As Demand for DeFi Grows, Cross-Chain Network Launches DAO

A network that describes itself as “the heartbeat of cross-chain composability” launched a decentralized autonomous organization on July 31.

The pNetwork DAO is community-driven and will be run by a transparent governance process where anyone can contribute.

Its launch has been heralded as “the first major step towards decentralizing the pTokens system” — removing any exclusive governance powers from the main development team. Vowing to build infrastructure that sets itself apart from the competition, a blog post about the DAO added: “We believe all DeFi projects should avoid making networks which are decentralized on paper, yet retain centralized planning and decision making.”

How it works

Instead of depending on a traditional hierarchy of staff and contributors, DAOs are run democratically and collectively as a group.

According to pNetwork, its DAO’s operations are going to be programmed and automated, with rules enforced by code and smart contracts. All of this is achievable thanks to blockchain technology, which is resistant to centralized control or influence.

The DAO of the pNetwork has been created using Aragon, a global platform with the vision of “creating a digital jurisdiction — a place on the internet where people can self-organize in a free, peaceful, sustainable and inclusive way.”

A staking app, voting app and rewards app are the three main elements of the DAO, with each app interconnecting and communicating with each other via the Aragon platform. As the team behind pNetwork explained: “We designed custom Aragon apps so they could be added to the core DAO infrastructure, allowing extra functionalities to be added. These apps can be consistently upgraded with new logic and rules as the DAO evolves, thanks to the possibility of the DAO to upgrade itself!”

Getting involved

So that the community can participate in the DAO, pNetwork Tokens have been created. Known as PNT for short, it’s hoped this asset will help the project on its quest to decentralization. “The team is committed to continuously and incrementally evolving the system into a fully decentralized one,” a blog post explained.

The team says those who stake PNT will be given the right to vote on a plethora of different improvement proposals — ranging from strategic propositions to more complex and technically focused ideas. In a marked departure from other platforms, there will be no minimum amount that someone needs to stake in order to vote, meaning the barrier to entry is “almost minimal.” This approach also ensures that everyone has voting power that’s proportional to the number of tokens they own.

About pTokens

According to a lite paper posted on the pNetwork website, pTokens aim to deliver a “decentralized, open-source system facilitating cross-chain movement of assets.” Most DeFi tools are currently being developed on top of the Ethereum network, meaning decentralized apps are unable to interact with those on other platforms such as Bitcoin or EOS.

The document argues that asset liquidity is crucial to ensure that alternative financial platforms can survive, adding: “The pTokens system bridges a variety of blockchains, powering the free movement of crypto liquidity. These bridges are operated by a network of validators, whose role is to verify the cross-chain asset switch and to guarantee the 1:1 peg with the underlying asset.”

With the launch of this brand-new DAO, the pNetwork aims to expand use and interaction with DeFi applications — building on a stellar 2020, which has seen demand in the sector soar to record levels.