Governance

Pilier uses PIL Trust (tPIL) as its governance mechanism, transforming the blockchain from a transaction ledger into a reputation-weighted decision-making system.

Unlike traditional "1 token = 1 vote" models, Pilier governance requires time commitment, ensuring that decisions are made by those with long-term alignment to the protocol's success.

Overview

What is Governance?

Governance determines how Pilier evolves:

🔧 Technical decisions: Transaction fees, validator set, runtime upgrades
💰 Economic decisions: Treasury allocations, inflation rate, fee burn percentage
🌍 Strategic decisions: Ecosystem grants, civic partnerships, future direction

Who governs? Anyone willing to lock PIL tokens and earn tPIL (PIL Trust).

Why Reputation-Based Governance?

Problem with simple token voting:

Whale with 1M tokens:
├─ Votes once
├─ Immediately sells tokens
└─ Has no skin in the game

Pilier's tPIL solution:

Participant locks 100K PIL for 48 months:
├─ Receives 500K tPIL (5× multiplier)
├─ Cannot sell (tokens locked)
└─ Aligned with long-term protocol health

Key principle: Those who commit time deserve more influence than those who simply hold tokens.

Governance Timeline

Phase 1: Sudo (Feb 2026 - Q3 2026)

Duration: Testnet period (~6 months)

Control mechanism:

Sudo key held by Pilier multisig (2-of-3 founders)
Allows fast iteration and bug fixes
Transparent: all sudo calls published on-chain

Purpose:

Rapid response to testnet issues
Quick parameter adjustments
Stress-test governance mechanisms before mainnet

Limitations:

Sudo = root access (can do anything)
Not decentralized (centralized control)
Removed before mainnet launch

Testnet Only

Sudo is a temporary mechanism for testnet. It will be permanently removed via on-chain vote before mainnet launch.

Phase 2: Token Voting (Q3 2026 - Q2 2027)

Duration: Early mainnet (~9 months)

Control mechanism:

Simple token-weighted voting
1 PIL = 1 vote on proposals
No lock requirement (yet)

Why start simple?

Smooth transition from sudo
Lower barrier to participation
Test governance infrastructure at scale

Limitations:

Plutocracy risk (whales dominate)
Short-term thinking (voters can sell immediately after vote)
No commitment requirement

Eligible voters:

Any PIL holder
Minimum balance: 100 PIL (anti-spam)

Phase 3: PIL Trust Governance (Q2 2027+)

Duration: Permanent system

Control mechanism:

Time-locked voting (tPIL system)
Multiplier based on lock duration
Reputation-weighted decisions

Why tPIL governance?

✅ Long-term alignment
✅ Prevents short-term manipulation
✅ Rewards commitment
✅ Enables reputation-based features

This document focuses on Phase 3 (tPIL governance).

PIL Trust (tPIL): The Governance Token

What is tPIL?

PIL Trust (tPIL) is a non-transferable reputation token earned by locking PIL.

Key properties:

❌ Cannot be bought or sold
❌ Cannot be transferred between accounts
✅ Earned only through time-locking PIL
✅ Decays over time (must be renewed)
✅ 1 tPIL = 1 vote in governance

Think of tPIL as: "Proof of Long-Term Commitment"

How to Earn tPIL

Lock PIL for Time Period

Lock PIL → Receive tPIL
Amount depends on lock duration

Trust Multiplier Table

Lock Duration	Trust Multiplier	Example (1,000 PIL)	Voting Power
1 month	1.0×	1,000 tPIL	1,000 votes
3 months	1.25×	1,250 tPIL	1,250 votes
6 months	1.5×	1,500 tPIL	1,500 votes
12 months	2.0×	2,000 tPIL	2,000 votes
24 months	3.5×	3,500 tPIL	3,500 votes
48 months	5.0×	5,000 tPIL	5,000 votes

Example Scenarios

Alice (Short-term holder):

Locks 10,000 PIL for 1 month
├─ Receives 10,000 tPIL (1.0× multiplier)
└─ Voting power: 10,000

Bob (Medium-term believer):

Locks 10,000 PIL for 12 months
├─ Receives 20,000 tPIL (2.0× multiplier)
└─ Voting power: 20,000 (2× Alice)

Carol (Long-term aligned):

Locks 10,000 PIL for 48 months
├─ Receives 50,000 tPIL (5.0× multiplier)
└─ Voting power: 50,000 (5× Alice, 2.5× Bob)

Insight: Carol has 5× more influence than Alice despite locking the same amount of PIL. Commitment = power.

