Holding VITA tokens is an important step if you are looking to become an active contributor to VitaDAO's governance. VITA is the governance token our contributors use to vote on longevity research proposals, and direct the overall course of the DAO.
VITA holders have voting rights and are active stakeholders that determine how the DAO advances its longevity mission. We'll be walking you through all you need to know about the VITA token, how you can get some, and how you can begin contributing to our governance processes today!
Understanding the VITA Token and Its Purpose
VITA is an ERC-20 token. If you're not familiar with blockchain lingo, ERC-20 is simply a standard for tokens built on top of the Ethereum blockchain. The token is available both on the Ethereum network and the Gnosis chain (which is a sidechain built on the Ethereum blockchain).
As a governance token, VITA is used for voting purposes within the DAO. This includes decisions around what projects are funded, how they are funded, treasury management decisions, and other governance activities that help improve the DAO's processes. VITA holders vote based on the number of tokens held in their wallets. In other words, the more tokens held in a wallet, the weightier the vote from that wallet.
The supply of VITA is currently capped at 64,298,880 VITA. This represents the number of minutes lived by Jeanne Louis Calment (the longest-lived person in history). The supply cap may only increase if someone lives longer than that. At Genesis, 70% of this supply was left unminted in the DAO's treasury while the remaining 30% was allocated to the community.
While ownership of VITA grants access to governance processes, it does not give holders ownership rights to any of the IPs held by VitaDAO. However, VITA holders can determine how the IP is monetized and other decisions around its usage and application.
How to Get VITA Token
If you are new to cryptocurrency and you'd like to purchase VITA, here's a quick run-down with a brief explanation on how you can get started:
Create a Wallet
We recommend you use MetaMask, which is a popular wallet option for Ethereum and Gnosis networks. You can add the extension to your web browser on your personal computer. If you're more likely to interact on your mobile device, consider downloading the app on your play store or app store.
Buy Ether
Since the VITA token runs on the Ethereum network, you'll need to buy some ETH to be able to pay transaction fees on the network and swap for VITA. Note, VITA can only be purchased (swapped) with other cryptocurrencies. If you are on the mobile app, you can buy ETH directly on MetaMask using your credit card or other payment options available. On the browser extension for PC, you'll be directed to MetaMask's supported providers like Coinbase to buy cryptocurrencies.
Alternatively, you can buy ETH on a centralized exchange and send it to your wallet address on MetaMask. If you don't want to go through the route of a centralized exchange, Ramp provides the option of buying ETH directly to your wallet address by paying with your fiat currency using available payment methods.
Go Ahead to Buy VITA
Now that you've got some ETH, you can go ahead and buy VITA on supported decentralized exchanges. Here's how it works: you have to swap one token for the other in order to buy VITA on these decentralized exchanges (DEXs). The most popular would be to swap ETH for VITA. A step-by-step process to do this is as follows:
- Buy the ETH equivalent of VITA using any of the methods earlier described
- If you are using the mobile app, open the dApp browser on the app, go to any of the DEXs listed below, and connect your wallet
- If you are on your PC, simply go to any of the DEXs below on your internet browser and connect your wallet
- After connecting your wallet, swap ETH for VITA on the decentralized exchange.
You can use any other supported cryptocurrency on the DEX to swap for VITA instead of ETH. Here is a list of several decentralized exchanges where you can easily buy VITA:
Alternative Ways to Get VITA
Besides the option of buying, another way to get VITA is to earn the token through your contributions to the DAO. Contributors at the different working groups are compensated with VITA tokens. If you are looking to earn some, hop into the Discord channel and try to get plugged in to see how you can use your skills to help drive progress at the DAO.
VITA Token in VitaDAO Governance
Governance at VitaDAO happens in two forms: Soft Governance, which involves governance decisions made without an on-chain vote; and on-chain governance, where on-chain voting is required to make decisions. Either of these governance mechanisms is used depending on the type and impact of decisions to be made.
Governance processes are based on three phases. Here's an outlook of how decisions are made and how we decide which of the governance forms are used in decision-making:
Phase 1: Idea
This is where we receive proposal ideas for consideration. Anyone is invited to propose an idea. If an idea receives positive support from five or more people, it moves to phase 2.
Phase 2: Proposal Development and Approval
Here, the idea is shaped into a proposal using a defined template. Based on the funds requested, the proposal is either passed via a soft governance approach or on-chain voting. Here's how we decide that:
- A proposal requesting up to 2,500 USD only requires approval from two working group representatives.
- If the proposal requests up to 10,000 USD, it will require approval from a majority of all the working group stewards.
- For proposals that ask for up to 50,000 USD, a public Discourse poll is set up and a majority vote is required for approval.
- Proposals with required funds greater than 50,000 USD require a majority vote on a public Discourse poll and it is moved to phase 3.
Phase 3: On-chain Voting
The following are the kinds of decisions that require an on-chain vote for approval:
- Upon having a majority vote on a public Discourse poll, proposals with a ask greater than 50,000 USD are moved to Snapshot for on-chain voting. Here, VITA holders carry out gasless (without transaction fees) voting. Proposals must achieve a quorum and a majority vote before they are approved.
- Proposals that involve the operating rules of the DAO, changes to such rules, membership, and enforcement of norms all require on-chain voting before they can be passed. This is done regardless of the proposal's budgetary threshold.
How to Vote on Snapshot Using Your VITA Token
When proposals are posted on Snapshot, VITA holders are required to vote on those proposals to determine whether they will be approved or not. To vote on Snapshot, click the voting link and connect your wallet.
Having connected your wallet, you can go ahead to vote on the current proposal. VitaDAO uses shielded voting on Snapshot so everyone can make their choice without being influenced by current voting results.
Conclusion
We are democratizing longevity research through decentralized and community-governed processes. VITA token holders are an essential part of these governance processes as they help steer the course of progress at the DAO. Be a part of the voices that determine how VitaDAO is run by becoming a token holder today.
