Arweave TX
DAOs, or decentralized autonomous organizations, are a relatively recent development, evolving from Ethereum to other networks. They offer a decentralized alternative to the governance of protocols and organizations. In this case, we will examine the situation on Solana through the Realms platform, which facilitates on-chain management of DAOs through various governance tools, treasury management, and proposal management.
Realms appeared in 2022, marking a turning point with a peak in activity that same year. While it is true that there have been dips and falls, it is undeniable that in recent months there has been a notable increase in activity. Many of these DAOs are trial runs, but it is clear that some of them have great potential and deserve to be noticed.
The platform processes around 800 and 400 proposals per month, with around 60 and 120 active DAOs using it, of course not all of them are 'DAOs', in fact if you are a purist you might think that there are no DAOs here. Some of them have just a few members, others a few dozen, with more or less, as we will see, some of them manage treasuries of millions of dollars, others none, but they are still interesting because they determine important chain activity on Solana.
The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the DAOs on Realms. I have taken metrics from DAOs that have been active in the current year.
The data used to compile this article comes from Flipside, which has tables to track proposal and voting activity in realms. Unfortunately, this table does not include Pyth and Metaplex, two quite important DAOs in the Solana ecosystem. Anyway, I'll talk about them later.
Alongside this article I built a dashboard tracking Realms activity here.
Website, Realms, Token Address, X
The most obvious starting point is the DAO with the highest number of unique voters: BONK DAO, a DAO made from a memecoin, which has 14,805 unique voters in its entire history. However, this year it has only had two submissions with eight voters, so it is not a strong contender.
The latest proposal, from November 2024, which proposed to remove a large number of BONK tokens from circulation, received 9,000 votes that month. However, what is not small is the treasury of around 60 million US dollars, equivalent to 4.4 billion BONK tokens.
Website, Realms, Token Address, X
SolBlaze DAO governs BlazeStake, a Solana liquid staking protocol. In 2025, it recorded 1 proposal with 18 unique voters and 1 proposer, last active on January 29. The latest proposal aimed to tweak delegation strategies and pool parameters to boost APY while supporting diverse validators (SolBlaze Docs). Governance uses BLZE tokens, with voting power amplified by locking tokens, potentially unlocking rewards like staking bonuses.
While the DAO’s activity is minimal this year, its focus on optimizing staking returns and validator support offers tangible value. Members can influence treasury allocations, but outdated docs suggest governance hasn’t evolved much since 2024.
Website, Realms, Token Address, X
Mango DAO, tied to a once-thriving decentralized exchange and lending protocol, announced a platform wind-down, yet governance persists. In 2025, it saw 39 proposals, 18 unique voters, and 6 proposers, active from January 2 to April 2. Its treasury, holding ~$240M USD, fuels ongoing decisions, likely on asset management or protocol transitions. The low voter count suggests concentrated governance, but the high proposal volume shows commitment.
ReminderMembers govern via MNGO tokens. Mango’s v4 never surpassed Mango's v3 in usage.
There are no longer any benefits for MNGO holders, it looks like most of the liquidity has been taken out, but it will be interesting to see how the $240m treasury is managed.
Website, Realms, Contract Address, X
Island DAO fosters Solana’s developer community through events like co-working retreats, offering networking and collaboration perks. In 2025, it recorded 62 proposals, 57 unique voters, and 7 proposers, active from January 3 to April 10. Most proposals focus on treasury management, leveraging the ISLAND token for governance.
The high proposal count reflects an engaged community shaping events and funding. Members enjoy exclusive access to retreats, boosting Solana’s ecosystem through real-world connections—a unique value proposition using Realms infrastructure.
Website, Realms, Token Address, X
Artrade DAO governs a marketplace for real-world art and luxury items—like watches and sculptures—authenticated and sold in $ATR tokens at a 10% discount. Staking ATR grants DAO membership, unlocking up to 40% discounts, revenue shares, ATR APY, and voting on listings and platform governance (Artrade Collection). In 2025, it had 6 proposals, 62 unique voters, and 2 proposers, active from January 9 to April 10.
The limited proposers suggest centralized governance, but high voter turnout shows community interest. Artrade’s tokenization of physical assets offers a novel use case, blending blockchain with tangible goods.
Website, Realms, Token Address, X
DarkDAO focuses on open-source, zkSNARK-powered anonymity on Solana. In 2025, it had 2 proposals with 23 unique voters and 2 proposers, active from February 15 to February 21. A notable proposal requested 11-24 SOL to deploy a ZK-SNARK program and launch shielded pools, marking a step toward verifiable privacy.
explorer.solana.com/address/DARK4o…
With minimal activity and a treasury of 100k USD of mostly Dark Tokens, perks are unclear, but contributors may earn for protocol work. DarkDAO’s niche focus on privacy tech makes it intriguing, though its small scale limits broader impact.
