Snapshot Voting
Off-chain governance voting by signed message: cheaper than on-chain, executed by multisig. The dominant DAO-vote format in crypto, including TON projects (STON.fi and others).
Aliases: snapshot, off-chain voting, signature voting
Snapshot Voting is a governance format where participants sign their decisions off-chain (gas-free), and voting weight is set by the token balance at a specific block (the snapshot). Execution happens through a team multisig or a separate on-chain vote.
Why off-chain
- On-chain voting requires gas from every voter → squeezes out small holders.
- Off-chain is free — more participants, higher turnout.
- Signatures are publicly verifiable (Snapshot.org or a project’s own store).
Drawbacks
- No automatic enforcement: the team can “forget” to execute the result.
- Vulnerable to flash-loan attacks: at the snapshot block, an attacker can borrow, vote, and repay in one transaction.
- Requires trust in the multisig that executes the decision.
On TON
- STON.fi DAO uses gas-free votes weighted by the STON jetton.
- TON Foundation occasionally runs community polls (grant priorities).
- No TON-native Snapshot clone yet: projects adapt EVM infrastructure or roll their own mini-apps.
See also: DAOs on TON: governance and frameworks.