Solana DAO glossary
Definitions you can cite in proposals and onboarding docs. Each entry notes where the term appears in typical Solana governance setups.
A–C
- Council seat
- A governance role with authority to submit or veto certain proposal types. On Realms, council members are often defined separately from token voters. See also: voting roles briefing.
- Cooldown period
- The waiting time between a passed proposal and its on-chain execution. Prevents immediate treasury moves after a vote closes. Duration is set in the DAO's governance configuration.
- Charter
- The foundational document describing a DAO's purpose, membership rules, and amendment process. Often stored off-chain but referenced in on-chain metadata.
D–F
- Delegate
- A wallet that receives voting power from token holders who choose not to vote directly. Delegation can be revoked; active delegates appear in governance program dashboards.
- Execution
- The on-chain step that carries out an approved proposal's instructions — such as transferring tokens or updating program settings. Requires a signer with execution authority.
G–I
- Governance program
- The on-chain program that stores proposals, votes, and realm configuration. SPL Governance and Realms are common instances on Solana.
- Instruction
- A single action within a Solana transaction. Proposals often bundle multiple instructions — for example, approve a transfer and update a spending limit.
J–L
- Locked vote
- Voting power that cannot be withdrawn until a proposal cycle completes. Used in some DAOs to align voter incentives with long-term decisions.
M–O
- Multisig
- A wallet requiring multiple signatures for transactions. Treasury multisigs often sit behind governance proposals for large transfers.
- Quorum
- The minimum participation threshold for a vote to be valid. Expressed as a percentage of total voting power or a fixed token amount.
P–R
- Proposal
- A formal request for the DAO to take action. Contains a title, description, and one or more executable instructions. Moves through draft, voting, and execution states.
- Realm
- A governance instance within a program — the container for a DAO's proposals, voters, and configuration. Each DAO typically operates one realm.
S–U
- Signer
- A wallet authorized to approve transactions. In treasury workflows, signers may differ from voters — a passed proposal still needs a signer to execute it.
- Treasury
- The DAO's pooled assets — SOL, SPL tokens, NFTs — held in program-controlled or multisig wallets. Access rules are defined by governance votes and signing policies.
V–Z
- Vote escrow
- A mechanism that locks tokens in exchange for governance weight. Common in DeFi DAOs where long lock periods grant higher voting power.
- Voting power
- The weight a wallet carries in a vote. May derive from token balance, delegated tokens, or escrowed positions depending on realm configuration.
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