Trust Decay Mechanism

tPIL is not permanent. It decays linearly as the lock period expires.

How Decay Works

Trust is a living metric. As your lock period approaches expiration, your tPIL gradually decreases.

Example:

Lock 1,000 PIL for 12 months → receive 2,000 tPIL

Month 1: 2,000 tPIL (full power)
Month 6: 1,000 tPIL (halfway)
Month 12: 0 tPIL (expired - must renew)

Key insight: To maintain influence, you must remain active and periodically renew your commitment.

Why Decay?

Prevents "set and forget" governance:

Without decay:
├─ Lock once in 2027
├─ Ignore protocol for 4 years
└─ Still have full voting power in 2031 ❌

With decay:
├─ Lock in 2027
├─ tPIL decreases monthly
└─ Must re-engage or lose influence ✅

Principle: Trust must be continuously demonstrated, not accumulated once.

Re-locking & Extending Locks

You can extend your lock at any time to refresh tPIL:

Extend Existing Lock

Current: 1,000 PIL locked for 6 months (expires in 2 months)
Current tPIL: 500 (decayed from 1,500)

Action: Extend lock by 12 months
New expiry: 14 months from now
New tPIL: 2,000 (refreshed at 2× multiplier)

Add More PIL to Existing Lock

Current: 1,000 PIL locked for 12 months (6 months remaining)
Current tPIL: 1,000 (decayed from 2,000)

Action: Add 500 PIL to same lock (keep 6-month duration)
New tPIL: 1,500 (1,500 PIL × 1× multiplier for 6 months)

Convert to Longer Lock

Current: 5,000 PIL locked for 12 months (expires next month)
Current tPIL: ~417

Action: Convert to 48-month lock (refresh)
New tPIL: 25,000 (5× multiplier)

UI/UX: Pilier governance portal will show:

Current tPIL balance
Decay rate (tPIL lost per day)
Option to extend/refresh locks

Early Unlock

Can you unlock PIL before expiration? Yes, but you lose all tPIL.

Why? Prevents gaming the system—voters can't unlock immediately after critical votes.

Exception: Emergency unlocks (protocol vulnerability, force majeure) may be approved via governance vote with reduced penalties.

What You Can Vote On

Proposal Categories

1. Runtime Upgrades

What: Changes to blockchain logic (pallets, consensus, storage)

Examples:

Add new pallet (e.g., pallet-identities)
Fix security vulnerability
Optimize transaction processing
Enable new features (e.g., cross-chain bridges)

Voting threshold: 66% approval + 10% quorum

Execution: Automatic after passing (forkless upgrade)

2. Economic Parameters

What: Adjustments to fees, inflation, burn rate

Examples:

Transaction fees:

Current: 0.004 PIL per DPP creation
Proposal: Reduce to 0.003 PIL
Rationale: Attract more SME adoption

Inflation rate:

Current: 2.5% annual inflation
Proposal: Reduce to 1.5% (validators earning enough from fees)
Rationale: Network approaching self-sustainability

Fee burn percentage:

Current: 5% of fees burned
Proposal: Increase to 10%
Rationale: Accelerate deflationary pressure

Voting threshold: 60% approval + 15% quorum

Execution: Automatic after 7-day delay

3. Validator Set Changes

What: Add or remove validators

Examples:

Add validator:

Proposal: Add validator-eu-04 (University of Lyon)
Justification:
├─ Geographic diversity (France)
├─ Institutional reputation
└─ Hardware meets requirements

Requirements:
├─ Technical audit passed
├─ Validator Charter signed
└─ tPIL governance vote passed

Remove validator:

Proposal: Remove validator-eu-01
Reason: Persistent downtime (95% uptime, below 99% SLA)
Evidence: On-chain telemetry data
Action: Graceful removal after 30-day notice

Voting threshold: 75% approval + 20% quorum (high security requirement)

