Snapshot

Snapshot is a popular off-chain voting platform used by DAOs and Web3 communities to facilitate governance proposals and voting without requiring on-chain gas fees. It captures a “snapshot” of users’ token balances at a specific block, which determines their voting power for a given proposal. Snapshot enables gasless, transparent, and flexible governance while integrating with most ERC-20 tokens and NFTs.

Snapshot is widely used by projects like Uniswap, Balancer, ENS DAO, and Aave for community decision-making.

How Snapshot Works

• Proposal Creation – Any eligible member (typically holding a minimum token balance) can create a governance proposal.
• Snapshot Block – A specific Ethereum block number is recorded, freezing all voter balances at that moment.
• Token Balance Check – Voting power is determined based on token holdings at the snapshot block.
• Gasless Voting – Users sign a message off-chain to cast their vote — no transaction fees required.
• Result Visibility – Votes are recorded publicly and tallied transparently via the Snapshot interface.

Key Features

• Off-Chain Voting – Votes are signed off-chain, saving gas and improving accessibility.
• Snapshot-Based Power – Prevents vote manipulation by freezing balances before voting starts.
• Plugin Support – Integrates with various token types (ERC-20, ERC-721) and voting strategies.
• Public Transparency – All proposals and votes are visible and verifiable through the UI.
• Custom Strategies – DAOs can define custom logic for how voting power is calculated.

Benefits of Snapshot

• Gasless Participation – Anyone can vote without paying on-chain transaction fees.
• Easy Integration – Compatible with most Ethereum-based governance tokens and NFT systems.
• Secure and Flexible – Voting occurs off-chain, but data is signed and tamper-proof.
• User-Friendly UI – Snapshot’s interface simplifies proposal creation and voting for DAOs.
• Community Engagement – Low barrier to entry increases voter participation across Web3.

Use Cases of Snapshot

1. DAO Voting – Protocols like ENS DAO and Gitcoin use Snapshot for governance decisions.
2. Token Holder Polls – Projects gather community sentiment before major updates or launches.
3. Budget Allocation – Communities vote on grant proposals, funding initiatives, or partnerships.
4. NFT Governance – NFT DAOs use Snapshot to assign voting power based on token traits or ownership.
5. Parameter Changes – DeFi protocols vote on changes like fee structures, collateral types, or reward emissions.
6. Delegated Voting – Voters assign their power to active community members for efficient governance participation.