Multisig Governance
EigenLayer is designed with upgradeable smart contracts, the ability to pause functionality, and various adjustable parameters. The ability and responsibility to make decisions regarding contract upgrades, pausing functionality, and adjusting parameters initially have been delegated to three main governance multisigs.
The Operations Multisig
The Operations Multisig is a 3-of-6 and can execute routine upgrades and maintenance through a timelock that enforces a minimum 10-day delay on all safety-critical actions. It can also pause EigenLayer functionality in emergency situations.
The Pauser Multisig
The Pauser Multisig is a 1-of-14 multisig that can also pause EigenLayer functionality in emergency situations, but holds no other powers.
The Community Multisig
The Community Multisig is a 9-of-13 multisig composed of members of the Ethereum community. In normal circumstances, the signers of the Community Multisig will simply act as observers, receiving regular updates on the Operations Multisig’s transactions, including notifications of the Operations Multisig queuing new time-locked actions. In extraordinary circumstances, the Community Multisig can perform emergency actions, including immediately executing time-critical upgrades or replacing the Operations Multisig in the event of private key compromise.
The Community Multisig members include:
- Tim Beiko - Ethereum Foundation
- Viktor Bunin - Coinbase
- Uma Roy - Succinct
- Brian Retford - RISC Zero
- Pramod Viswanath - Witness Chain
- Swapnil Raj - Nethermind
- Dimitry Ukhanov - P2P
- Tarun Chitra - Robot Ventures
- Anna Rose - ZK Validator
- Curtis Spencer - Electric Capital
- Yuan Han Li - Blockchain Capital
- Ben Rodriguez - Coinbase Cloud
- Rob Pellecchia - Figment Capital
Finally, there is an Executor Multisig which only has the (automated) role of executing functionality passed to it by either the Operations or Community Multisig.
The contract addresses for the Operations, Pauser, Community and Executor Multisig are available at the Deployed Contracts page.
On a technical level, the governance architecture looks like the following:
These multisigs represent a rudimentary but working system of transparent initial governance, with appropriate checks and balances. As the protocol continues to evolve, so will its governance, and we are continuously evaluating our options for potential future governance mechanics.
Decentralized governance practices are rapidly evolving, continuously pushing boundaries and exploring innovative approaches. In addition to the above, EigenLayer anticipates the emergence of novel mechanisms that have yet to be designed and is excited to research them and facilitate implementation.