Energy Web Platform Governance Motions, 2019-2025

Energy Web Chain (EWC) has been governed by Validators based in fifteen countries, representing publicly known and geographically diverse entities, many of whom are subject to strong domestic regulatory supervision regimes. The EWC Validators ranged from large energy-sector market participants (including utilities, grid operators, and cleantech developers) to blockchain and energy startups and had over time grown to about 40 entities. All major Energy Web platform governance motions prior to 2025 technology and governance upgrade are listed below:

Energy Web Platform Governance Motions:

June 2019

• EWC Launch and Initial Token Allocation

Following a period of research, development and testing (including support to the first Proof-of-Authority (Kovan) blockchain network and the establishment of Volta testnet), EWC was officially launched on 16 June 2019 (“Launch”) when the genesis block was approved by the parties responsible for EWC governance (the “Validators”) via system contracts. At Launch, the development of the EW Chain was complete, its protocol was deployed for production, and it was fully operational. Since that time, EWF and other third parties have continued to develop software development kits (SDKs) and decentralized applications; however, it is to be noted developers and users of the EW Chain are not required to access or use the SDKs in order to interact with the EWC (or upgraded EWX), and that EWC/EWX remain operational without any further development of SDKs or deployment of additional decentralized applications.

EWC validators also approved an initial allocation of 21.2 million EWT to 102 entities (including some individuals) that provided funds for Energy Web platform development (“Participants”). Participants that purchased EWT prior to April 1, 2018 were not permitted to transfer or otherwise dispose of their EWT until at least September 16, 2019. Participants who made their purchase after April 1, 2018 were required to not transfer their EWT until at least December 16, 2019. The Validators also approved an allocation of 20.9 million EWT to the Foundation (EWF) and 10 million to its founders, with approximately 35% of the EWF allocation earmarked to pay operational expenses. Including payments to EWF staff and service providers who support and implement the decisions and directives of the Validators (see Table 1 below). The purpose was described in more detail in the 2018 Energy Web White Paper and the updated 2019 Energy Web White Paper, while the 2020 Energy Web White Paper, the 2021 Energy Web Light Paper and the 2023 Energy Web Light Paper detailed the subsequent technical updates, leading up to the Energy Web 2025 Upgrade.

Table 1: EWT Token Allocation, June 2019

• Rough Consensus Model: Validators adopted an interim off-chain “rough consensus” approach for adding/removing validators, protocol/client updates, and governance changes, relying on EWF support to protect a transparent decision framework while the validator set was still small.

July and August 2019

• Validator Eligibility Criteria: In July 2019, Validators approved criteria requiring validators to be legally registered organizations, active EWF Members, and to have proven technical competence by having run a Volta testnet validator.

• Energy Web Token (EWT) Listing: In July 2019, Validators discussed exchanges’ listing as a key step to decentralize token supply and support utility token classification, and supported moving forward, beginning with the Liquid exchange listing, tasking EWF to administratively support the registration process, and then consider other exchanges, including the US once there is more regulatory clarity. In August a Liquid Listing Date was approved for September. Validators also discussed the risks of maintaining a default minimum gas price of zero and supported a recommendation to raise the minimum to 1 Gwei (0.000000001 EWT). This was intended to reduce exposure to spam or DDoS attacks while keeping fees low relative to Ethereum. Validators noted the need to recalibrate the minimum gas price over time in response to market conditions, balancing security with affordability for developers and users.

September 2019

• Validator Eligibility / Transition from Affiliate to Member Program: Validators deliberated on the shift from the one-time EWF Affiliate MOU to an annual EWF Membership model beginning in 2020 as a key requirement for validator eligibility. The new structure requires members to actively support EWF’s mission, contribute to the ecosystem, pay fees or provide in-kind contributions, and demonstrate commercial activity or developer engagement. Validators discussed safeguards for smaller companies, including potential staking or multi-sig payout mechanisms. They agreed that the updated criteria would apply equally to existing and new entrants.

• Transitioning from Interim Governance Model: With nearly 20 validators across 14 time zones, validators agreed that the rough consensus model based on monthly calls was no longer scalable. EWF was tasked with documenting the governance processes and introducing signaling vote tools by year-end, with formal validator votes replacing reliance on silence as tacit agreement, thereby creating a clearer audit trail for validator decisions.

October 2019

• Formal Voting Mechanism: Validators agreed to replace the rough consensus model with a formal off-chain voting process on the EW Chain Governance Forum (Discourse). Voting delegation was disallowed, participation will be monitored by EWF, one voting event (five business days) per month will be scheduled, and decisions will pass by simple majority (no incentives/penalties for now). The first vote was scheduled for the week of November 11, 2019.

