Governing the Cosmos
How active and engaged are users? How many unique voters are there on each chain? How is voting power distributed? What chain has been the most active in proposals? Include any other relevant metrics as you paint a "heat map" of the cosmos.
What is Osmosis?
Osmosis is a DEX blockchain that's a zone of the Cosmos Hub ecosystem, thus making it compatible with networks using the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, like Terra. Osmosis has a customizable AMM that's different from ones like Uniswap and Curve because it allows users to deploy sovereign liquidity pools. This means that each Osmosis liquidity pool is like an independent decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), where liquidity providers can vote to change the parameters of the AMM formula for their pool.
What is Cosmos?
Cosmos (ATOM) is a cryptocurrency that powers an ecosystem of blockchains designed to scale and interoperate with each other. The team aims to "create an Internet of Blockchains, a network of blockchains able to communicate with each other in a decentralized way." Cosmos is a proof-of-stake chain. ATOM holders can stake their tokens in order to maintain the network and receive more ATOM as a reward.
What is Terra 2.0?
Terra 2.0 (LUNA) is the newest iteration of cryptocurrency on the Terra blockchain. In May 2022, the Terra blockchain experienced a hard fork prompted by founder Do Kwon and voted on by the community. This created the new Terra 2.0, with a new cryptocurrency, dubbed LUNA or LUNA2, while the original blockchain and coin took on the moniker LUNA Classic, or LUNC. Both blockchains still exist and operate separately, which can cause confusion for new investors.
Introduction:
Welcome to our governance metrics dashboard, where we will be examining the governance performance of three prominent chains Cosmos, Osmosis, and Terra. Our focus will be on voter activity and proposal engagement across these chains, providing insights into which chains are most active in terms of governance participation and which may be lagging behind. By analyzing metrics both over time and in an overall context, we will gain a comprehensive understanding of how these chains have progressed and where they stand today. Finally, by comparing the data across chains, we will be able to determine which chain is the most active in terms of governance engagement.
Methodology:
The methodology used in our governance metrics dashboard is as follows:
- We will gather data on voter activity and proposal engagement for the Cosmos, Osmosis, and Terra chains. This data will include the number of unique voters, frequency of voting, and the number of proposals submitted and passed on each chain.
- We will analyze this data over time to track the progress and changes in governance performance on each chain.
- We will also examine the data in an overall context, comparing the metrics across the chains to identify patterns and trends in governance participation.
- To determine the most active chain in terms of governance engagement, we will compare the voter activity and proposal engagement metrics across the chains and use that data to make our final determination.
- With this we will analyze the voter and proposal metrics to see which chain is more active and engaged, distribution of voting power and any other relevant metrics that will paint a "heat map" of the cosmos governance landscape.
- To validate the findings we will be triangulating the data from multiple sources for each chain, this will give us more robust dataset to work with and to minimize the risk of errors.
How To Use This Tool:
This tool works by putting the respective proposal id of the chain you want to look at into the variable at the top of the page. For each of the chains I have the proposal Id listed by most to least votes so you can scroll through and put in any of the proposals from that list. When you put in the respective proposal it will update the respective graphs and show you both the total counts of votes in each category as well as the percent breakdown for how the users voted on the specified proposal.
Voting Analysis:
Our analysis of voter activity on the Osmosis chain reveals that around 25% of voters have cast between 1 and 5 votes, with roughly half of all voters casting less than 10 votes. The distribution of voter activity appears to be right-skewed, as the average number of votes is significantly higher than the median. This suggests that the median is a more accurate representation of the typical voter's level of engagement, as it is not heavily influenced by a small number of extremely active users. This is further supported by the fact that there is one voter who has cast an extraordinary 337 votes, skewing the average to the right.
Voter Analysis:
Our analysis of voter activity on the Osmosis chain over time shows that the number of weekly unique voters peaked in April 2022, reaching around 60,000. However, it has since dropped and remained around 30,000 weekly. Despite the drop in new unique voters, the overall number of voters seems to remain consistently engaged over time. The majority of new voters on Osmosis joined during March of 2022. However, the number of new users joining weekly ranges from 700 to 1000, although the cumulative total number of users seem to be slowing down as the bulk of new users joined early in the year. It appears that the voter engagement growth has slowed down but still at a steady pace.
