Setting Up DAO Voting with Snapshot and Token Tool

Setting up Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) voting is a crucial step for any community looking to embrace decentralized governance. With tools like Bitbond Token Tool for creating your governance token and Snapshot for managing gasless voting, you can establish a robust voting system without needing to write any code.

This guide will walk you through the process, with two paths depending on the type of governance token you choose:

• ERC20 balance-of — simple “1 token = 1 vote” voting.
• ERC20Votes — delegated voting power for more advanced DAO setups.

Part 1: Creating Your Governance Token with Bitbond Token Tool

The foundation of most DAO voting systems is a governance token. This token grants its holders voting power, typically on a "one token, one vote" basis. Bitbond Token Tool (or similar no-code token creation platforms) simplifies the process of creating an ERC20 token.

1. Access Bitbond Token Tool: Go to the Bitbond Token Tool website. Look for Create Core Token, which is a standard ERC20 token.
2. Choose Your Network: Select the blockchain network where your token will reside. Ethereum Mainnet is common for DAOs, but you might consider Layer 2 solutions (e.g., Base, Arbitrum, Optimism) for lower transaction fees, especially if you plan to use on-chain actions with the token itself.
3. Configure Token Details: Token Name: This is the full name of your token (e.g., "Community Governance Token").Token Symbol: This is the short, ticker-like symbol (e.g., "CGT").Total Supply: Determine the total number of tokens that will ever exist. This is a critical decision as it impacts tokenomics and voting power distribution.Decimals: For most cryptocurrencies, 18 decimals is standard.
4. Review and Deploy: Carefully review all the details. Once deployed, the token's core parameters (name, symbol, total supply) cannot be changed.
5. Connect your Web3 wallet (e.g., MetaMask).
6. Fund your wallet with enough native currency (e.g., ETH for Ethereum, MATIC for Polygon) to cover the transaction fees for deployment.
7. Initiate the deployment. Confirm the transaction in your wallet.
8. Distribute Your Tokens: Once deployed, you'll need to airdrop your governance tokens to your community members. This can be done through token sales, or as rewards for contributions.

⚡ Important: Because ERC20Votes is enabled by default, token holders must delegate their tokens (to themselves or others) in order to activate voting power if you later use the erc20-votes strategy on Snapshot.

Part 2: Setting Up Your DAO Space on Snapshot

Snapshot is a leading platform for gasless, off-chain voting. It's widely used because it allows communities to vote without incurring transaction fees, while still leveraging token holdings to determine voting power.

1. Go to Snapshot → Connect your wallet.
2. Create a New Space → Fill in your DAO name, description, symbol, social accounts, and admin addresses.
3. Add a Strategy → This is the most important step:

Option A — ERC20 Balance-of

• Strategy: erc20-balance-of
• Enter token contract address and decimals.
• Snapshot counts raw token balances in each wallet.
• Delegation is ignored.

Best for: DAOs that want straightforward, “1 token = 1 vote” governance without requiring members to delegate.

Option B — ERC20Votes

• Strategy: erc20-votes
• Enter token contract address and decimals.
• Snapshot counts delegated voting power at the snapshot block.
• Members must delegate to themselves (or to representatives) to have voting weight.

Best for: DAOs that want formal delegation, more advanced governance, or compatibility with frameworks like Compound and Governor Bravo.

Create a New Space:

• <span style="font-size: revert;">Click on your profile icon (usually your ENS name or wallet address) and select "New space."You'll be prompted to fill in details about your DAO.</span>
• Space name: The full name of your DAO (e.g., "Decentralized Finance Guild").
• Description: Describe what the DAO project is a bout.
• Voting power symbol: The symbol of your DAO (e.g., "DFG").
• Social accounts: You can add links to your website and social media channels.
• Network: The blockchain network where your governance token is deployed (e.g., "Ethereum Mainnet" or "Polygon").
• Admins: Add the wallet addresses that will have administrative privileges for the Snapshot space.
• Members: Optionally add wallet addresses that are explicitly allowed to participate in voting, if not based purely on token holdings.
• Strategies: This is the most crucial part for connecting your token. Click the "+" button to add a new strategy.
• Search for and select the erc20-balance-of strategy (this is the most common for simple token-based voting).
• Enter your governance token's contract address (which you got from Bitbond Token Tool).
• Specify the decimals of your token (usually 18).
• This strategy tells Snapshot to count the balance of your ERC20 token in a voter's wallet at a specific block number to determine their voting power.

