A governance token is a cryptocurrency that gives its holders a right to vote on proposed changes to a blockchain network. This innovation is seen as a necessary step toward keeping certain crypto projects, particularly those within the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, decentralized   Some DAOs employ governance tokens, which are permissionless, mintable tokens that holders can trade on decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Other protocols issue governance tokens when users provide market liquidity or participate in network security — such as Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanisms.