Governance & DAO

6.1 Governance Principles

The Somnus ecosystem is founded on the belief that wellness, data, and value must be governed by the people who create them. To achieve this, Somnus integrates a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) framework that allows $SOMNUS token holders to directly shape the future of the platform.

The governance model is guided by three fundamental principles:

1. Transparency — All decisions, transactions, and proposals are recorded on-chain and visible to the community.

2. Participation — Every token holder, regardless of scale, can influence the platform’s direction.

3. Accountability — DAO proposals are implemented through auditable smart contracts and subject to community review.

Through these principles, Somnus transitions from a developer-led project to a community-driven ecosystem, where the incentives of users, developers, and researchers are fully aligned.

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6.2 Governance Structure

The Somnus DAO operates as a multi-tier governance model designed to balance decentralization with operational efficiency.

A. Token Holders

• The foundation of the DAO.

• Each $SOMNUS token represents one vote in governance decisions.

• Holders can propose, delegate, and vote on protocol changes, partnerships, and ecosystem funding.

B. Governance Council

• A group of trusted early contributors, health experts, and ecosystem developers.

• Responsible for initial oversight, proposal validation, and ensuring compliance during early phases.

• Gradually phased out as full decentralization is achieved.

C. DAO Treasury

• Manages the Reserve & Future DAO Treasury allocation (5% of total supply = 2.5 billion $SOMNUS).

• Funds community initiatives, developer grants, research collaborations, and liquidity incentives.

• Controlled entirely through on-chain governance once the DAO matures.

This layered structure ensures the DAO remains both decentralized and functional, capable of evolving efficiently as community engagement grows.

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6.3 Proposal & Voting Process

Somnus governance follows a transparent, step-by-step decision-making process to ensure fairness and accountability:

1. Proposal Creation

   • Any verified token holder can submit a governance proposal via the DAO interface.

   • Proposals may include ecosystem upgrades, funding requests, policy changes, or partnership integrations.

2. Discussion Period

   • A 7-day public discussion window allows the community to debate, refine, or amend the proposal.

   • Proposals must meet a minimum quorum threshold to proceed.

3. Voting Phase

   • Voting occurs through the on-chain governance contract using $SOMNUS tokens.

   • Each token represents one vote; users may delegate votes to other members or advisors.

   • Voting remains open for a fixed 5–7 days per proposal.

4. Implementation

   • If approved, the proposal is automatically executed by the Governance Smart Contract.

   • Results and transaction proofs are stored permanently on-chain.

Through this system, governance is not symbolic — it is executable. Every community-approved decision directly influences the operational framework and future of Somnus AI.

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6.4 Community Roles and Incentives

Somnus rewards governance participation as part of its commitment to a self-sustaining ecosystem.

Role	Description	Incentive
Voters	Participate in DAO proposals and cast votes.	Earn voting rewards and governance badges.
Delegates	Represent groups of token holders and vote on their behalf.	Receive a share of voting rewards and reputation points.
Proposers	Submit ecosystem or policy proposals for community review.	Eligible for proposal rewards upon successful execution.
Contributors	Developers, researchers, or community builders.	Receive DAO grants or $SOMNUS incentives for value creation.

By incentivizing governance participation, Somnus ensures collective intelligence becomes the true decision-maker of the ecosystem.

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6.5 Transparency & On-Chain Accountability

All governance activities are conducted on-chain and accessible via the Somnus Governance Explorer dashboard. This ensures every action — from proposal submission to fund allocation — remains verifiable, immutable, and auditable by the public.

Transparency Features:

• On-chain proposal logs and discussion archives

• Public voting records and delegation graphs

• DAO treasury wallet visibility

• Smart contract-based fund releases (no manual control)

• Quarterly governance reports generated automatically by the DAO

Somnus aims to set a new benchmark for transparency in wellness-oriented Web3 ecosystems — proving that trust can be engineered through code.

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6.6 Evolution Toward Full Decentralization

The DAO governance model will evolve through structured phases:

Phase	Description	Governance Control
Phase 1 – Foundation	Governance initiated by core team and council to stabilize ecosystem.	Hybrid (Team + Council)
Phase 2 – Transition	DAO smart contracts activated; community proposals introduced.	50% Community / 50% Team
Phase 3 – Full DAO	Full decentralization achieved; all treasury and governance functions transferred to DAO.	100% Community

This progressive decentralization ensures that governance remains secure, inclusive, and adaptable throughout the project’s maturation.

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6.7 Governance Vision

The Somnus DAO represents more than a voting system — it is the digital parliament of wellness, where community decisions directly influence real-world impact. From research funding to data-sharing policies, every governance action contributes to building a global movement centered on sleep intelligence, data ethics, and human empowerment.

By putting decision-making power into the hands of the users who generate the data, Somnus creates an ecosystem where well-being, technology, and democracy converge.