Website, Realms, Token Address, X
Saga Mobile DAO leads 2025 metrics with 199 unique voters and 11 proposals, active from 11 February to 5 April, governing community-native hardware such as Android phones. Members shape product features, distribution and token rewards through proposals.
However, concerns remain: governance tokens lack liquidity and the Saga treasury holds two tokens. Which is the real one? Difficult to say, and all the token information platforms seem incapable of gathering information about the tokens.
Most voters were active in February, and that's what makes it the second DAO with the most unique voters for 2025 on Realms, but the later activity in March and this month is very low.
Also, having an incomplete website is a red flag about the value they bring, are they just going by reactions on social?
Update: After posting a thread with this information the Saga X account commented that a Soulbound Saga Genesis NFT is attached to each Solana Mobile Saga Phone, Limiting 1 vote to 1 device. So the governance tokens are not tokens but NFT, also their website is being updated soon.
Website, Realms, Token Address, X
Orca DAO, governing one of Solana’s leading decentralized exchange, ranks second with 109 unique voters for 5 proposals in 2025, active from February 14 to April 7. ORCA token holders vote on AMM operations, potentially earning trading fees or liquidity rewards. Governance is user-friendly, focusing on exchange upgrades and community initiatives.
Orca DAO has maintained steady governance activity since 2022, though proposals historically attracted fewer than 30 voters—until a pivotal April 2025 vote. The current "Tokenholder Proposal for xORCA, Buybacks, and Burn" (under voting at the moment of this writing) could mark a turning point, already drawing 100+ voters. The plan outlines:
$10M in open-market ORCA buybacks (funded by treasury reserves).
Burning 25% of total token supply to reduce circulation.
Long-term funding for the initial dev team (2+ years).
Redirecting protocol fees to buybacks for staking incentives.
The surge in voter participation suggests heightened community alignment, likely driven by the proposal’s direct economic impact (e.g., deflationary burns and buybacks). If passed, it would be Orca’s most consequential governance decision to date—a test of whether decentralized exchanges can balance incentives, sustainability, and decentralization.
Website, Realms, Token Address, X
AdrenaDAO governs a trading protocol improving on GMX’s 2-token model, with a $500K treasury. In 2025, it had 30 proposals, 69 unique voters, and 2 proposers, active from January 14 to April 10. ADX token holders vote on governance, earning USDC yield from fees, with staked ADX offering bonuses and multipliers. Revenue splits 70% to ALP holders, 20% to ADX stakers, and 10% for ADX buybacks.
High proposal volume suggests active governance, with clear benefits such as yield and influence over trading mechanics, making Adrena a dynamic DAO, yet the number of voters is low.
Website, Realms, Token Address, X
EpicentralDAO runs the show for Epicentral Labs - a Solana project building decentralized options trading through their Solana Options Standard (SOS) and OPX exchange. So far in 2025, they've seen modest activity: 18 proposals, just 24 unique voters, and only 4 people actually putting proposals forward.
What's interesting is the LABS token distribution. With 54.6 million tokens split between public sales, DeFi incentives, and treasury holdings, they've got the resources to make moves. But here's the catch - their protocol isn't fully live yet.
This DAO could actually matter if they:
Successfully launch their options trading platform
Keep using the DAO for real governance decisions
Get more than two dozen people to care about voting
Right now it's all potential. The voter numbers are weak, but if the tech delivers and traders start using it, EpicentralDAO might transform from a sleepy governance experiment into something that actually impacts Solana's derivatives market.
Website, Realms, Token Address, X
Collaterize DAO governs a mobile app and L1 protocol for tokenizing and trading real-world assets (RWAs). In 2025, it had 31 proposals, 32 unique voters, and 6 proposers, active from February 18 to April 12. COLLAT holders manage a treasury investing in RWAs like real estate or bonds, driving returns that strengthen the ecosystem.
With active governance since february of the current year, members vote on asset allocations, enjoying potential yields and influence, making Collaterize a promising RWA-focused DAO.
However, my personal view is that RWA protocols have a long way to go before they prove their viability, and many more projects are coming on stream, so it will become a competitive sector.
Website, Realms, Token Address, X
Grape DAO governs a unique identity and access protocol on Solana, they offer several tools for DAO managers like this one. Their "Dynamic Balance-Based Membership" system grants permissions (e.g., exclusive community access) based on token holdings—supporting SPL tokens, LP pairs, and multi-coin configurations. The DAO also emphasizes censorship resistance, storing user roles and achievements on-chain to rebuild communities if de-platformed.
