Community-Driven Governance with Planq and Diva Staking

Navigating community engagement and governance can be one of the most important and challenging parts of growing a crypto project. We were recently joined by Planq and Diva Staking to hear their perspectives on how they’re balancing community involvement with decision-making.

You can listen to the full chat below.

Project origins

Planq is a Layer 1 blockchain with a mobile-first focus, inspired by how traditional banking moved from physical branches to computers, and now phones. The founders, experienced in crypto since 2014, use the Cosmos SDK to create a blockchain that prioritizes easy access to governance and staking.

Diva Staking was born from recognizing a glaring issue in Ethereum's infrastructure – the concentration of staked ETH control among a small group. They’re solving for this by implementing Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) to democratize control and create a better liquid staking solution.

Figuring out community-driven decisions

Planq's journey gives us an interesting example of how to manage community governance. They had an early mishap of pushing proposals without adequate discussion, which led them to implement a three-day discussion rule. If proposals don’t have sufficient discussion, they automatically get a “no” vote.

Planq has been learning when to involve themselves in community discussion versus making executive decisions. Diva Staking has used an initial airdrop to bootstrap community engagement while maintaining clear boundaries on their decision influence.

Both projects emphasize the need to listen to community needs and opinions so they can identify what people are looking for.

Strategic community growth

Planq had identified investors within their community from different regions and gave them ambassador status within Planq. From there, they created organic growth channels within various communities.

Diva Staking emphasizes the importance of timing and market awareness.

Their strategy involves:

• Adapting to current narratives
• Responding quickly to community desires
• Implementing timely incentives (tokens, points)
• Being proactive rather than reactive

Governance challenges and solutions

Common challenges faced by Planq and Diva Staking:

• Insufficient discussion on high-impact proposals
• Voter fatigue
• Maintaining consistent engagement

Their solutions:

• Structured discussion periods: Implementing mandatory discussion timeframes
• Voting incentives: Creating meaningful rewards for participation
• Delegation systems: Reducing individual voter burden while maintaining decentralization

It’s important to make it enticing for people to get involved, while making sure that it’s not overwhelming for them to take action. The goal isn’t to wear them out with decision fatigue, but rather create engaging ways to get input on decisions that impact the wider community.

Continue to refine strategies

The experiences of Planq and Diva Staking show us that successful DAO governance requires a careful balance between community empowerment and overall efficiency. Developing a solid governance process isn't about implementing every community suggestion, but rather creating a framework where meaningful participation leads to better decision-making.

Follow Planq and Diva Staking to stay updated on their projects!

Interested in seeing how other communities are engaging in governance? Create an account on common.xyz to get started.