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DAO Creation Protocol – User-Created Community DAOs

Version: 1.0.0-draft Date: 2026-03-22 Status: [PHASE 4]

Overview

The Colabonate Protocol enables any qualified participant to create a community DAO with a custom Codex. This is distinct from the Colabonate Foundation DAO (which governs the protocol itself).

Community DAOs allow groups of participants to:

  • Define shared rules for their marketplace or cooperation community
  • Opt into stronger legal safety by binding transactions to their Codex
  • Operate specialized marketplaces (e.g. "Berlin Freelancer DAO", "Open Source Contributor DAO")
  • Create governance structures for their community (voting, treasury, dispute resolution)

Key principle: Community DAOs operate within the Colabonate Protocol — they extend and specialize it, they do not replace it. A transaction bound to a community DAO still follows all base Colabonate Protocol rules.

Prerequisites for DAO Creation

All founding members must meet these requirements:

Requirement Value Rationale
Identity level Minimum Level 2 (peer verified) Ensures real humans are founding the DAO
Founding members Minimum 5 Prevents single-person DAOs
COLA stake per founder Minimum determined by Foundation DAO governance vote Skin-in-the-game commitment
Active protocol history At least 3 completed tickets per founder Ensures founders understand the protocol

These thresholds are protocol defaults. The Foundation DAO can adjust them via governance vote.

Minimum Codex Requirements

Every community DAO Codex must include the following sections. A Codex missing any of these is invalid and the DAO registration will be rejected by the protocol.

Required Sections

1. Purpose and Scope

  • What is the DAO's purpose?
  • What types of interactions does it govern? (buy/sell, cooperation, or both)
  • Geographic or domain restrictions (if any)

2. Membership Criteria

  • Who can join the DAO as a member?
  • Minimum identity level required for members
  • Any additional entry requirements

3. Governance Rules

  • Voting model used (1P1V, token-weighted, reputation-weighted, or hybrid)
  • Quorum requirements for ordinary decisions
  • Quorum requirements for Codex amendments
  • Voting period durations

4. Dispute Resolution Clause

  • Which dispute resolution level(s) does the DAO offer? (Level 1 only, up to Level 2, or full Level 3)
  • How are mediators/arbitrators selected within the DAO?
  • What is the fee structure for DAO dispute resolution?

5. Sanction Levels

  • What behaviors are sanctionable?
  • What sanctions are available? (Warning → Restriction → Temporary ban → Permanent ban)
  • Who can propose sanctions?
  • What is the appeal procedure?

6. Codex Amendment Procedure

  • How can the Codex be changed?
  • What majority is required?
  • What is the minimum notice period before a Codex amendment takes effect?

7. Dissolution Clause

  • Under what conditions can the DAO be dissolved?
  • What happens to DAO treasury funds upon dissolution?

Optional Sections (Recommended)

  • Choice-of-law clause (which jurisdiction's law applies, if any)
  • Treasury management rules
  • Membership fee structure
  • Protocol royalty sharing rules
  • Integration with Foundation DAO governance

Minimum Viable Codex Template

This template satisfies all minimum requirements. Founders should adapt it to their community's needs.

# [DAO Name] Codex v1.0

## 1. Purpose and Scope
[DAO Name] is a community DAO operating within the Colabonate Protocol.
Purpose: [describe purpose]
Scope: [buy/sell | cooperation | both]
Domain: [geographic or topical restriction, or "open to all"]

## 2. Membership Criteria
Any Colabonate participant with Identity Level [2|3] may apply for membership.
Membership is approved by [governance vote | founding members | automatic].

## 3. Governance Rules
Voting model: [1P1V | token-weighted | reputation-weighted | hybrid]
Ordinary decisions: [X]% quorum, >[Y]% majority, [N] days
Codex amendments: [X]% quorum, 2/3 majority, 21 days

## 4. Dispute Resolution
This DAO provides dispute resolution up to Level [1|2|3].
Mediators are selected from: [DAO member pool | Colabonate Foundation pool]
Mediation fee: [X]% of disputed ticket value (in sats)

## 5. Sanctions
Sanctionable behaviors: [list]
Sanction levels: Warning → Restriction → Temporary ban → Permanent ban
Sanction proposals require: [X]% of active members or [role]
Appeal period: [N] days

## 6. Codex Amendments
Amendments require 2/3 majority vote with 21-day voting period.
Amendments take effect [N] days after vote completion.
Retroactive amendments affecting active tickets: not permitted.