Execution: Manual by remaining validators

4. Treasury Allocations

What: Spending from Treasury Reserve (15% of supply = 450,000 PIL)

Examples:

Development grant:

Proposal: Allocate 50,000 PIL to SAP Connector Development
Milestones:
├─ M1: Design doc → 10,000 PIL
├─ M2: Testnet deployment → 20,000 PIL
└─ M3: Mainnet audit → 20,000 PIL

Expected impact: Enable 500+ SAP users to use Pilier

Civic partnership:

Proposal: Grant 20,000 PIL to Ocean Cleanup Foundation
Use case: Track plastic recovery via DPP
Duration: 12-month pilot
Reporting: Quarterly on-chain updates

Emergency fund:

Proposal: Allocate 10,000 PIL for security audit
Vendor: Trail of Bits
Scope: Full runtime review
Urgency: High (new pallet deployed)

Voting threshold: 55% approval + 10% quorum

Execution: Manual transfer after passing

5. Governance Parameters

What: Meta-governance (rules about governance itself)

Examples:

Voting thresholds:

Current: Economic proposals need 60% approval
Proposal: Lower to 55% for faster iteration

Proposal deposits:

Current: 1,000 PIL deposit to submit proposal
Proposal: Raise to 5,000 PIL (reduce spam)

Voting duration:

Current: 7-day voting period
Proposal: Extend to 14 days (give more time for deliberation)

tPIL multipliers:

Current: 48-month lock = 5× multiplier
Proposal: Increase to 6× (incentivize longer commitment)

Voting threshold: 80% approval + 25% quorum (highest bar for changing rules)

Execution: Automatic after 30-day delay

Use Cases Beyond Governance

tPIL is not just for voting—it's a universal reputation layer for the entire Pilier ecosystem and beyond.

Protocol Governance

Vote on runtime upgrades, fee changes, validator selection.

Impact: Shape how Pilier evolves.

Marketplace Trust Bonds

Use case: P2P marketplaces (leboncoin.fr style) built on Pilier

How it works:

High-trust seller (50,000 tPIL):
├─ Can list high-value items
├─ Lower escrow requirements
└─ "Verified Trusted Seller" badge

New seller (500 tPIL):
├─ Limited to small transactions
├─ Higher escrow requirements
└─ Must build reputation over time

Slashing protection:

Seller stakes 1,000 tPIL on transaction
Buyer disputes quality
    ↓
If seller guilty: 1,000 tPIL slashed (financial loss)
If seller innocent: 1,000 tPIL returned

Why this matters: Since tPIL is backed by locked PIL (~€1 each), fraud becomes financially expensive. A seller with 10,000 tPIL has €2,000-€10,000 at risk (depending on lock duration).

Future applications:

Freelance platforms (reputation-based hiring)
Service marketplaces (plumber bonds, contractor ratings)
Community lending (trust-based collateral)

Public verifier badges:

Trust Level	Badge	Benefits
0-1,000 tPIL	None	Standard processing
1,000-10,000 tPIL	⭐ Verified	Priority verification (+50% speed)
10,000+ tPIL	⭐⭐ Trusted Partner	Instant processing, "Featured" status

Use cases:

NGO transparency reports (high-trust = more credible)
University research timestamps (verified institutions prioritized)
Supply chain audits (trusted suppliers get better rates)

Cross-platform portability: Any application building on Pilier can query a user's tPIL and use it for trust-based features.

Civic Participation

User Credits & Civic Pool allocation (20% of supply):

tPIL holders vote quarterly on:

Which NGOs receive free credits?
Which university pilots to fund?
Community-proposed civic initiatives

Example:

Proposal: "Grant 10,000 PIL to Ocean Cleanup Foundation"

Voting:
├─ 250,000 tPIL in favor (65%)
├─ 135,000 tPIL against (35%)
└─ Proposal passes → Foundation receives grant

Impact: Transforms PIL from "utility token" into civic infrastructure where community decides public good allocations.

Fee Discounts (Coming 2028)

Reward long-term participants:

Trust Level	Discount
10,000 tPIL	10% off gas fees
50,000 tPIL	25% off
100,000+ tPIL	50% off (max)

Rationale: Those who commit long-term should pay less to operate.

Proposal Lifecycle

Step 1: Submit Proposal

Who can submit?

Anyone with ≥1,000 tPIL (anti-spam measure)
Requires deposit: 1,000 PIL (refunded if proposal passes)

What to include:

# Proposal Title

Short, descriptive name

## Summary

1-2 sentence overview

## Motivation

Why is this change needed?

## Specification

Technical details (if applicable)

## Impact Analysis

- Who is affected?
- What are the risks?
- What are the benefits?

## Timeline

When should this take effect?

## Budget (if treasury allocation)

How much PIL requested?
Milestone breakdown?

Submission via:

Governance portal UI (pilier.org/governance)
Or direct extrinsic: governance.propose(call, deposit)

Step 2: Discussion Period

Duration: 3-7 days (depending on proposal type)

Activities:

Community feedback on GitHub / forum
Technical review by core devs
Economic impact analysis
Amended proposals (if needed)

Purpose: Ensure well-informed voting

Step 3: Voting Period

Duration: 7-14 days (governance-adjustable)

How to vote:

Via governance portal:

Connect wallet
View active proposals
Select proposal
Choose: Aye (approve) / Nay (reject) / Abstain
Your tPIL automatically counted

Via CLI:

pilier-cli governance vote \
  --proposal-id 42 \
  --vote aye \
  --account alice

Vote weight: 1 tPIL = 1 vote

Changing your vote: Allowed until voting period ends

Step 4: Tally & Execution

Vote counting:

Total eligible: 1,000,000 tPIL (all locked PIL)
Voted: 250,000 tPIL (25% turnout)
├─ Aye: 170,000 tPIL (68%)
├─ Nay: 70,000 tPIL (28%)
└─ Abstain: 10,000 tPIL (4%)

Threshold: 60% approval + 10% quorum
Result: PASSED ✓ (68% > 60%, 25% > 10%)

Execution timing:

Proposal Type	Execution Delay	Why?
Runtime upgrade	Immediate	Forkless, reversible if bug
Economic params	7 days	Give ecosystem time to prepare
Validator changes	30 days	Allow validator to gracefully exit
Treasury allocation	Immediate	Grants need to start quickly
Governance rules	30 days	High-impact, need time to adjust

Automatic execution:

Runtime upgrades
Economic parameter changes
Fee burn adjustments

Manual execution:

Validator additions/removals (requires coordination)
Treasury transfers (requires multisig)

Voting Strategies & Delegation

Direct Voting

Most common: Vote directly on proposals you care about

Governance Security

Pilier governance is designed to resist common attacks:

Vote buying: tPIL non-transferable (can't be bought/sold)
Whale dominance: Time-lock multiplier limits (max 5×) + quorum requirements
Last-minute manipulation: Snapshot voting (tPIL balance frozen at proposal start)
Sybil attacks: Proposal deposits (1,000 PIL) make spam expensive
Governance capture: Parameter bounds + guardian multisig (temporary, sunset 2028)

See Security Audits for detailed threat modeling.

Governance Metrics & Transparency

Public Dashboard

governance.pilier.net displays:

Participation metrics:

Total tPIL eligible to vote
Current voting turnout (%)
Historical participation trends

Proposal stats:

Active proposals (voting now)
Passed proposals (last 90 days)
Rejected proposals (last 90 days)
Average voting period

Voter distribution:

Top 10 voters by tPIL (anonymized addresses)
Geographic distribution (by validator affiliation)
Lock duration distribution

On-Chain Transparency

All governance activity is fully auditable:

Query via RPC:

# Get all active proposals
curl https://rpc.pilier.net \
  -d '{"method":"governance_activeProposals"}'

# Get voting history for address
curl https://rpc.pilier.net \
  -d '{"method":"governance_votes", "params":["5Gx8R..."]}'

# Get tPIL balance
curl https://rpc.pilier.net \
  -d '{"method":"governance_trustBalance", "params":["5Gx8R..."]}'

Block explorer integration:

https://explorer.pilier.net/governance
├─ Live proposals
├─ Vote tallies (real-time)
├─ Historical decisions
└─ Impact tracking

Example Proposal: Add University Validator

# Proposal #012: Add validator-lyon-01 (University of Lyon)

## Summary

Onboard University of Lyon as institutional validator to strengthen
EU academic network and geographic diversity.

