Inco and Tally Collaborating on Solution To Unlock Confidential Onchain Governance

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) and crypto communities are reshaping decision-making processes through onchain governance, with DAOs currently managing tens of billions of dollars in funds. This model represents a paradigm shift from traditional corporate governance, offering a more transparent, flexible, and inclusive way to make critical decisions, which might include grant distribution, public goods funding, and treasury management.

However, onchain governance isn't without its challenges. The public nature of blockchains means that voting decisions are fully transparent, exposing voters to potential risks like undue influence or intimidation. Knowing that voting choices are visible to all can compromise the integrity of the process, discouraging honest participation and enabling harmful dynamics.

With this in mind, Tally and Inco are collaborating to solve this problem by combining the best of both worlds: the decentralization of fully onchain governance with the confidentiality expected of Web2 systems. This innovative approach will enable DAOs and crypto communities to make decisions onchain in a trustless, secure, and private manner, fostering greater participation and confidence in the governance process.

At the heart of this solution is Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), an encryption technology that allows encrypted data to be processed without ever decrypting it. Inco has provided two solutions for Tally’s system: a fully onchain governance solution and a modular, plug-and-play smart contract compatible with DAOs who currently have Tally’s solution deployed. Both are powered by FHE.

With FHE, votes can be cast directly onchain while remaining completely private. Here's how it works:

• Confidential Voting: Each voter’s decision is encrypted, ensuring that their choices remain hidden—even on the public blockchain.
• Trustless Tallying: The encrypted votes can be aggregated and counted without ever being decrypted, ensuring accurate results while preserving privacy.

This approach ensures that onchain governance remains decentralized and trustless, while also maintaining the confidentiality of participants. Voters can now express their preferences freely, without fear of external pressures or exposure.

Tally, the industry standard for driving long-term protocol success, currently helps foundations, delegates, and token holders manage over $31 billion in onchain protocols. By teaming up with Inco, a pioneer in encryption and blockchain confidentiality solutions, Tally is advancing the future of governance for DAOs and beyond.

Tally CTO Rafael Solari shared: “Privacy is a key building block for the future of governance. Inco’s flexible solutions lets people build privacy into governance on their terms.”

Inco CEO Remi Gai said: “This collaboration between Tally and Inco marks a significant milestone in the evolution of decentralized governance. We're excited to work with Tally to bring confidentiality—which should be a given in any onchain governance process—to its solution."

To learn more about this initiative and how your organization can benefit, get in touch.