The ASI Protocol is decentralized infrastructure designed to accelerate and coordinate AI Safety research. It serves as a neutral coordination layer that pools resources and distributes funding to high-impact alignment projects through a hybrid governance and treasury model.

• Mission-Driven: Sole focus on ensuring future AI tech is pro-human.
• Transparent: All funding and governance decisions are recorded on-chain.
• Not a DAO: This protocol uses a Swiss Foundation blueprint, where token holders have specific voting rights, and execution is managed by a neutral and compliant entity.

The ASI Protocol uses three distinct tokens, each with a specific role:

• ABC (Aligned Beacon Commons): A Public Governance Token for the entire global research community. It utilizes direct “Conviction Voting” where token holders directly propose and vote on projects and bounties. It relies on pure community-led coordination.
• SAIT (Safe AI Token): A Private Governance Token. It utilizes a representative governance model. A Governance Board with experienced R&D veterans select high-level projects, which are then put towards token holders for a final vote.
• SAT (Safe Asset Token): A Treasury Token. It is NOT a governance token. It is a pure treasury asset (initially pegged to USD stablecoins) used strictly for funding grants, treasury management, and payouts to researchers, ensuring protocol stability.

The ASI Protocol’s approach combines novel decentralized governance mechanisms (like conviction voting) with a compliant Swiss Foundation structure, and a hybrid governance model that has only recently become legally and technically feasible.

Decision-making depends on which protocol component is being utilized:

ABC Commons (Direct Governance)

For decentralized bounties and research curation, ABC token holders participate directly. Any holder can stake ABC to propose a bounty or task, and other holders vote using their “Conviction Score”. If the vote passes, the bounty is funded automatically.

ASI Institute (Representative Governance)

For large-scale grants and strategic initiatives, the SAIT token is used. First, the Governance Board reviews and curates proposals to ensure technical merit. Only approved proposals are put up for a vote by SAIT token holders.

The ecosystem is sustained through a combination of sound treasury management, governance token utilization, and potential revenue from future protocol services. Note: The ASI Protocol is not a DAO in the traditional sense; it is built to function as a Swiss compliant entity where governance rights are exercised via governance tokens, ensuring both decentralization and regulatory compliance.

The treasury is managed via multi-signature wallets requiring approval from multiple independent key holders (Board Members and Trusted Ecosystem Leaders). Funds are diversified to hedge against market volatility, ensuring that grant commitments are always met.

The treasury is designed to be sustainable through non-circular mechanics, including external institutional inflows and price appreciation that strengthens the treasury’s defensive position.

For grant recipients, value is pegged to stable assets to protect research budgets from market fluctuations. In Year 1, the SAT treasury will rely on USD-based stablecoins to ensure liquidity and stability. Future treasury management will include other stable assets (like commodity-based tokens) as the ecosystem matures.

Demand for protocol tokens is driven by utility within the ecosystem (reputation and governance), as well as broad market interest in supporting the AI safety mission as it continues to grow within the global economy.

The ASI Protocol is modeled on a Swiss Foundation structure to ensure the highest standards of regulatory clarity and neutrality; meaning we adhere to all relevant Swiss laws (SECO) regarding digital assets and governance.

Yes. While the protocol is permissionless for basic on-chain interactions, all grant recipients and major governance participants must undergo Identity Verification (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks to ensure compliance with international financial regulations.

Downside protection is structured through treasury transparency and phased diversification. The distinct roles of the three tokens also isolates volatility from the stability required for reliable grant funding.

Direct funding is valuable, but the ASI Protocol aggregates global resources and expert wisdom to allocate capital more efficiently and transparently than any single entity could hope to achieve alone.

It is neither a traditional hedge fund nor a pure DAO or ETF – though it does share some similarities. It is a mission-driven protocol with a Swiss Foundation structure that utilizes decentralized governance tools to manage resources for a specific purpose: AI Safety Research.