Proposal Vote Analysis:
Our analysis of proposal engagement on the Osmosis chain shows that the majority of proposals fall at either the higher or lower end of the voting spectrum, with nearly 40% of proposals receiving over 20,000 votes and 27.2% of proposals receiving less than 2,500 votes. In total, about 226 proposals received either more than 20,000 votes or less than 2,500 votes. The distribution of proposal engagement appears to be slightly right-skewed, as the average number of votes is slightly higher than the median. This means that both the median and average can be used to provide a sense of the typical proposal size. The most highly voted proposal received over 55,000 votes. It appears that there are a fair amount of proposals are being voted on by a large group of people and some are not getting as much attention, this distribution suggest a good engagement from the community with a good balance of proposals.
Proposal and User Analysis:
Our analysis of proposal engagement on the Osmosis chain over time shows that the bulk of new proposals occurred between January 2022 and July 2022. However, there are still a significant number of new proposals being released, with an average of 2-7 new proposals submitted per week. The cumulative number of new proposals over time appears to be roughly linear, indicating that proposals are being released on a consistent basis. In terms of user engagement, voter activity consistently makes up the majority of users on Osmosis, with a peak of nearly 95% on some weeks and closer to 75% on most weeks, closer to the current date. This highlights that voter activity is a consistent and central aspect of the Osmosis governance ecosystem.
Osmosis Section Overview:
- Roughly 50% of voters have cast less than 10 votes and 50% of cast more than 10 votes.
- Over the last several months there have been roughly 30K unique voters each week.
- The New voters on Osmosis has really begun to slow down over the last couple months at anywhere from 700-1000 weekly.
- Nearly 40% of proposals have over 20K votes on them.
- There tends to be anywhere from 2-7 new proposals weekly.
- Over the last several months about 75% of active users are also voters.
- Overall the cumulative proposals over time has been going up at a consistent rate highlighting that new proposals are continuously being voted on on Osmosis.
Voting Analysis:
Our analysis of voter activity on the Cosmos chain shows that over 65% of voters have made between 1 and 5 votes, accounting for over 148,000 voters. The distribution of voter activity appears to be right-skewed, with the average number of votes per voter influenced by a small number of extremely active voters. As a result, the median of 3 votes per user is likely a better metric to consider when evaluating the typical engagement level of voters. As the number of votes per voter increases, the number of voters who have cast that many votes begins to thin out. This suggests that while there are a few highly active users, the majority of voters on Cosmos are relatively less active in terms of voting frequency.
Voter Analysis:
The majority of new voters on Cosmos joined during April of 2022. However, there is still a steady flow of new voters each week, ranging from 700 to 10,000. In April of 2022, voter activity saw a significant increase as many new users joined the platform. However, voter activity is not consistent week-by-week, with some weeks having very little activity and others seeing as many as 50,000 active voters. Despite the slowdown in the number of new users, the overall trend is still upward as demonstrated by the cumulative graph of new users over time.
Proposal Vote Analysis:
Similar to Osmosis, the data on Cosmos proposals shows a wide variation in the number of votes received. Over 65% of all proposals either have over 30,000 votes or under 2,500 votes. This accounts for about 32 proposals, indicating that Cosmos has a relatively small number of proposals compared to Osmosis. The average number of votes is slightly skewed due to a few proposals that have an unusually high number of votes. Therefore, the median is a better metric to use to understand the typical proposal size in terms of number of votes.
Proposal and User Analysis:
On a weekly basis, Cosmos tends to have between 1 to 3 proposals, with the majority of weeks having only 1 proposal. The number of new proposals on Cosmos has remained relatively consistent over time. However, the percentage of active users who are also voters has seen a significant increase over time, going from around 12% to over 50% and remaining at this level for several months.
Cosmos Section Overview:
- Around 65% of voters have made between 1 and 5 votes.
- There are 48 total proposals on Cosmos.
- The typical users has made about 3 votes.
- The bulk of new users on Cosmos came around April of 2022 although there are still anywhere from 700-7K new users each week which varies greatly.
