ReFi DAO is proposing a move toward distributed governance with elected leadership. As Step 2, we're electing a Steward Council of 7-10 stewards from local node leads and core contributors (7 primarily, with Council discretion to flex toward 10, drawing from the same election ranking). Here's the sequence:
By sequencing steward elections first, every subsequent decision carries the legitimacy of a community-elected body. This proposal presents a base governance framework for the Council's consideration: high-impact decisions require distributed consent; expert-led decisions take advice; low-impact moves stay optimistic. The elected Council will review, adapt, and ultimately decide how to implement governance for ReFi DAO.
And we thank Monty's leadership through ReFi DAO 2.0's evolution—from end of 2023 to now, 2026.
ReFi DAO's identity has been formed from its collective of voices—from the ReFi Podcast founders in the early days to the Founders Circle, and then the emergence of local node leads. Since 2022, Local Node leads have been leading the spread of ReFi DAO, adapting the vision and narrative of using what we have in hand to drive regeneration, rooting the movement through localities.
The network of local nodes has enabled ReFi DAO and the Web3 & ReFi ecosystem as a whole — together with networks like Greenpill, Bloom Network, and BioFi Project — to overcome its separation from the real world. We've put the hypotheses of community-led ReFi and Web3 to the test in practice.
The network's legitimacy and narrative have emerged from the diverse contributions of local nodes, community members, and distributed participation. This transition recognizes and formalizes what has been true in practice: that ReFi DAO is lead by its practitioners, as it should be. What we're adding is the governance scaffolding to make it durable.
The transition in context: