Pyth Network has launched its permissionless mainnet, ushering in a new era of token-driven governance for the protocol. Users can now engage with Pyth Governance by staking their PYTH tokens in the Pyth staking program, granting them the ability to vote on community governance proposals.

On-chain governance addresses critical protocol issues such as data supplier rewards, oracle fee sizes and prices, and the selection of price feeds registered on the network. The goal of Pyth Network contributors is to bring international financial data onto the blockchain, collaborating with top financial institutions and decentralized enterprises to provide data for the protocol.

The permissioned mainnet was introduced by Pyth Network in August 2021, focusing on growth and protocol optimization. Over the course of two years, the network expanded to include over 40 blockchains, served more than 230 dApps, and sourced data from 90 data sources, culminating in the transition to its permissionless mainnet stage.

On-chain governance empowers token owners to suggest, discuss, and vote on protocol-related issues, facilitating collective decision-making within the Pyth Network ecosystem. Participants include decentralized applications, financial institutions, framework providers, and DeFi users.

Pyth Governance requires token holders to stake their tokens in the Pyth staking program to participate in voting, utilizing a 1:1 coin voting method where each staked token represents a single vote. Governance operates on a weekly basis, with staked tokens at the beginning of each period granted voting access. Unstaked tokens undergo a cooling-off period before withdrawal, ensuring equitable distribution of voting weights.

Pyth Governance operates on the Solana mainnet-beta blockchain but extends across multiple chains using Wormhole messaging to communicate with Pyth contracts. Suggestions require majority voter approval for consent.

Participants staking tokens for Pyth governance are eligible to become members of Pyth DAO LLC, subject to membership requirements. Pyth DAO is establishing an algorithmically controlled nonprofit limited liability organization, set to be integrated within the Republic of the Marshall Islands.