You have truly studied the project's white paper, spoken freely in the community, and ultimately bought governance tokens with real money. Where is the promise of becoming a part of the protocol and having a say? But when you open the voting panel, you realize your voting weight is simply not enough. Those who truly hold the decision-making power have locked their tokens for three, four, or even longer. As your finger hovers over the confirm button, you suddenly understand—this is not democratic participation; it’s a power struggle.

### Democracy has taken a turn

Early DeFi governance was indeed simple and straightforward: one token equals one vote, rough but lively. The problem is, this approach is now almost obsolete. Replaced by the ve model—so-called long-term lockup governance. Sounds like it encourages long-termism, right? Don’t be naive; essentially, it erects capital barriers and pushes governance power into the hands of big players.

### Look at Lorenzo’s system

The BANK token plays a dual role here. To ordinary retail investors, it’s just an asset that can be traded at any time. But for institutions and big holders, what is it? A political chip. The real wielding of power—control over the Treasury, approval of ecosystem access—these are all locked behind veBANK, requiring massive holdings to get a grip.

### The true cost of governance barriers

It’s like the never-ending surge in housing prices in city centers. The highest barriers first drive out speculators, but eventually, even ordinary people can’t stand it. When governance power is concentrated in the hands of a few, the direction of the protocol and project development is entirely decided by them. The voices of the public are drowned out in the cracks of the system’s design.