• Validator Eligibility / EW Membership: Validators prioritized two mechanisms for future eligibility rules: (i) requiring small companies (<$5m annual revenue) to stake block rewards for a set period, and (ii) clearer membership criteria and transparency for EWF Members. A formal proposal to require small companies to stake mined tokens for one year, applying either to all or only to new entrants from 2020, was prepared for a November vote.

November 2019

• Validator Token Staking: Validators discussed and rejected a motion to demand from new validators to lock block rewards in escrow for 1 year to build reputation and deter malicious behavior. The decision tally was as follows: 9 Yes, 13 No, 2 abstained.

• Emergency Operating Procedures: Validators retired the legacy “Node Control” tool and established formal EOPs, authorizing temporary removal of validators or node updates by EWF in emergencies (e.g. unplanned forks, malicious/benign failures), subject to validator review within 48 hours. The decision tally was as follows: 17 Yes, 3 No. Validators also discussed the need for better visibility into node stability, with suggestions including dashboards, netstats-style pages, and sharing monitoring scripts. EWF was tasked with investigating the feasibility and resource requirements for a netstats-like monitoring tool while emphasizing that each validator remains responsible for monitoring its own node.

December 2019

• Ethereum Istanbul Hard Fork Alignment: Validators approved adoption of Ethereum’s Istanbul hard fork (EIPs 152, 1108, 1344, 1884, 2028, 2200) to align EWC with Ethereum mainnet improvements. Implemented via a 5-stage rollout plan (Volta test updates, validator client upgrades, chainspec updates, fork observation). The decision tally was as follows: 14 Yes, 2 Abstain. In two subsequent discussions in December they deliberated on the governance of the EWT Community Fund and the 2020 validator eligibility criteria but no new decisions were made.

January 2020

• Validator Eligibility 2020 and Beyond: Validators confirmed that their participation in the EWF Membership program remains the primary eligibility criterion, as it provides KYC and financial commitment required under PoA mechanism. Validators who did not renew membership were removed on 17 January 2020. Future improvements to the membership process and potentially a queue for new applicants was discussed. No minimum validator count was set, but diversity across regions and business models was emphasized. There were also additional discussions on the governance mechanism for the Community Fund, which is open to the entire ecosystem, but no specific decisions were made on that topic.

February 2020

• Nethermind Client Funding: Validators approved a community funding allocation for development of a Nethermind AuRa client (sealing mode, telemetry integration, Docker support, docs). Deliverables were funded in two phases totaling 2,877 EWT. The decision tally was as follows: 19 Yes (unanimous).

April 2020

• Update on EWT Status: EWF reported to validators on the assignment to engage with external counsel and regulators to ensure utility classification. As a result, it was agreed that EWF would proceed with the global, including US-accessible exchange listings, starting with Bitmart on 8 May 2020. The validators were also informed that the EWC-ETH bridge is now production ready, enabling listings on Ethereum-based DEXs such as IDEX. Energy Web Wallet integration with Ledger via MyCrypto was also reported.

• Technical Updates on Operating, Monitoring, and Maintaining Validator Nodes: EWF reported that it is setting up ENS on Volta and EWC, offering one free domain per member for the first year (future pricing TBD), pursuant to received directives from the validators. Validators noted the transition from Parity to OpenEthereum, with v2.7.x being the final Parity-branded update and introducing a non-backwards-compatible chain DB format. Concerns were raised about validator liability if third parties use alternative clients and it was agreed that a working group and governance forum post would be created to explore liability limitations and user terms.

May 2020

• Community Fund Governance: Validators reviewed a draft governance model for the Community Fund, prepared by EWF based on prior validator discussion. It allocates one-third of tokens respectively to (i) an EW Chain Account governed by validators for technology development, (ii) an EW Operating Account for the Foundation’s mission and development of additional open-source components, and (iii) a Decarbonization Account for grants and environmental certificates. Validators supported the model in principle, with feedback on clarifying scope between validator vs. Foundation governance, structuring grants to mitigate token volatility, and ensuring proposals are denominated in EWT. EWF was tasked with refining the document, creating a new forum section for EWC Account proposals, and incorporating all validator inputs.

June 2020

• New Member / Validator Onboarding Process: Validators reviewed a new formal application process requiring validator entities to pass KYC/AML, demonstrate legitimate business activities aligned with EWF’s mission, and provide references. The EWF NetOps team was tasked with reviewing applications and sharing them with validators for comment and approval. Validators supported a case-by-case approach for non-energy companies and suggested creating a template to categorize validators and publish public-facing information.

