# Governance

PrimeStaking's governance model ensures that protocol upgrades, treasury operations, and critical decisions are made transparently and with appropriate safeguards.

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## Important Distinction

Governance applies to **contract upgrades and protocol parameters** - not to validator key custody or user fund management. Those are handled by trustless, on-chain smart contracts with no human involvement.

→ [Custody Model](https://docs.primestaking.xyz/for-partners/custody-model) for details on asset custody

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## Governance Structure

| Component               | Implementation                                                                 |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Contract upgrades**   | Multisig approval required                                                     |
| **Timelock**            | Mandatory delay between approval and execution                                 |
| **Treasury management** | Multisig-controlled with on-chain transparency                                 |
| **Emergency actions**   | Multisig can pause contracts immediately; patches follow standard upgrade flow |

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## Multisig

All critical operations require approval from multiple authorized signers. Multisig configuration details are available upon request as part of the due diligence process.

| Parameter          | Detail                                                    |
| ------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Transparency**   | All multisig transactions are on-chain and verifiable     |
| **Key management** | Hardware wallet-secured keys held by distinct individuals |

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## Timelock

Contract upgrades and parameter changes are subject to a mandatory timelock:

| Parameter            | Detail                                                              |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Purpose**          | Allows community and partner review before changes take effect      |
| **Emergency bypass** | Available for critical security patches with full multisig approval |

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## Upgrade Process

1. **Proposal** - Engineering team proposes a contract upgrade or parameter change
2. **Review** - Internal security review + partner notification (advance notice for material changes)
3. **Multisig approval** - Required signers approve the transaction
4. **Timelock** - Mandatory waiting period before execution
5. **Execution** - Change is deployed on-chain
6. **Verification** - Post-deployment validation and monitoring

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## Treasury

| Parameter           | Detail                                                      |
| ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Controlled by**   | Multisig wallet                                             |
| **Funding sources** | Protocol fees from staking operations                       |
| **Use of funds**    | Validator operations, development, audits, ecosystem growth |
| **Transparency**    | All treasury transactions on-chain                          |

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## Decision-Making Framework

| Decision Type                | Process                                       |
| ---------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| **Routine operations**       | Team execution, no governance overhead        |
| **Contract upgrades**        | Multisig + timelock                           |
| **Fee changes**              | Multisig + timelock + partner notification    |
| **Emergency pause**          | Multisig (immediate, no timelock)             |
| **New validator onboarding** | Smart contract-managed (permissionless model) |
| **Partnership agreements**   | Team + legal review                           |

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## What This Means for Partners

* **No unilateral changes** - protocol modifications require multi-party approval
* **Advance notice** - partners are informed before material changes take effect
* **Verifiable on-chain** - all governance actions are transparent and auditable
* **Predictable operations** - timelock ensures changes are not applied unexpectedly