With VeBetterDAO recently entering its second epoch, we’re excited to introduce a new, core mechanism to the platform — ‘VePassport’.
VePassport is a ‘Proof of Personhood’ solution that decentralized identification framework that delivers a secure, Sybil-resistant environment and enhances the governance experience within the Better ecosystem, ensuring users are genuine, and properly rewarded them for their sustainable actions.
Alongside VePassport, this latest update also introduces several new features and adjustments*, from UX, to quorum and more. Read on for full details!
What is VePassport?
At its core, VePassport is a decentralized identity solution tied to a VeWorld Wallet address within VeBetterDAO. As the ecosystem grows, decentralized governance will require ever-more robust identity disclosures to ensure fair voting and decision-making. VePassport links user activities, assets, and other elements to create a reliable, decentralized profile on the platform.
VePassport’s core goal is the reduction of Sybil farming within the governance process, helping ensure voting, and any associated rewards, are free from manipulation and fairly distributed.
Proving Personhood With VePassport
Following the introduction of VePassport, users will have to meet qualification criteria to join weekly voting and earn governance rewards.*
Qualification criteria include:
Proof of Participation via X-Apps: Users need to perform a minimum of three Better actions within a 12-week period. This requirement encourages greater participation in the ecosystem and ensures users are active contributors to the DAO.
Proof of Equity: This is designed to reward users who have a higher governance maturity (GM) level. This proof refers more to users who have “skin in the game” by holding assets or contributing significantly to the platform through other means.
Proof of Identity: Various levels of KYC (Know Your Customer) can be applied in the future, ranging from linking social profiles to full identity verification. This feature will remain optional, and instantly provide layers of security and trust for user identity.
Initially, VePassport will use participation-based qualification, but introduce other methods as governance maturity and KYC options become more available.
*Note — these criteria will be active from Round 18 onwards.
Sustainability Proofs Guiding Better Actions
One of the main goals of VePassport is to incentivize sustainable actions through the platform’s integrated Sustainability Proofs (S-Proofs) — on-chain records of real world impact, hashed by usage of X-apps.
In order to be eligible for governance rewards, users generate S-Proofs, which are created via the use of X-Apps. This cycle encourages users to drive their favourite X-Apps to incorporating the feature, in-turn, generating more robust, verifiable activity across the platform.
Governance App UX Updates
To gamify and give life to S-Proofs, new UX features have been added, including the ‘Better Actions’ tab, which detail a user’s sustainability record in a new visual format.
The Better Actions tab — part of the UX update
Other UX updates include:
Profile Tab: This new section consolidates transaction history, better actions, governance eligibility, and linked social logins, making it easier for users to navigate their VePassport profile.
Governance Eligibility Indicators: A green indicator means the user is qualified to vote, while yellow suggests the user needs to complete more actions.
Delegation Feature: Users can delegate their voting rights using the integrated veDelegate service, allowing for more flexible governance participation.
Banners now indicate outstanding rewards, or actions to take. The Return of Quadratic Voting, Rewards, and Funding
With this update comes the re-introduction of the Quadratic Voting, Rewarding and Funding mechanisms.* Quadratic formulas help reduce the impact of whales, and promote more efficient outcomes by discouraging strategic voting and ensuring every stakeholder, whether big or small, can have a meaningful impact.
*Beginning Round 18.
X-App Bot and Sybil Signal System
The X-App Bot and Sybil signalling system is an optional feature that allows X-Apps to flag suspicious wallets, highlighting potential bad actors to other apps in the ecosystem. In doing so, this optional ‘blacklist’ provides a way for X-Apps to share information as the ecosystem grows, and ensure rewards and votes continue going to legitimate users.
Lowered Governance Quorum
Last, but far from least, is a tweak to the Governance quorum level, which is to be lowered from 51% to 30% from the start of Round 18.
The aim of this shift is to encourage more community engagement with the governance process, and help meaningful proposals reach the necessary levels. As always, these values remain subject to change, and at the discretion of VeBetterDAO stakeholders.
VePassport Vision: One Human, One Vote
VePassport, alongside the other tools and tweaks introduced in this update, are important stepping stones toward the future goals of VeBetterDAO, and its mission to becoming a leading platform for mass adoption of blockchain, and real world impact.
By prioritising real user growth and a more accommodating baseline for governance, the Better ecosystem continues to champion the spirit of decentralization, and further enhance the prospect of the VeChainThor blockchain that lay at its core.
Head over to vebetter.com to see the changes for yourself, and let us know your feedback!
About VeChain
Founded in 2015, VeChain built a world leading enterprise smart contract platform, VeChainThor, helping deliver blockchain adoption apps to hundreds of enterprise partners.
Building on this expertise, VeChain, in close partnership with Boston Consulting Group, launched the ‘Better’ ecosystem — comprised of sustainability apps that use tokenization and incentivization to reward users, businesses and other stakeholders for sustainable actions.
To learn more, including how you can build apps of your own, grants, documentation and more, visit vechain.org — or vebetter.com to explore.
VePassport: Powering Up Sybil Defence & Rewarding Better Actions, Plus Ecosystem Updates was originally published in VeChain on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.