In 2025, Grape recorded 22 proposals, 35 unique voters and 8 proposers active from January to April. Proposals ranged from budget approvals for crypto conferences (e.g. "2025 Event Participation") to internal treasury transfers (e.g. moving 332K USDC and 657M GRAPE tokens). Despite a treasury of $840K, voter participation has been declining from its peak in 2022.
Website, Realms, Token Address, X
Mail DAO governs SolMail, an experimental communication protocol that lets users send mail using just a wallet address. On paper, it solves a real need - decentralized, spam-resistant communication tied to wallet identities. But right now, the numbers don't inspire confidence: just 2 proposals, 3 voters, and a modest $100K treasury since launching in 2024.
For now, it's more of a "watchlist" candidate than an active governance success. But in a world where wallet-based identity grows, don't be surprised if Mail DAO either quietly disappears or becomes one of those "why didn't we take this seriously earlier?" projects.
Website, Realms, Token Address, X, Forum, Constitution
Pyth DAO governs the Pyth Network, a key player in Solana’s ecosystem that delivers real-time price feeds for DeFi apps. It kicked off with a 250 million PYTH token airdrop, where about 181 million tokens (72%) were claimed by 56,000 wallets out of 90,000 eligible ones (source). Using Realms, PYTH token holders can propose and vote on things like oracle fees and network upgrades, making it a hub for community-driven decisions.
Pyth DAO’s governance is defined by its constitution, approved on February 13, 2024, with 627,748,981 votes in favor and 873,059 against (Pyth Constitution Live). The constitution outlines:
Pythian Council: An eight-member elected body managing operational tasks like oracle program upgrades and data request fees. In March 2024, four members were elected with over 2,000 voters participating (Pythian Council Launch).
Price Feed Council: Oversees data feed integrity and publisher onboarding.
Community Council: Supports broader initiatives, including grants and ecosystem growth.
Pyth Improvement Proposals (PIPs): Proposals start as discussions on the Pyth Forum and move to Realms for on-chain voting, typically over seven days (Voting Guide).
Staking PYTH tokens grants voting power over Pyth DAO, with potential benefits from network growth. The DAO actively funds development through its Pyth Grants program, supporting builders and researchers, while contributors can earn recognition or funding by submitting Pyth Improvement Proposals (PIPs). The process is streamlined: stake tokens to participate, discuss ideas on the forum, submit formal PIPs, and vote on-chain through Realms.
In April 2025, Pyth DAO approved OP-PIP-59, greenlighting four new Pythian Council members (including reps from Douro Labs and Euler Labs) with 100,000 PYTH allocated for their 6-month stipends. The vote saw clear dominance from institutional players - Douro Labs' candidate secured 51.8M votes, dwarfing other nominees. Notably, this operational proposal required no immediate token transfers, focusing instead on wallet address updates for council multisig access.
Website, Realms, Token Address, X
Metaplex provides core infrastructure for Solana's NFT and token ecosystem. Their protocols handle metadata standards and minting tools used by most Solana NFT projects, processing over 1 million token mints monthly. With a $40M treasury, it's one of the better-funded DAOs in the ecosystem.
The DAO makes big moves:
Recently approved 1M MPLX tokens ($2M+) for liquidity incentives
Executed major token buybacks (100bps of supply in January)
Processes millions in protocol fees monthly
Discussions happen on their GitHub. Flipside's analytics can't track it due to their custom program AEauWRrpn9Cs6GXujzdp1YhMmv2288kBt3SdEcPYEerr, Realm's UI also fails to display member counts, making actual decentralization hard to assess.
As you have seen, there are many types of DAOs: from thousands of members to just a few; from managing treasuries of millions to managing none at all. The options are diverse and many projects use the Realms platform to create and manage their DAOs, which speaks to the strength it has maintained since 2022.
Many projects look promising but it is important that you DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH before participating in any governance.
In my opinion, there is still a lack of tools that can contribute to the decentralization and the accountability of the DAOs.
On-chain information is limited; at the moment, only proposals and votes have been decoded, but the actual instructions of the program that manages the Realms (DAOs) have not yet been decoded on any platform and there are even governances that are not being tracked on the blockchain, such as Pyth and Metaplex.
There are more instructions that should be decoded, such as when creating a new treasury or governances within the same DAO, among other instructions that I don't even know about.
As voting power can depend on third party programs and governance, there is no easy way to calculate the voting power of each voter, which makes it difficult to analyse the concentration of power of each DAO.
Explore insights on Realms from mrwildcat on Flipside.
Dune Query to Return Created Accounts for Realms Program
Realms Team GitHub
Mythic Project has 30 repositories available. Follow their code on GitHub.
Wild Tales
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