## 7. Dissolution
The DAO is dissolved if: [conditions]
Upon dissolution: treasury funds are distributed [proportionally to members | to Foundation DAO | burned].

DAO Registration Procedure

Step 1: Founding Member Assembly

  1. Minimum 5 founding members gather (in-person or via Nostr DM)
  2. Each founding member must have Identity Level ≥ 2
  3. Founding members collectively draft the Codex
  4. Each founding member reviews and signs off on the Codex

Step 2: Codex Validation

  1. Founding members submit the Codex to the protocol's validation endpoint (or via Foundation DAO)
  2. The protocol checks that all required sections are present
  3. A Codex hash is generated: SHA-256(codex-content) — this hash becomes the permanent identifier for this Codex version

Step 3: Stake Deposit

  1. Each founding member stakes the required minimum COLA via a Kind 30025 event
  2. The stake is locked for the minimum founding period (default: 90 days)
  3. If the DAO is dissolved within 90 days, stakes are returned minus a protocol fee

Step 4: DAO Registration Event

The lead founding member (or all jointly) publishes a Nostr event registering the DAO:

{
  "kind": 30022,
  "pubkey": "<lead-founder-pubkey>",
  "tags": [
    ["d", "<dao-id>"],
    ["sub_type", "dao_creation"],
    ["dao_name", "<DAO Name>"],
    ["codex_hash", "<sha256-of-codex>"],
    ["codex_version", "1.0"],
    ["founding_members", "<pubkey1>,<pubkey2>,<pubkey3>,<pubkey4>,<pubkey5>"],
    ["member_count", "5"]
  ],
  "content": "<codex-full-text-or-nostr-reference>"
}

Step 5: Confirmation

After the registration event is published:

  • Protocol validates the DAO (checks all founding member requirements)
  • Foundation DAO receives a notification (observation only — not approval)
  • DAO ID is active and can be referenced in ticket daoId fields

The DAO does not require Foundation DAO approval. It is permissionless as long as all requirements are met.

Interaction Binding to a DAO

Once a DAO is registered, participants can optionally bind their interactions to it:

Binding a Ticket

When creating a ticket (Kind 30018), include:

{
  "tags": [
    ["dao_id", "<dao-id>"],
    ["codex_hash", "<sha256-of-codex-version-at-binding>"],
    ["codex_version", "1.0"]
  ]
}

What Binding Means

Aspect Effect
Dispute resolution Disputes on this ticket use the DAO's dispute procedure instead of the base protocol defaults
Arbitration Level 3 verdicts use DAO arbitrators (if DAO provides Level 3)
Codex version freeze The Codex version at the time of binding is locked for this ticket; later Codex amendments do not affect active tickets
Legal implication Parties implicitly agree to the DAO's Codex as a private arbitration framework
Protocol rules Base Colabonate Protocol rules still apply; DAO Codex may add requirements but cannot remove protocol guarantees

Binding is Optional

The base Colabonate Protocol operates without any DAO binding. Binding is a user choice for those who want:

  • Stronger community accountability
  • Specialised dispute resolution for their domain
  • Legal framework reference (private arbitration agreement)

See legal-binding-layer.md for the full specification.

DAO Lifecycle

Creation

  • Minimum 5 founders with Level 2+
  • Codex validated
  • Registration event published

Active

  • Members can join per Codex membership criteria
  • Transactions can be bound to DAO
  • Governance votes can be run
  • Treasury can be funded (optional Lightning multi-sig)

Amendment

  • Codex amendments follow the amendment procedure defined in the Codex
  • A new Codex version creates a new codex_hash — all future bindings use the new hash
  • Active tickets retain the old hash (Codex version frozen at binding)

Dissolved

  • Dissolution event published (Kind 30022 with sub_type: dao_dissolution)
  • Existing bound tickets continue under the dissolved Codex until completion
  • No new tickets can be bound to a dissolved DAO
  • Treasury distribution per dissolution clause

Foundation DAO Relationship

Community DAOs are independent of the Foundation DAO. The Foundation DAO:

  • Sets the protocol defaults (minimum founder count, minimum COLA stake, etc.) via governance vote
  • Does not approve or veto individual community DAOs
  • Does not interfere with community DAO governance

A community DAO MAY reference the Foundation DAO Codex for dispute escalation (Level 3) if it does not have its own Level 3 arbitration infrastructure.

References

Part of the Colabonate Protocol Specification | docs/protocols/