Snapshot to launch onchain voting on Starknet

The new Snapshot X protocol uses storage proofs to enable voting without needing to bridge

September 9, 2024 01:18 pm

Snapshot and Adobe Stock modified by Blockworks

Governance voting platform Snapshot has announced the launch of Snapshot X, a new onchain voting protocol.

The new protocol will be launched on the layer-2 network Starknet and leverage the technology of “storage proofs” from Herodotus, a middleware blockchain infrastructure company.

Snapshot said in the announcement that 96% of DAOs use its platform for offchain voting.

By voting off-chain, token holders can skirt the high gas fees of the Ethereum layer-1 while signaling their early positions on key governance issues. However, votes are typically considered finalized only after an onchain vote is concluded with a separate voting platform like Tally.

Newsletter

Subscribe to The Breakdown

In an effort to bring DAO voting onchain cheaply, the new Snapshot protocol will leverage storage proofs to verify token holdership on Ethereum layer-1 before enabling votes onchain from Starknet.

Thanks to Starknet’s support of native Ethereum cryptographic signatures, Snapshot X abstracts the use of the zk-powered layer-2 on the backend. This enables the use of popular EVM wallets like MetaMask on Snapshot X without requiring users to separately onboard to Starknet.

Like the original Snapshot protocol, Snapshot X will also be programmable and allow for different governance coordination mechanisms.

These include the various features that DAOs have historically used in governance like NFT voting, gasless signature voting, permissioned/whitelisted proposal creation and time-locked execution.

“Essentially, the point of Snapshot X is unstoppable onchain governance,” Snapshot Labs Chief Operating Officer Jeremy Musighi told Blockworks.

Snapshot Labs first raised $4 million in November 2021 in a round led by 1kx venture fund.

Updated September 10, 2024 at 12:19 pm ET: Clarified Snapshot’s announcement.

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
0xResearch: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst.

Tags

Newsletter

The Breakdown

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Digital Asset Summit 2026

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

buy tickets learn more

recent research

Research

Kinetiq Protocol: From LST Infrastructure to HIP-3 Deployer

Kinetiq has established itself as Hyperliquid's dominant liquid staking protocol, holding 82.5% of LST market share with $610M in TVL. The protocol is now expanding beyond its kHYPE staking core into higher take-rate verticals: iHYPE for institutional custody rails, Launch for HIP-3 capital formation, and Markets for builder-deployed perpetuals. We view Markets, launching Jan. 12, as the highest-potential product line given its mechanically scalable, activity-linked unit economics. Near-term revenue remains anchored by kHYPE's KIP-2 fee schedule (~$1.6M annualized), while Markets provides embedded optionality if HIP-3 economics normalize post-Growth Mode. KNTQ's setup is relatively clean: zero insider unlocks until November 2026, 6.2% buyback yield from staking revenue, and cleared airdrop overhang. Risks center on unproven Markets execution, declining kHYPE TVL despite ongoing incentives, and competition from Hyperliquid's native initiatives.

by Shaunda Devens