Harbour, an Ethereum-based DAO for Managing Token Assets Announces Launch and Releases Technical Specifications

Harbour, a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) that harnesses the wisdom of the crowd to manage token assets on the Ethereum blockchain, has released their technical specifications.

2017 has seen an explosion of token launches by blockchain startups, but until now, there has been little systematic approach for determining which offerings will garner the greatest ROI. Dean Eigenmann, Co-founder and CEO of Harbour, said, “We are in a unique moment in history right now; blockchain-backed applications and products are emerging in just about every vertical. Our goal is to create a framework in which anyone can participate in the growing blockchain ecosystem and benefit from their involvement.”

Harbour is a community-governed system developed on Ethereum to bolster the growing blockchain ecosystem and empower participants to reap rewards for supporting emerging companies. The Harbour DAO will determine which projects to fund based on the votes of Harbour token holders. Surplus ETH generated from selling ICO tokens are distributed to token holders. All activity is moderated by the system of smart contracts on which the DAO is built. This system can be edited and changed democratically via proposals by token holders. Eigenmann said, “We are committed to ensuring that Harbour supports democratic values throughout all aspects of the DAO.”

The more ICOs that are introduced, the more difficult it will become for individuals to determine which ones  to fund and the more essential Harbour will be in prioritizing them. In order to minimize risk and maximize benefits, Harbour’s founders are building the DAO on the Ethereum blockchain. All transactions occur on a system of smart contracts, which ensures secure and transparent record keeping of all transaction events.

Harbour tokens (HRB) will be distributed at their ICO launch and will endow the holder with voting rights and a dividend that is distributed in ETH on a quarterly basis. The proposal system empowers token holders to determine the trajectory of the Harbour DAO by voting and backing certain ICOs. Instead of a voting system based on one vote per token holder as in a traditional democratic system, Harbour’s system has one HRB equalling one vote, so holders with more tokens will have more sway in elections; however, for this ICO, Harbour has instituted a cap of a 5000 ETH contribution per address to limit the influence of any one participant.

Harbour further expands upon the yes/no democratic system by introducing percentage-based voting for yes votes. Participants select a percentage up to 10% to indicate how much ETH they think Harbour should use to buy tokens. The limit of 10% participation in a particular ICO was chosen to guarantee a certain level of diversity in the portfolio.

To stave against the effect of voter apathy, when a holder decides not to vote their lack of participation will not count. To protect against the threat of unqualified ICOs being put to a vote, there will be also be a cost in ETH per proposal. If the proposal succeeds, the ETH will return to the proposing holder. Otherwise, the ETH will be resorbed and counted towards Harbour’s profits. A minimum voter turnout will initially be required to ensure the strength and validity of proposals. The Harbour founding team discusses the mechanics of proposing ICOs, voting, and profit distribution in their technical specifications.

About Harbour DAO

Harbour is a community-governed, Ethereum-based DAO for managing and holding token assets by harnessing the wisdom of the crowd.