of the Multisigs may change if voted on through the governance process.

Over time, various functions have been delegated to different Multisigs. The Balancer Maxis working group is responsible for ensuring the application of governance on chain. The Balancer Multisig Ops Repo (opens in a new tab) describes all Multisigs and operations as well as the external touch-points available.

The Signers

Balancer’s Multisig signers are a diverse set of widely respected community members. These are the current signers as of February 2023:

Note that the list below was last updated in February 2023. The Maxis keep an up-to-date list of their signers and Multisigs here (opens in a new tab)

DAO Multisig Signer Set

The DAO Multisig Signer Set and associated Multisigs is reserved for major changes to protcool operations, and management of treasury funds.

SignerAssociationAddress
Alexander Lange (opens in a new tab)(Inflection)0x3ABDc84Dd15b0058B281D7e26CCc3932cfb268aA
0xMaki (opens in a new tab)(LayerZero, AURA, DCV)0x285b7EEa81a5B66B62e7276a24c1e0F83F7409c1
Solarcurve (opens in a new tab)(Balancer Maxis)0x512fce9B07Ce64590849115EE6B32fd40eC0f5F3
Evan (opens in a new tab)(Fjord)0x59693BA1A5764e087CE166ac0E0085Fc071B9ea7
Ernesto (opens in a new tab)(BGD)0xA39a62304d8d43B35114ad7bd1258B0E50e139b3
Mounir (opens in a new tab)(Paraswap)0x0951FF0835302929d6c0162b3d2495A85e38ec3A
Trent McConaghy (opens in a new tab)(Ocean Protocol)0x478eC43c6867c2884f87B21c164f1fD1308bD9a3
Stefan (opens in a new tab)(Gnosis)0x9F7dfAb2222A473284205cdDF08a677726d786A0
bonustrack87 (opens in a new tab)(Snapshot)0x9BE6ff2A1D5139Eda96339E2644dC1F05d803600
nanexcool (opens in a new tab)(Ethereum OG) 0x823DF0278e4998cD0D06FB857fBD51e85b18A250
David Gerai (opens in a new tab)(Nostra Finance) 0xAc1aA53108712d7f38093A67d380aD54B562a650

DAO Multisigs always require 6/11 signers to execute a transaction.

Beyond those current signers, BIP-16 (opens in a new tab) laid out a group of backup signers who could replace current signers without further governance. Note that since BIP-16, Moniur has become an active member of the DAO Multisig.

Operational Multisigs Signer Set AKA Balancer Maxis

The Balancer Maxis operate a number of Multisigs with a reduced signer requirement, which are used for the regular operation of the protocol, as well as adding gauges to veBAL.

SignerDiscord HandleAddress
Solarcurvesolarcurve#50750x512fce9B07Ce64590849115EE6B32fd40eC0f5F3
Zen DragonZen Dragon#29230x7c2eA10D3e5922ba3bBBafa39Dc0677353D2AF17
Zekrakenzekraken#06450xafFC70b81D54F229A5F50ec07e2c76D2AAAD07Ae
Mike Bd_w_b_w_d#06850xc4591c41e01a7a654B5427f39Bbd1dEe5bD45D1D
XeonusXeonus#46200x7019Be4E4eB74cA5F61224FeAf687d2b43998516
TritiumTritium#00690xcf4fF1e03830D692F52EB094c52A5A6A2181Ab3F

The Balancer Maxi Multisig set requires 2 or 3 out of 7 signers to execute, depending on the security level of the Multisig.

The Balancer Maxis are ratified by a BIP each quarter. BIP-145 (opens in a new tab) is a recent example of such governance.

Signer Duties

All signers are expected to sign an Ethereum transaction ratifying each decision made by BAL holders through snapshot votes. This signature is expected to be done within the two weeks after the snapshot vote was concluded. Signers are encouraged to sign open requests even if they have already reached a quorum in order to signal their liveliness.

A signer shall lose his/her role (by action of the remaining Multisig signers excluding him/her) in case he/she:

  • acts against BAL token holders’ off-chain voting;
  • goes through 3 months or 2 votes (whichever takes longer) without performing any of their signer duties.

Multisig Powers

V2 smart contracts can grant some specific powers to an “admin” address, which will initially point to the Multisig’s address.

These powers are:

  • set a share of swap fees to be diverted to the protocol (hard capped at 50% of the swap fee)
  • set a flash loan fee
  • extract from the vault collected protocol fees and/or excess balances (e.g. airdrops), to any destination
  • set the address of the oracle implementation
  • set relayer addresses: relayers are (user opt-in, audited) contracts that can make calls to the vault (with the transaction “sender” being any arbitrary address) and use the sender’s ERC20 vault allowance, internal balance or BPTs on their behalf
  • set dynamic-fee controllers: addresses (initially assigned to Gauntlet) that may change the swap fee for pools created by the dynamic-fee pool factory that will be deployed by Balancer Labs
  • Add and removal of veBAL gauges

© 2023 Balancer Labs