Rights-Based Governance for Token Programs (a.k.a. Mint-On-Demand)

Presented by rafa

ZKsync Governance Team

May 2025


Executive Summary

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Token governance is more reliable, auditable, and scalable when it distributes rights—not just assets. Governance can (and should) delegate non-custodial authority.

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The Mint-On-Demand framework introduces a rights-based architecture for token program execution. Rather than transferring tokens, ZKsync Token Governance allocates scoped minting rights, improving legal clarity, operational efficiency, and composability:


Introducing Minter Modifiers (”Minter Mods”) as Composable Constraints and Extensions

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Mods constrain mint logic with rate limits, eligibility checks, delays, and triggers

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Mods act like middleware—small contracts that wrap a minter to add logic. They can be stacked, reordered, or removed. This makes governance programmable without requiring re-auditing the core.