Unlock Protocol has always been committed to providing an open-source, decentralized solution for onchain memberships, subscriptions, ticketing, and certifications. As the Unlock Locksmith developer base, user base, and community expanded, the limitations of governing the Unlock Protocol DAO on Ethereum mainnet became more apparent, particularly concerning transaction costs.
To address these challenges, members of the Unlock Protocol DAO proposed a migration to Base in 2024 with a new token (UP), new governor and timelock contracts, treasury and smart contract ownership transfers, and a number of other required supporting initiatives.
These activities have now been completed.
Migration Process
The migration to Base was a comprehensive process that involved several critical steps:
Deployment of a new Unlock Protocol (UP) governance token
The creation of the Unlock Protocol (UP) governance token on Base was a crucial step in the migration process.
This new token (UP) is the primary governance mechanism for the Unlock Protocol DAO on Base. The UP token incorporates improved tokenomics, aimed at fostering greater participation and alignment among community members.
Its deployment involved careful consideration of factors such as total supply, initial distribution, and reward schedules to ensure fairness and long-term sustainability.
The UP token was created by the Unlock Protocol Foundation.
Deployment of governance smart contracts on Base
Previously, the Unlock Protocol governor contracts were deployed on Ethereum mainnet. In order to have the Unlock Protocol DAO manage the protocol on Base, a new set of governor contracts and a new timelock were deployed on Base.
These new governor smart contracts use the OpenZeppelin governor and timelock mechanisms with no modifications.
Creation of a mechanism for existing UDT holders on mainnet to obtain the UP token on Base
The UP token on Base is an analogous version of the UDT token on mainnet. (In order to eliminate potential confusion between the two tokens, a different name — UP — was chosen on Base.)
Existing UDT holders are able to exchange their UDT for UP tokens at a 1-to-1000 ratio, as a result of the different supplies of the two tokens. Every UDT token swapped receives 1,000 UP tokens in return and may be eligible to receive additional bonuses.
At swap-time, UDT holders are also directed to explicitly delegate their voting power for their new UP tokens, in service of the goal of active participation in the Unlock DAO. Individuals are able to self-delegate (i.e., vote their own tokens). If an individual wishes to hold the UP token but delegate their votes to another member of the community, they are able to do so.
The swapping of UDT for UP is handled by a swapping smart contract. Full details on the swapping smart contract and swap process can be viewed here.
The Unlock Labs team has created a website at https://up-swap.unlock-protocol.com/ where anyone holding UDT can bridge their UDT from mainnet to Base and swap that UDT for UP governance tokens.
Movement of the Unlock DAO treasury to Base
As the migration neared completion, the members of the Unlock Protocol DAO moved the UDT governance tokens in the DAO’s treasury on mainnet to Base, and then swapped that UDT for UP tokens on Base.
Changed ownership of the Unlock contracts from the Unlock DAO on mainnet to the Unlock DAO on Base
Unlock Protocol is a community-governed protocol. Prior to this migration, the fundamental Unlock smart contracts themselves were owned by the DAO-controlled governance contracts on Ethereum mainnet.
To complete the migration, ownership of the Unlock smart contracts is being transferred to the Unlock DAO governance smart contracts on Base.
Wrapping up
The Unlock Protocol DAO has successfully migrated to Base, marking a significant advancement in its mission to provide decentralized solutions for onchain memberships and related services.
This migration involved:
Deploying a new UP governance token
Implementing new governance smart contracts
Creating a mechanism for UDT-to-UP token swaps
Transferring the DAO treasury to Base
Changing ownership of the Unlock contracts themselves
These changes address previous limitations, reduce transaction costs, and enhance community participation.
The migration process demonstrates the Unlock Protocol community's commitment to evolving its infrastructure to better serve the Locksmith community and adapt to the changing landscape of decentralized governance.
