Governance

The Mars Protocol follows a strict Governance process.

The Mars Protocol governance process enables the community to propose, discuss, and implement changes in a structured and transparent manner. It consists of two to three stages, depending on the type of proposal

Step 1: Proposal Draft on Forum

Anyone—including Mars Protocol contributors - must start by posting a proposal draft on the Mars Protocol Forum

• Purpose: Open community discussion and feedback.

• Duration: Must remain open for at least 3 days.

• Requirement: A proposal (Mars Request for Comment [MRC]) can only move forward if there is clear consensus on its feasibility and rationale.

Step 2: On-Chain Voting via DAO DAO

Once a forum draft achieves consensus, it can be submitted on-chain through the Mars Protocol DAO DAO Governance Interface.

• Voting Period: 3 days.

• Eligibility: Only users who staked MARS tokens prior to proposal creation are eligible to vote.

• Voting Options:

  • Yes

  • No

  • Abstain

On Neutron, the majority of proposals include executable messages, meaning actions are carried out automatically once the proposal passes. The rest are signaling proposals that require manual follow-up.

On Osmosis, by contrast, all proposals are signaling-only, so every action must be manually executed after the vote passes.

Step 3 (Optional): Builders Multisig Execution

Some proposals, especially those involving smart contract changes, require manual execution by the Mars Protocol Builders Multisig.

• Structure: 5 Mars contributors with a 3-of-5 multisig.

• Responsibility: Executing post-vote actions, such as:

  • Adjusting smart contract parameters

  • Broadcasting specific transactions

The Builders Multisig can only initiate the necessary on-chain actions, when a proposal has passed governance via DAO DAO.

Risk Management DAO

Mars Protocol also includes a Risk Management DAO, which has special authority to update asset and perpetual market configurations without going through the full governance process.

Exceptions apply:

• Liquidation thresholds

• New asset or perps listings

Summary

Stage	Platform	Duration	Who Participates
Step 1	Forum	≥ 3 days	Community & Contributors
Step 2	DAO DAO Governance	3 days	Staked MARS Token Holders
Step 3*	Builders Multisig	N/A	3 of 5 Mars Contributors

*Optional step, only for proposals requiring manual execution.