Solana Realms Governance: Your Complete Guide.

Okay, before you even think about voting in a Solana Realm, grab your wallet, connect to Realms.today, and delegate your governance power. Why? If your NFTs or tokens are chilling in a cold wallet, you can't vote directly. Delegation lets someone else (or yourself on a hot wallet) use that power without moving assets. Super handy. I usually do this right after minting any governance NFT. Saves headaches later.

Sound familiar? Like handing your proxy at a meeting. Hit the top right on your dashboard, pick "Delegate," enter the address, sign the tx. Boom. Done in 10 seconds, fees like 0.000005 SOL. Negligible.

What's a Realm Anyway? Don't Skip This

Realms is basically the dashboard for Solana DAOs. Built by Solana Labs on their Governance program. You create one, manage treasury, vote on stuff. Powers projects like Mango Markets or Metaplex. Manages billions in treasuries. Wild, right?

The thing is, it's on chain everything. Proposals, votes, treasuries-all transparent. No shady boardrooms. You need a Solana wallet (Phantom, Backpack, whatever) with at least 2 SOL for creation plus tiny network fees. Why 2? Covers rent for accounts. Don't have it? Buy some SOL, swap if needed.

But honestly, joining existing Realms is easier than building your own. Browse the site, search DAOs by name or token. Connect wallet. See your power instantly.

Token Types Matter

NFT Community DAOs use your NFT holdings as votes. Token DAOs? SPL tokens. Council tokens for inner circle control. Pick what fits your crew.

Create Your First Realm in 6 Steps (NFT Style)

Look, starting a DAO sounds big. But it's drag and drop easy. Here's the exact flow I follow every time.

1. Go to Realms, connect wallet. Top right: Create DAO.
2. Pick NFT Community DAO. Names it whatever. Skip custom program ID unless you're forking.
3. Council? Optional. Say no for simple start. If yes, supply token or let it mint one, list addresses.
4. Define council members if you went that route. Set voting threshold, like 50% quorum.
5. Tweak rules: min tokens to propose (1? 1M?), voting time (3 days? 7?). Customize.
6. Review. Hit Create. Sign tx. Wait 10 secs. Dashboard loads.

Fees? Under 0.01 SOL total. If it fails, check SOL balance or network congestion-rare on Solana. In my experience, mainnet's speedy, but testnet first if paranoid.

Your Dashboard: Where the Magic Happens

Land on it. Top right: your governance power. That's your vote weight-NFT count or token balance. Click to delegate if needed.

Wallet tab: See assets, deposit SOL via QR or address. Add tokens to treasury. Create sub wallets with custom rules. Params button for config tweaks.

Two big buttons: ⊕ New Proposal for wild stuff, ⚙️ Params for boring but crucial changes. Start with Params. Safer.

Proposals list: Active, passed, defeated. Click any for deets-status, votes, comments.

Propose a Change Without Screwing Up

Okay, let's make a real proposal. Say, shorten voting time from 7 to 3 days. Faster decisions.

Click Params → Change config. Slider for voting duration. Continue. Name it: "Speed up votes to 3 days." Add why: "Community moves fast, old timer slows us." Create. Sign.

Now it's live. But if threshold's high (like 14 NFTs), you can't pass solo. Rally Discord, Twitter. Vote yes/no/comment. Watch tally live.

What's next? Proposal passes? Executes auto if simple. Complex ones need execution step-more on that later.

Advanced Proposals: The Real Power Moves

1. ⊕ New → Pick type: Transfer treasury, upgrade program, whatever.
2. Add instructions: Spend 10 SOL on marketing? Link contract.
3. Set review period (draft phase for signatories).
4. Create. Anyone with power can sign off if needed.
5. Voting opens. Hit quorum? Execute.

Potential issue: Stuck in draft? Add signatory via instructions. Or cancel if flop.

Voting: Don't Sleep on This

Voting power from deposited tokens. Haven't deposited? Do it. Instructions deposit community/council tokens to Realm. Establishes weight.