## Motivation

Current validators: 3 (all Pilier-operated)
Target: 5-10 institutional validators by Q4 2027
University of Lyon committed to Civic Trust mission.

## Specification

**Validator details:**

- Name: validator-lyon-01
- Operator: University of Lyon, Computer Science Dept
- Location: Lyon, France
- Hardware: Dedicated server (meets requirements)
- Uptime commitment: 99.5% SLA

**Technical audit:** PASSED

- Penetration test: No critical vulnerabilities
- Configuration review: Compliant with Validator Charter
- Test period: 30 days on testnet (100% uptime)

**Charter compliance:**

- [x] Signed Validator Charter
- [x] Insurance coverage (€50k liability)
- [x] 24/7 monitoring system
- [x] Disaster recovery plan

## Impact Analysis

**Benefits:**

- Geographic diversity (France)
- Academic credibility
- Civic trust narrative
- Research collaboration opportunities

**Risks:**

- University may deprioritize if funding cut
- Academic calendar shutdowns (summer break)
- Mitigation: SLA + backup plan

## Timeline

30-day onboarding after approval:

- Week 1-2: Mainnet sync
- Week 3: Shadow validator (observe only)
- Week 4: Full validator activation

## Budget

No treasury allocation (validator self-funded).

Voting simulation:

Eligible voters: 920,000 tPIL
Turnout: 485,000 tPIL (52.7%)

Results:
├─ Aye: 395,000 tPIL (81.4%)
├─ Nay: 75,000 tPIL (15.5%)
└─ Abstain: 15,000 tPIL (3.1%)

Threshold: 75% approval + 20% quorum (high security)
Status: PASSED ✓

Execution:

Manual coordination:
University notified (via email + on-chain event)
Existing validators add Lyon to session keys
University brings node online
After 30 days: Full validator status

Best Practices for Governance Participants

For Voters

Do:

✅ Read full proposals before voting
✅ Participate in discussion period
✅ Vote based on long-term protocol health
✅ Lock PIL for longer to earn more influence
✅ Track impact of passed proposals

Don't:

❌ Vote without understanding technical details
❌ Follow herd mentality (independent thinking)
❌ Vote based on short-term personal gain
❌ Unlock immediately after voting (defeats purpose of tPIL)

For Proposal Authors

Do:

✅ Research before submitting (avoid duplicates)
✅ Provide detailed specification
✅ Show clear cost/benefit analysis
✅ Engage with feedback during discussion
✅ Update proposal if community identifies issues

Don't:

❌ Submit vague proposals ("let's improve fees")
❌ Ignore technical feedback
❌ Spam multiple similar proposals
❌ Propose without community temperature check

For Validators

Do:

✅ Vote on ALL proposals (you're infrastructure)
✅ Provide technical expertise in discussions
✅ Execute passed proposals promptly
✅ Communicate delays or issues transparently

Don't:

❌ Refuse to execute valid proposals (Charter violation)
❌ Vote based on personal validator income only
❌ Ignore security-critical proposals

FAQ

Can I vote without locking PIL?

No. Phase 3 governance requires tPIL. If you don't want to lock, you can participate in discussions but not vote.

What if I disagree with a passed proposal?

You can:

Submit a counter-proposal to reverse it
Express concerns to validators (they may veto if critical issue)
Unlock and exit ecosystem (last resort)

Governance is binding—validators execute passed proposals per Charter.

How is Pilier governance different?

Most blockchains: 1 token = 1 vote (plutocracy) Pilier: Time commitment = voting power (meritocracy)

Locking 1,000 PIL for 48 months gives you 5× more influence than holding 1,000 PIL unlocked.

Can tPIL be used outside governance?

Yes! This is the "Big Vision."

tPIL is designed as a universal reputation layer:

Marketplace trust bonds (P2P platforms)
Priority verification (public explorer)
Civic voting (grant allocations)
Future: Any app on Pilier can use tPIL for reputation features

When does governance start?

Phase 1 (Testnet): Feb 2026 (Sudo control) Phase 2 (Mainnet): Q3 2026 (Simple voting) Phase 3 (tPIL): Q2 2027 (Reputation governance)

Current focus: Testnet launch and pilot validation.

