Building a Modular DAO Framework with Zero-Knowledge Voting

Result

- - - - ▫️Governance Participation increased by 2.3x due to anonymous and gasless voting.
        ▫️Grant Disbursement time reduced by 60% through Sablier-based automation.
        ▫️Ragequit Feature used by 17% of early token holders, preventing conflict escalation.
        ▫️Builder DAO Adoption: 14 DAOs deployed the framework within 3 months of launch.

Building a Modular DAO Framework with Zero-Knowledge Voting

Client Overview

- Client: Confidential (An emerging L2 ecosystem DAO incubator)
- ▫️ Industry: Web3 Governance / DAOs
- ▫️ Engagement Duration: 10 months

Objectives

- To design and implement a plug-and-play DAO framework enabling:
  - ▫️Anonymous, secure voting via zk-SNARKs
  - ▫️ Decentralized treasury management with time-based streaming
  - ▫️Ragequit-enabled protection for minority stakeholders
    - - ▫️Reputation-based participation through staking

Solution

- TechSteck Solutions developed a modular DAO architecture combining the composability of OpenZeppelin’s Governor contracts with Aragon’s flexibility and the privacy guarantees of MACI (Minimal Anti-Collusion Infrastructure).
  Key Modules:
  - ▫️ZK Voting Engine: Integrated MACI for anonymous voting with anti-collusion guarantees using SNARK proofs.
  - ▫️Treasury Streams: Leveraged Sablier contracts to create continuous token flows to contributors and grantees.
  - ▫️Ragequit Mechanism: Adopted Moloch v3’s exit framework to enable DAO members to exit with their proportional treasury share.
  ▫️Reputation Layer: Developed a staking mechanism to build dynamic reputation scores based on activity, verifiable via subgraphs.
  ZK Integration Details
- - ▫️Utilized Circom circuits with Groth16 proving system for vote privacy.
  - - - ▫️Built a relayer layer for gasless zkVote submissions, preserving anonymity.
        ▫️Verified ZK proofs on-chain within Governor logic to ensure trustless tallying.

Implementation Highlights

- - - - ▫️Composable Modules: DAO creators could enable/disable features (e.g., enable Ragequit but disable Streaming).
        ▫️Custom Governance Parameters: DAO instances could customize voting delay, quorum, and execution delay.
        ▫️Upgradeable Contracts: Framework built with UUPS proxies for upgradability.
        ▫️SDK Toolkit: Developed React components and SDK for third-party dApps to launch DAOs via CLI or GUI.

Conclusion

▫️TechSteck Solutions’ modular DAO framework bridged the gap between privacy, flexibility, and composability — empowering communities to govern transparently, securely, and equitably.

▫️Looking to upgrade your DAO with ZK tooling and modular governance? [Contact TechSteck Solutions]

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