• Community Fund Governance: Validators deliberated and approved the updated, three-part Community Fund model in principle: (i) ⅓ reserved for EW Chain core infrastructure, governed by validators; (ii) ⅓ reserved for EWC operations and development of a utility layer, including EW-DOS development, with governance delegated to EWF; (iii) ⅓ reserved for an “Impact” fund to support wider adoption of EW technology. Grants to be denominated in EWT. Final approval was expected by July, after which funding proposals could be accepted. Validators also agreed to publish external discussion summaries for enhanced transparency, while maintaining validator-only forums for the discussions. They also noted the release of Parity 2.7.2-stable, the last Parity-branded client before OpenEthereum. Plans were approved to update Volta and EWC nodes by the end of June, with further testing required for OpenEthereum compatibility. Validators also discussed the resilience benefits of multi-client diversity and considered a future Community Fund proposal to fund Nethermind development to production grade, including telemetry and installation scripts.

July and August 2020

• Energy Web Community Fund: The three-part governance mechanism for the Community Fund was formally implemented. In July 2020, validators adopted Proposal 04 to award 2,877 EWT to Nethermind to develop a production-ready client for EWC to improve chain resiliency, funded from Chain Reserve on a deliverables-based schedule, by a vote of 20 in favor and 4 not voting. The Operations Reserve funded the Innovation Challenge, awarding 3,700 EWT to winning and runner-up teams. EWF also reported on building a monitoring tool to track balances across reserves. The new Nethermind Client Testing began mid-August 2020 when validators agreed to a soft target of at least three nodes adopting Nethermind once stable, while leaving final client choice to each validator.

• New Member / Validator Applications: Validators noted that the new formal application and KYC process for prospective members came into effect, though no new applications were received in July 2020. In August 2020, two new applicants were approved under the formal application and KYC process – Vodafone and Zytech Solar.

• EWC Client Update – OpenEthereum 2.7.2: Significant issues with Parity/OpenEthereum 2.7.2 led validators to downgrade Volta nodes and keep EWC nodes on v2.5.13-stable. No further client updates will proceed until OpenEthereum issues are resolved.

December 2020

• Bug Bounty Program: Validators established an EW-DOS Technical Committee, composed of representatives from validator organizations, to manage bug reports, with tiered EWT rewards (Low–Critical), with work funded from Community Fund reserves. The decision tally was as follows: 21 Yes (unanimous).

May 2021

• Upgrade OpenEthereum Client & Berlin Hard Fork for Validator Nodes: Validators agreed to align EWC with Ethereum’s Berlin upgrade by moving validator nodes to OpenEthereum v3.2.5 and activating EIPs 2565 (ModExp gas), 2718 (typed tx envelope), 2929 (state access gas increases), and 2930 (access lists). Execution followed a staged plan across Volta to EWC, with defined observation windows and rollback contingencies. The decision tally was as follows: 37 Yes (unanimous).

August 2021

• Community Fund Grant: Anyblock Analytics Validator Accounting Tool: Validators approved a funding allocation for an accounting dashboard to help validators track and verify EWT rewards (block rewards/fees) and transactions. The decision tally was as follows: 28 Yes (unanimous).

September 2021

• London Upgrade, EIP-1559 & related EIPs: Validators agreed to implement Ethereum’s London Upgrade on EWC (EIPs 1559, 3198, 3529, 3541, 3554), with a streamlined process vs. Berlin Upgrade: all validators to update within set windows; self-reporting via forms; non-compliant nodes to be temporarily removed; staged Volta observation, EWC activation with public comms. The decision tally was as follows: 37 Yes (unanimous).

November 2021

• Community Fund Grant: Trust Wallet, Bl0x: Validators approved a funding allocation (grant) to Bl0x to add native EWT to Trust Wallet (chain/address/signing logic, tests, open-source PRs), implement WalletConnect, and co-author user documentation. The decision tally was as follows: 35 Yes (unanimous).

December 2021

• Validator Code of Conduct Update : Validators amended the Code of Conduct to integrate objective enforcement including thresholds around Node health, uptime, meeting attendance, voting participation (rolling 6 months). Any violations are to trigger escalation suspensions/expulsion; compliance tracked via a public validator dashboard. The decision tally was as follows: 23 Yes, 9 No.

March 2025

• Energy Web Architecture Upgrade Proposal (Zurich Hard Fork): Validators approved the Energy Web 2025 Upgrade, transforming the Energy Web platform architecture from membership-based PoA validation on EWC to permissionless, nominated PoS validation on EWX Polkadot parachain, with the following key features: EWT migration to ERC-20 on Ethereum, on-chain treasury governance replacing exclusively validator-managed Community Fund and decentralising platform governance overall, as well as permissionless staking options (collators, liquid restaking; Verified Compute Cloud staking with stEWT facilitated by Worker Node Network pallet) and multi-asset enablement as BYOT for verified compute reward payout fees.