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Hauptverfasser: Zhang, Yuzhe, Schneider, Manvir, Wang, Qin, Grossi, Davide
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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Online-Zugang:https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.19264
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author Zhang, Yuzhe
Schneider, Manvir
Wang, Qin
Grossi, Davide
author_facet Zhang, Yuzhe
Schneider, Manvir
Wang, Qin
Grossi, Davide
contents Voting methods weighted by stakes are the fundamental governance paradigm in Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchains. Such a paradigm is known to be prone to power distortions: a few users possessing large stakes may completely control decision making, even without owning the totality of the stakes. We study this phenomenon through the lens of computational social choice, focusing on the extent of power imbalances in stake-weighted voting when power is quantified using the Penrose-Banzhaf power index. Our work presents both analytical and empirical contributions. Analytically, we demonstrate that while a perfect alignment between power and relative stake ownership is generally unattainable, it can be approximated in expectation under specific conditions. Empirically, using data from a real-world on-chain governance system (Project Catalyst), we provide a more fine-grained understanding of the power imbalances that are likely to occur in current stake-weighted governance systems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_19264
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Swimming with Whales: Analysis of Power Imbalances in Stake-Weighted Governance
Zhang, Yuzhe
Schneider, Manvir
Wang, Qin
Grossi, Davide
Artificial Intelligence
Multiagent Systems
Voting methods weighted by stakes are the fundamental governance paradigm in Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchains. Such a paradigm is known to be prone to power distortions: a few users possessing large stakes may completely control decision making, even without owning the totality of the stakes. We study this phenomenon through the lens of computational social choice, focusing on the extent of power imbalances in stake-weighted voting when power is quantified using the Penrose-Banzhaf power index. Our work presents both analytical and empirical contributions. Analytically, we demonstrate that while a perfect alignment between power and relative stake ownership is generally unattainable, it can be approximated in expectation under specific conditions. Empirically, using data from a real-world on-chain governance system (Project Catalyst), we provide a more fine-grained understanding of the power imbalances that are likely to occur in current stake-weighted governance systems.
title Swimming with Whales: Analysis of Power Imbalances in Stake-Weighted Governance
topic Artificial Intelligence
Multiagent Systems
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.19264