Snapshot
also invests · investor profile7 known investors
Snapshot is an open-source, off-chain gasless voting client that DAOs use to run token- and NFT-based governance proposals.
Also known as Snapshot Labs · snapshot.org
Investors · 7
Also in the syndicate · 3
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Snapshot is an off-chain, gasless multi-governance voting client used by decentralized organizations to create proposals and collect votes. Rather than recording each ballot as an on-chain transaction, votes are cryptographically signed messages stored via the IPFS decentralized storage network, which makes voting free of gas fees while, per the project's own description, keeping results easy to verify and hard to contest.
To run governance on Snapshot, a project needs an Ethereum Name Service (ENS) profile and adds a record on ENS so that its votes are viewable at that address. Voters connect a wallet (for example MetaMask) holding the relevant tokens or NFTs that determine eligibility for a given poll. The process is commonly referred to in the industry as "vote signaling."
The software is developed by Snapshot Labs and is open source. The V1 interface is published on GitHub under the MIT license, is built as a JavaScript/TypeScript front end with Docker-based local deployment, connects by default to a Snapshot-operated hub, and supports community translation via Crowdin. The repository carries roughly 9.1k stars and 1.2k forks, and the project maintains public documentation, a Discord community and a contributor process.
Business model
Snapshot provides a hosted, open-source governance client that DAOs and crypto projects use to run proposals and votes. The sources describe the product as free of transaction fees for voters because signing occurs off-chain; they do not describe how the company monetizes. Development has historically been financed by external capital, including Gitcoin donations, grants/funds from MetaCartel DAO, ENS, Curve DAO and Balancer, and a venture seed round (source 4).
Traction
As of the November 2021 funding announcement, Snapshot's website showed over 2,200 DAO communities and the project reported one million votes cast; a separate explainer notes more than 1,000 project proposals on the platform. The open-source V1 repository has about 9.1k stars, 1.2k forks and 3,970 commits.
Latest developments
The most recent company-specific development in the sources is the November 2021 seed round announcement, in which Snapshot said it would use the capital to build more robust decentralized governance tooling and improve its voting framework so that DAOs can become more mainstream. The GitHub repository for the V1 interface remains public and archived as the prior-generation client, with roughly 3,970 commits recorded.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, history
Market position
Snapshot is described as a popular and widely used tool among decentralized organizations for polling token and NFT holders, used by several companies in the DeFi space. By late 2021 more than 2,200 DAO communities appeared on the platform and one million votes had been cast, with more than 1,000 project proposals noted in a separate explainer.
The distinguishing characteristic cited across sources is off-chain, signature-based voting stored on IPFS, which eliminates transaction fees for voters while, per the project, preserving verifiability. It is presented as multi-governance (supporting many separate community spaces) and is fully open source under an MIT license.
Technology
Off-chain vote signing with wallet signatures, with proposals and votes stored on IPFS rather than written on-chain, removing gas costs. Voter eligibility is determined by wallet holdings such as tokens or NFTs, and governance spaces are keyed to ENS records. The V1 client is an MIT-licensed web application (Vue/TypeScript tooling, Tailwind, Vite, Docker image, Vercel config) that connects to a Snapshot hub service, with a testnet hub available for development.
Go-to-market
Adoption appears to be bottom-up and community-driven: the product is free to use, open source, distributed through GitHub and a Discord community, and integrated with ENS so that any project with an ENS name can create a voting space. Growth to over 2,200 DAO communities by late 2021 was achieved before the company's first venture financing, with early support coming from ecosystem participants such as MetaCartel DAO, ENS, Curve DAO and Balancer.
Decentralized autonomous organizations, DeFi protocols and other crypto projects that need to poll their token or NFT holders, plus the individual wallet holders who vote in those communities.
History
The project was operating and being used by DeFi and DAO communities before its first venture raise. In November 2021, corporate entity Snapshot Labs announced a $4 million seed round led by 1kx with Coinbase Ventures, StarkWare, MetaCartel, Gnosis and Scalar participating — described at the time as the project's first capital raise, following earlier financing from Gitcoin donations and support from MetaCartel DAO, ENS, Curve DAO and Balancer. At that time the platform reported over 2,200 DAO communities and one million votes cast. The original V1 interface is maintained on GitHub under the snapshot-labs organization, indicating a subsequent generation of the product.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 1
launches, deals, and filingsSnapshot Labs completed a $4 million seed investment round led by 1kx, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, StarkWare, MetaCartel, Gnosis and Scalar. The company said it would use the capital to build more robust decentralized governance solutions and improve its voting framework. The round was reported as the project's first capital raise; it had previously been financed by Gitcoin donations and funds from MetaCartel DAO, ENS, Curve DAO and Balancer.
$4M source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- GitHub - snapshot-labs/snapshot-v1: V1 interface for Snapshot. Join us on Discord http://discord.snapshot.org · GitHubgithub.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Snapshot do?
- Snapshot is an open-source, off-chain gasless voting client that DAOs use to run token- and NFT-based governance proposals.
- Who are Snapshot's investors?
- Snapshot's investors include Coinbase Ventures, DeepTech Ventures, LongHash Ventures, 1kx.