Governance

An overview of Governance on the MilkyWay Layer-1. For step-by-step instructions or live parameters, jump to Quick Start and Network Parameters.

MilkyWay follows the Cosmos SDK governance framework. Governance serves four critical roles.

Policy Control: MILK holders decide on parameter changes that shape network economics and security.
Budget Allocation: Community pool spends fund development, audits, liquidity incentives, and ecosystem grants.
Feature Upgrades: Major software upgrades, IBC channel additions, and new modules are all gated by a successful proposal.
Social Consensus: Formal, transparent voting replaces informal offchain coordination and gives every staker a voice.

Proposal Draft: Proposers share a draft to gather feedback and gauge sentiment.
Deposit: A minimum MILK deposit (refundable if the proposal reaches the voting stage) is submitted onchain to prevent spam.
Voting Period: Once the deposit threshold is met, a voting window opens for all bonded MILK.
Tally: Results are finalized at the end of the window. {roposals pass if quorum is reached and “Yes” votes exceed “No” and “NoWithVeto.”
Execution: Passed proposals trigger the encoded action; Parameter change, fund transfer, or upgrade height automatically.

Yes: Support the proposal.
No: Oppose without the proposal.
NoWithVeto: Signal strong opposition; ≥ 33.33 % kills the proposal and burns the deposit.
Abstain: Counted toward quorum but neutral in outcome.
Notes:
- Quorum: At least 40 % of bonded MILK must vote for the result to be valid (subject to change via governance).
- Validator Delegation: Delegators inherit their validator’s vote by default but can override it anytime before the window closes.

Proposal Deposit: Discourages spam; refunded if the proposal enters voting and is not vetoed. Slashing for Spam (NoWithVeto): Deposits are burned when a proposal is vetoed, penalizing low-quality submissions.
Voting Power: More bonded MILK equals greater influence, tying governance weight to economic stake in the network.

Protect your economic interests: Treasury spend, inflation changes, security upgrades and new product launches all move through onchain proposals. Voting lets you steer those outcomes instead of leaving them to others.
Override your validator when you disagree: If you do not vote, your validator’s choice is automatically applied to your stake. A single large validator can end up wielding millions of MILK they never paid for, sometimes against delegators’ best interests. Casting a ballot instantly overrides their vote for your stake share.
Strengthen decentralization & legitimacy: High voter turnout distributes power away from a few top validators, hardens the chain against capture and signals market confidence in MilkyWay's governance model.

Last updated 24 days ago