SubQuery Foundation Proposes Future Governance of the SubQuery Network

4 min readMay 8, 2024

The SubQuery Foundation is proposed to lead the governance and strategic vision for the SubQuery Network, fostering growth and development. Through advocacy, marketing, and efficient treasury management, it intends to expand SubQuery’s influence in the Web3 community.

Today we share our vision for the long-term structure of decentralised and community governance in the SubQuery Network, and invite feedback, suggestions, and any concerns in the comments so we can work collaboratively to improve and fine-tune our governance processes. Please read the full forum post and propose your comments here.

What is the SubQuery Foundation

At the heart of SubQuery’s governance approach, the SubQuery Foundation will oversee governance decisions and shape the ultimate strategic direction of the SubQuery Network. The SubQuery Foundation will help foster and guide the development and growth of the SubQuery Network.

Moreover, grant programs administered by the Foundation will incentivize developers and users to leverage the SubQuery Network for their innovative projects. By supporting community-driven initiatives and hackathons, the Foundation seeks to foster an ecosystem of partners and a flourishing user base. Comprehensive educational programs and learning materials will ensure that both beginners and seasoned developers have the resources they need to thrive within the SubQuery ecosystem.

It is expected that the SubQuery Foundation will be composed of core team members, as well as some key advisers and, over the longer term, a variety of community members elected by the community for the community.

The SubQuery Foundation is designed to focus on the following key outcomes.

Over the long term, the SubQuery Foundation should assume operational responsibility for day-to-day tasks in business development, marketing, product management, and other areas of the network.

Contributing to SubQuery

It is our long-term goal that a collection of independent organisations and individuals (SubQuery Labs being one of them) can contribute to the SubQuery SDK, as well as the SubQuery Network contracts and applications. We’ve already taken steps towards this by introducing our open Developer Guild, which is a collection of paid tasks that any developer can start working on today for inclusion in our codebases.

SubQuery Treasury

The SubQuery Foundation manages a sizable Treasury of SQT tokens, essential for funding initiatives that fuel growth and innovation within the SubQuery Network. The treasury will be funded through inflation rewards and vested tokens donated by the Foundation.

Our goal is to allow anyone to submit a SubQuery Treasury Proposal (STP), allowing community members to suggest compelling reasons for the allocation of funds. The SubQuery Foundation will initially monitor and vote on all major Treasury proposals submitted by council members, subcommittees, as well as by general community members. This open proposal system not only democratises decision-making but also empowers members to contribute to the Network’s strategic direction.

Governance Proposals

To streamline the communication and documentation process for governance, it is proposed that the Foundation operate through the following three proposal mechanisms.

SubQuery Meta Proposals SMP: Proposals that discuss governance matters of the SubQuery Foundation and Network.
SubQuery Product Proposals SPP: Proposals that discuss product and technical matters and allow token holders to suggest features and network improvements, fostering a collaborative roadmap. Examples include adjusting key network parameters, adding features to the official app, or supporting new layer-1s. SubQuery Treasury Proposals STP: May be how token holders decide how large capital allocations are made. Examples include grants, allocation of SQT to certain reward streams and capital allocation to ecosystem development programmes.

For any proposal to be put to vote, a post should be made in https://forum.subquery.network. As the proposal is made as a forum post, discussion may happen underneath the post.

What are the Next Steps?

We value your input to enhance our governance processes collaboratively. Following feedback, we’ll initiate SMPs to ratify the Council, Foundation, and Constitution, and for general voting, marking the start of decentralised governance.

Today we share our vision for the long-term structure of decentralised and community governance in the SubQuery Network and invite feedback, suggestions, and any concerns in the comments so we can work collaboratively to improve and fine-tune our governance processes. Please read the full forum post and propose your comments here.

About SubQuery

SubQuery Network is innovating web3 infrastructure with tools that empower builders to decentralise the future. Our fast, flexible, and open data indexer supercharges dApps on over 180 networks, enabling a user-focused web3 world. Soon, our Data Node will provide breakthroughs in the RPC industry, and deliver decentralisation without compromise. We pioneer the web3 revolution for visionaries and forward-thinkers. We’re not just a company — we’re a movement driving an inclusive and decentralised web3 era. Let’s shape the future of web3, together.