## Power to the People: Sovryn’s On-Chain Governance, Bitocracy, is Live
Community Call #24 was a momentous occasion, marking the official launch of **Bitocracy**, the Sovryn protocol’s on-chain governance system. This launch signified a critical step in the journey of progressive decentralization, formally transferring governing power from the initial core team to the global community of SOV token holders.
### What is Bitocracy?
Bitocracy is the system through which SOV holders can directly participate in governing the Sovryn protocol. It is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) where voting power is determined by staked SOV. Through Bitocracy, the community can propose, debate, and vote on **Sovryn Improvement Proposals (SIPs)** that can change almost any aspect of the system.
### How to Participate
The team provided a live walkthrough of the entire governance process:
1. **Staking SOV:** To participate, users must first stake their SOV tokens. The system uses a time-weighted model, where users who lock their tokens for a longer duration (up to three years) receive significantly more **Voting Power (VP)**. This incentivizes long-term alignment.
2. **Proposing a SIP:** Any community member can draft a SIP on the Sovryn Forum. After a period of community discussion and refinement, a staker with sufficient VP can formally submit the proposal to an on-chain vote.
3. **Voting:** Once a SIP is live, all stakers can cast their vote (‘For’ or ‘Against’). The proposal passes if it meets the required quorum and receives a majority of ‘For’ votes.
4. **Execution:** If a proposal passes, it is then executed, either autonomously by the smart contracts or by the Exchequer multisig carrying out the will of the Bitocracy.
### The Path to Full Decentralization
The launch of Bitocracy (version 2.0) was a major leap, but the team emphasized it’s part of a longer journey. This initial version gives the community control over the treasury and key protocol parameters. The next planned phase, Bitocracy 3.0, will transfer direct ownership of the core protocol contracts to the governance system, removing the final layers of administrative control and making Sovryn a truly unstoppable, community-owned public utility.