Top up later? Relinquish old votes first, revote. Auto? Nope. Annoying but prevents exploits.

Mechanics: Weighted by stake. Quorum must hit, then yes/no/abstain. Threshold like 60% yes. Time ends or early if supermajority.

Pro tip: Withdraw vote mid way if changed mind. Before finalize. Post decision? Locked.

Why does this matter? One vote sways treasury spends. I voted on a 50k SOL grant once. Felt epic.

Treasury Tricks: Manage Funds Like a Boss

DAO wallet holds it all. Deposit SOL easy. Tokens? Transfer in, propose adds.

Proposals spend: "Send 100 USDC to dev." Needs vote. Multisig vibes but on chain.

Action	Fee Est.	Time	Risk
Deposit SOL	0.000005 SOL	Instant	Low
Add Token	0.001 SOL	5s	Low
Treasury Spend Prop	0.002 SOL + vote	Days	Medium
Sub wallet Create	0.005 SOL	10s	Low

See? Cheap. But watch rent exempt min: ~0.001 SOL per small account. Exempt via deposit.

Issue: Wrong address in proposal? Canceled only by owner. Double check.

Common Screw Ups and Fixes

• No power? Deposit tokens/NFTs. Delegate if cold storage.
• Proposal fails quorum? Ping community. Lower threshold next config.
• High fees? Nah, Solana's ~0.000005 SOL/tx. But spam? Priority fees 0.001.
• Vote not updating? Relinquish + revote. Or wait finalize.
• Council drama? Propose new members. Needs council vote.

In my experience, 80% issues are wallet disconnects. Refresh, reconnect. Or wrong chain-stay on mainnet.

Join Big Leagues: Existing Realms

Don't build. Jump in. Realms hosts 97% Solana DAOs. $1.5B treasuries. Search "Mango" or "SamoDAO".

Steps:

• Browse Realms. Filter by TVL or activity.
• Hold qualifying token/NFT.
• Deposit for power.
• Vote on live props. Discuss in their Discord.

Track votes? Tools like Shyft indexers. Or Gilder app for mobile.

Delegation Deep Dive

Not just cold wallets. Delegate to active member for proxy voting. Or rescind anytime.

How: Owner record → set delegate address. Doesn't remove your power, adds theirs. Dual wield.

I usually delegate to multisig for safety. Revoke if they go rogue.

Power Users: Program Governance

Advanced: Govern programs. Create Program Governance account. Transfer upgrade authority to DAO.

Steps rough:

1. Create governance for program ID.
2. Propose upgrade via Realm.
3. Vote, execute.

Rare for newbies. Stick to treasuries first.

Councils: The VIP Club

Optional overlords. Hold council token. Set who proposes, thresholds. Like board of directors.

Create one? During DAO setup. List 5-10 trusted wallets. Mint council token exclusive.

Propose council changes via Params. Keeps plebs in check.

But abuse? Community token revolt. Balance it.

Fees Breakdown: No Surprises

Solana's king here. Compare:

Action	SOL Cost	ETH Equiv
Create Realm	~0.02	$10 gas lol
Proposal	0.002	$1
Vote	0.000005	Free
Deposit Token	0.001	$0.50

Pretty much free. Scales to billions without hiccups.

Scale Up: From 10 to 10k Members

Small group? Simple votes. Big? Plugins for voter weight. Custom configs: min 1M tokens to propose.

Voter weight records track it. Max weight for quorum calcs.

Integrate Streamflow for vesting, Squads for multisig. But Realms core handles most.

Mobile? Gilder App Hack

Desktop UI slick, but phone? Gilder. Vote, check treasury, all in pocket. Link Realm, done.

Why bother? Proposals drop anytime. Vote from couch.

Last Tip: Start Small

Your first Realm: 3 friends, 1 NFT each. Propose pizza fund. Vote. Execute payout. Grin.

Then scale. That's how I learned. No big mission. Just play.