Next Steps

For New Participants

Acquire PIL tokens (via pilier.org subscription or grants)
Lock PIL → How to Lock PIL
Earn tPIL → tPIL Calculator
Browse proposals → governance.pilier.net
Cast your first vote → Voting Guide

For Proposal Authors

Research past proposals → Proposal Archive
Draft proposal → Template
Community feedback → Forum
Submit proposal → Submission Guide

For Developers

Query governance state → RPC Reference
Monitor proposals → Webhooks
Build governance tools → SDK Integration

Questions? Join governance discussions:

Forum: forum.pilier.net/governance
Telegram: t.me/pilier_governance
GitHub: github.com/pilier-org/governance

Overview​

What is Governance?​

Why Reputation-Based Governance?​

Governance Timeline​

Phase 1: Sudo (Feb 2026 - Q3 2026)​

Phase 2: Token Voting (Q3 2026 - Q2 2027)​

Phase 3: PIL Trust Governance (Q2 2027+)​

PIL Trust (tPIL): The Governance Token​

What is tPIL?​

How to Earn tPIL​

Lock PIL for Time Period​

Trust Multiplier Table​

Example Scenarios​

Trust Decay Mechanism​

How Decay Works​

Why Decay?​

Re-locking & Extending Locks​

Extend Existing Lock​

Add More PIL to Existing Lock​

Convert to Longer Lock​

Early Unlock​

What You Can Vote On​

Proposal Categories​

1. Runtime Upgrades​

2. Economic Parameters​

3. Validator Set Changes​

4. Treasury Allocations​

5. Governance Parameters​

Use Cases Beyond Governance​

Protocol Governance​

Marketplace Trust Bonds​

Reputation & Social Proof ⭐ NEW​

Civic Participation​

Fee Discounts (Coming 2028)​

Proposal Lifecycle​

Step 1: Submit Proposal​

Step 2: Discussion Period​

Step 3: Voting Period​

Step 4: Tally & Execution​

Voting Strategies & Delegation​

Direct Voting​

Governance Security​

Governance Metrics & Transparency​

Public Dashboard​

On-Chain Transparency​

Example Proposal: Add University Validator​

Best Practices for Governance Participants​

For Voters​

For Proposal Authors​

For Validators​

FAQ​

Can I vote without locking PIL?​

What if I disagree with a passed proposal?​

How is Pilier governance different?​

Can tPIL be used outside governance?​

When does governance start?​

Next Steps​

For New Participants​

For Proposal Authors​

For Developers​

Overview

What is Governance?

Why Reputation-Based Governance?

Governance Timeline

Phase 1: Sudo (Feb 2026 - Q3 2026)

Phase 2: Token Voting (Q3 2026 - Q2 2027)

Phase 3: PIL Trust Governance (Q2 2027+)

PIL Trust (tPIL): The Governance Token

What is tPIL?

How to Earn tPIL

Lock PIL for Time Period

Trust Multiplier Table

Example Scenarios

Trust Decay Mechanism

How Decay Works

Why Decay?

Re-locking & Extending Locks

Extend Existing Lock

Add More PIL to Existing Lock

Convert to Longer Lock

Early Unlock

What You Can Vote On

Proposal Categories

1. Runtime Upgrades

2. Economic Parameters

3. Validator Set Changes

4. Treasury Allocations

5. Governance Parameters

Use Cases Beyond Governance

Protocol Governance

Marketplace Trust Bonds

Reputation & Social Proof ⭐ NEW

Civic Participation

Fee Discounts (Coming 2028)

Proposal Lifecycle

Step 1: Submit Proposal

Step 2: Discussion Period

Step 3: Voting Period

Step 4: Tally & Execution

Voting Strategies & Delegation

Direct Voting

Governance Security

Governance Metrics & Transparency

Public Dashboard

On-Chain Transparency

Example Proposal: Add University Validator

Best Practices for Governance Participants

For Voters

For Proposal Authors

For Validators

FAQ

Can I vote without locking PIL?

What if I disagree with a passed proposal?

How is Pilier governance different?

Can tPIL be used outside governance?

When does governance start?

Next Steps

For New Participants

For Proposal Authors

For Developers