Quadratic Voting
Web3 / social community
Quadratic voting is a governance mechanism designed to counter "whale" dominance by implementing a cost function where each additional vote becomes exponentially more expensive. In this system, voting power increases with the square root of tokens spent, meaning acquiring 100 votes costs four times as much as acquiring 25 votes. This mathematical structure incentivizes more equitable participation by penalizing concentrated voting power while still allowing token holders to express preference intensity, creating a fairer balance between majoritarian and minority interests in decentralized governance. Example: Gitcoin implemented quadratic voting for grant allocation decisions, allowing community members to distribute funding across projects where cost curves prevent wealthy donors from unilaterally controlling outcomes. Why it matters for Web3 social and community: Quadratic voting protects against whale dominance and plutocracy, ensuring community decisions reflect broader preferences rather than capital concentration.
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