Snapshot Vote
A governance poll that counts voting power from token balances at a specific blockchain block, often used by DAOs for gasless off-chain decisions.
A Snapshot Vote is a type of DAO governance vote where each participant’s voting power is calculated from a “snapshot” of token balances or other eligible assets at a specific block number. This prevents people from moving tokens between wallets or buying tokens after a proposal starts to gain extra influence. The term is closely associated with Snapshot, a popular off-chain voting tool used by many crypto communities, but the idea can apply to any vote based on a fixed record of holdings at a point in time.
Snapshot Votes matter because they make governance cheaper and easier to participate in: voters usually sign a message with their wallet instead of paying blockchain transaction fees. DAOs use them to gauge community support for proposals such as treasury spending, protocol changes, grants, or council elections. However, these votes are often “signaling” rather than automatically enforced on-chain, meaning a multisig or smart contract process may still be needed to carry out the result. For example, a DAO might run a Snapshot Vote to approve funding for a developer grant, then have its treasury signers execute the payment afterward.
Other terms in DAOs & Governance
DAO
A DAO is an online organization run by shared rules and member voting, often using blockchain-based tokens and smart contracts.
DAO Proposal
A formal request submitted to a DAO for members to review, discuss, and vote on before the organization takes action.
Governance Token
A governance token is a crypto asset that gives holders voting power over decisions in a blockchain protocol, DAO, or decentralized app.
Multisig Treasury
A shared crypto fund controlled by a wallet that requires multiple approved signers to authorize transactions.