TON Foundation launches Society DAO to drive decentralized governance and ecosystem growth

The Open Network (TON) Foundation has launched a new governance model, Society DAO, aimed at fostering a more decentralized ecosystem.

Society DAO wants community members to take an active role in decision-making, resource allocation, and project management, with a goal to enhance autonomy and growth within the TON ecosystem, according to the TON Foundation blog . The goal is to create a more decentralized governance model instead of having a centralized foundation that can create a single point of failure.

"TON Foundation is advancing a community model that redistributes resource allocation power back to the community. Under this approach, respected and proven community members are empowered to coordinate vision, goals, and strategies, collectively determining resource allocation in alignment with TON's overall growth," said President of the TON Foundation Steve Yun and Ton Society co-founder Jack Booth in an announcement on Friday.

While centralization has been effective in the early stages of the ecosystem's development, a more adaptable model is now essential to support the ecosystem’s growth, the foundation said. It also noted that over the past year, many founders have depended on the foundation as a central source of capital and support for their success, but that as an ecosystem matures a layer 1 governance model faces limitations.

"We envision a governance framework that enhances decentralization, transparency, inclusion, competition, autonomy, participation, and resilience by democratizing access to the financial, socio-political, and human capital," Yun and Booth added.

The new Society DAO governance model aims to implement open-source access to capital, where community projects earn resources transparently, and are rewarded for achieving key performance indicators (KPIs).

Society DAO’s primary objectives include, "positioning TON as the gateway to real-world cryptocurrency use cases, establish TON as the most stable and scalable blockchain, and grow the developer and user community in app markets."

Members can submit strategic proposals 

Society DAO aims to drive community-led growth within the TON ecosystem by enabling members to take an active role through structured initiatives. Members can submit strategic proposals that outline specific goals, timelines, and measurable outcomes, ensuring each proposal aligns with TON’s larger objectives.

These proposals will be evaluated by specialized working groups composed of DAO members with relevant expertise, the announcement added. TON Foundation will provide funding for approved proposals, and the community team will be tasked with monitoring progress to guarantee alignment with the initial goals.

Society DAO will become the organizing body for core TON ecosystem functions, and its founding members comprise several key entities. This will include TON Core, which is responsible for ongoing blockchain development, upgrades, and maintenance, ensuring stability and innovation within the network. TON Studio will provide developers with resources, guidance, and technical support, helping them bring dapp ideas to life. Additionally, a founding member is TON Society, which focuses on community operations and engagement, helping to build and sustain an active, invested user base.

In January 2025, Society DAO will publish its key initiatives and objectives for the first half of the year, inviting community feedback to help shape its strategic direction. In this half-year evaluation, the DAO plans to access contributions from skilled members across areas such as marketing, app development, DeFi, stablecoin integration, and identity solutions.