Plugins: Explore available plugins for additional features like weighted voting, quorum requirements, or time-locked proposals.

Advanced Settings (Optional): Define settings like proposal validation (who can create proposals), proposal thresholds (minimum tokens to create a proposal), and voting periods.

• Create Space: Click "Create space" and confirm the transaction in your wallet. This will sign a message to establish your space on Snapshot.

Part 3: Managing Your DAO and Launching a Vote

Once your token is deployed and your Snapshot space is configured, you're ready to engage your community in governance.

1. Announce Your DAO: Inform your community about the new governance token and the Snapshot space. Provide clear instructions on how they can acquire tokens and participate in voting.
2. Create a Proposal: Navigate to your DAO's space on Snapshot.
3. Click "New proposal."
4. Title: A clear, concise title for your proposal.
5. Description: Provide detailed context, arguments for and against, and any relevant links or data.
6. Choices: Define the options for voters (e.g., "Yes," "No," "Abstain," or specific choices like "Option A," "Option B").
7. Voting System: Choose the voting system (e.g., "Single choice voting" is most common).
8. Start Date/Time & End Date/Time: Set the window during which members can cast their votes.
9. Snapshot Block: This is the block number at which token balances will be recorded to determine voting power. Typically, this is set automatically to the block number when the proposal is created, ensuring fair voting based on current holdings. <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gg-dl/AJfQ9KQndqmSN452uv6-5a090uFkTCsnTCA7RQ7KCPhpX11o95zD6v_50-axHlxVIK4fdG2sL_YS-s1cZG3kuepIzcJG69T_GAbUODGswNICN49IdQ67-UWQMV-47_LyqRHCLCASgqtnjvfIAAUsuRGeuNFfUwQ-RYClWyTtyoESEwmtAHuv" alt="Image of ">
10. Click "Create proposal" and sign the message in your wallet. Your proposal is now live!
11. Community Voting: Share the proposal link with your community.
12. Members will connect their wallets to Snapshot, see the proposal, and cast their vote by signing a gasless message. Their voting power will be automatically calculated based on their token holdings at the "Snapshot Block."
13. Executing Decisions (Post-Vote): Off-chain (Traditional Snapshot): Once a proposal concludes, the results are tallied. If the proposal passes, your DAO's administrators (likely through a multisig wallet like Gnosis Safe) will manually execute the decision on-chain. For example, if the community voted to fund a project, the multisig signers would send the funds from the DAO's treasury.
14. On-chain (Snapshot X - Future Integration): If your DAO scales and adopts Snapshot X (built on Starknet, an L2), successful proposals can be configured for trustless, on-chain execution. This means the vote results directly trigger a smart contract to perform actions (e.g., disbursing funds, upgrading a contract) without manual intervention. This requires more advanced setup within Snapshot X and potentially bridging your DAO's treasury to Starknet. To explore this, within your Snapshot space settings, you would look for options related to "Execution Strategies" or "Off-chain to On-chain," often leveraging Gnosis Safe for the final execution.

Best Practices for DAO Voting

• Clarify voting setup → Tell your community if they need to delegate (ERC20Votes) or not (Balance-of).
• Start simple → Run small proposals first to onboard members.
• Use a multisig → Secure your DAO treasury and proposal execution.
• Educate your community → Provide clear instructions on delegation, voting periods, and proposal details.
• Ensure transparency → Keep governance processes open and verifiable.

Conclusion

By deploying a Core Token with Token Tool and configuring Snapshot with either ERC20 balance-of or ERC20Votes, you can create a governance system tailored to your DAO’s needs.

• Choose balance-of if you want simple, direct token voting.
• Choose ERC20Votes if you want delegation and advanced governance.

Either way, you’ll empower your community to participate in decision-making, while keeping the setup no-code and user-friendly.

By following this guide, you can successfully set up a functional and engaging DAO voting system using no-code tools, empowering your community to shape the future of your project.