- Every since April of 2022 the amount of active users on Cosmos is pretty large seeing heights of over 50K, although some weeks there is zero highlighting some weeks have not activity at all.
- 43.8% of proposals have over 30K votes, while 22.9% have below 2.5K
- On weeks where there are new proposals there tends to be roughly 1-3 although usually closer to 1.
- The voters on Cosmos went from making up only 12% of active users to making up over 50% of active user by the current date.
Voting Analysis:
On Terra, the majority of voters (about 61.5%) have only made one vote, accounting for 2264 voters. Most of the remaining voters have made between 1 and 5 votes, with very few making more than that. The average number of votes is skewed due to a few large voters, so the median is a more accurate representation of the typical voter. This low voter activity is likely due to Terra 2.0 having just recently launched, many of the users probably have not had much time to vote or have become voters recently. This could be accounted for the low voter numbers as compared to other chains.
Voter Analysis:
The number of new voters on Terra weekly is quite inconsistent, with some weeks seeing highs of over 600 new users and others seeing none at all. Recently, there have been around 70-100 new users on days when there are any new users at all. The weekly active users tend to follow a similar trend, with days where there are active voters having anywhere from 200-400 active users. There are also days where there are no active voters, highlighting that activity on the platform is not always consistent. Over time, the number of new users on Terra has grown consistently, and this trend is likely to continue as the platform grows.
Proposal Vote Analysis:
On Terra, about 80% of proposals have between 0 and 300 votes, which accounts for only about 38 proposals. This indicates that there are relatively few proposals overall on Terra, similar to Cosmos. The average number of votes for proposals is slightly larger than the median number, indicating that the distribution is right-skewed. As a result, the median is likely a better estimate of the typical number of votes for a proposal on Terra.
Proposal and User Analysis:
The number of new proposals on Terra each week ranges from 1 to 6 on weeks when there are any new proposals at all, though it tends to be closer to 1-2. Cumulatively, the number of proposals deployed over time has been steadily increasing. Unlike the other two blockchains, a small percentage of users on Terra are voters, with slightly more than 10% of active users each week being voters.
Terra Section Overview:
- 61.5% of voters on Terra have only made one vote and 91.5% of voters have made between 1 and 5 votes on Terra
- Weekly new voters on Terra has been on the decline after an initial spike it currently is anywhere from 50-200 on days where there are any new voters at all
- Active voters on Terra follow the same pattern as new voters so when there are active voters, thus activity on the platform, there is anywhere from 200-400 active voters.
- 80% of proposals on Terra have between 0 and 300 votes although the typical proposal has about 200 votes.
- There are 47 Total proposals on Terra.
- Weekly new proposals on Terra don’t occur every week but when they do there tends to be anywhere from 2-7.
- Voters make up roughly 10% of active users each week on Terra.
In conclusion, it is clear that Osmosis has the most active governance among the three chains in terms of proposals and voters. Osmosis has by far the most active voters, with over 50% of its users making over 10 votes, while Terra and Cosmos have 91.5% and 65% of their voters making between 1 and 5 votes respectively. Furthermore, Osmosis has a consistent amount of around 30k active users each week, while on Terra the number ranges from 200-400 users each week with some weeks having no active users, indicating no activity on the platform. On Cosmos, the number ranges from 5k-50K active users each week, and there are also some weeks with no active users at all.
In terms of proposals, Osmosis has an average of around 15k votes per proposal, while on Cosmos it is 25K, and 200 on Terra. Therefore, Cosmos has the most voters per proposal. Both Osmosis and Cosmos have 2-7 new proposals per week, but Osmosis has that amount every single week, while Cosmos has a handful of weeks with no new proposals at all. Terra only has around 1 proposal per week on weeks where there are any new proposals.
Finally, when it comes to the percentage of active users who are also voters, Osmosis has the largest with 75% consistently, while Cosmos follows closely at around 50%, and Terra only has around 10%. Overall, Osmosis has the most active governance, likely due to its consistent amount of active voters, new voters, and new proposals week after week for countless months. Cosmos follows in second place but it lacks in having as many proposals as Osmosis and a handful of weeks with no activity. Lastly, Terra is not as developed as the other two chains in terms of governance and may have a way to go before more governance is established on the platform.