The Tari Community Charter

Introduction

Tari was built in the open from its first commit. Its code has always belonged to the public. This charter establishes how that community governs itself.

The words inscribed in Tari's Genesis block are a declaration of intent. They are reproduced here in full because they are the foundation on which this Council stands. Everything that follows serves the vision they describe.

Manifesto

The following words are inscribed in Tari's Genesis block, mined on May 6, 2025.

the journey began 2,863 days ago on a sunny day in Oakland
through long troughs of sorrow and hard-won triumphs
we arrive at the beginning
the Tari genesis block

the genesis block is heavy
it's full of love, beauty, promise, and ambition
of countless fraught decisions and long nights
of a desire to build something that lasts for generations
of a dream to build a better system than all those that came before

Tari is a multi-layered system
the base layer is the foundation for a new network state
one that is pro-human and pro-freedom
its strength comes from the people who choose to do the work
of securing the network
they are the trailblazers. the revolutionaries
for mining Tari is an act of rebellion

a rebellion against a world that increasingly steals our humanity
as we sit in the comfort of our homes, doom scrolling away our time
in an intimate embrace with our favorite device
being milked of our deepest desires and thoughts
and manipulated by saccharine interfaces and slippery algorithms
the devices we love unconditionally are watching us

every click. every stroke watched by cunning eyes
we've accepted this fate in the name of convenience
this journey towards oblivion
it's tragic, and yet, there is something even more insidious at play:
the endless, irrevocable surveillance of our financial affairs
a panopticon where every transaction is a scarlet letter

it wasn't supposed to be this way
this new financial system isn't supposed to take away our agency or safety
our transaction history shouldn't be a cudgel beating us into obedience
our wallets aren't a window into our souls
enough

in this block. in this moment. we choose another way
Tari is a sanctuary
for the enlightened who need refuge from the piercing gaze of endless secret eyes
for the visionaries who learn of its magical powers and use it to bend the will of the world in their direction
and for those who benefit from it unknowingly because, for them, it's a cog in a greater machine
welcome

Tari is a boundless paradise
where we all receive a sacred gift: a mythical cloak of invisibility
wrapped in our cloaks as if they were a second skin
we are finally free like all humans that existed before us
to live our lives in joyous anonymity
to protect ourselves and our families from the eyes of infinite jackals
stalking our every move, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce
to live our imperfect lives without every moment becoming an immutable snapshot
to be human

from this moment until the last node is silenced
Tari is ever-changing
we define its culture
we define its traditions
we have the power to shape it, to fix it, to contribute
to etch our code in stone
to become immortal

one day, we pray that Tari will earn everyone's trust
and become a part of everyone's daily lives
when that day comes to pass, it will be because of us

Article I. Purpose

The Tari Council is established to uphold the vision, ideals, and objectives declared in the Tari Manifesto, to steward the protocol's tokenomics as published at tari.com/tokenomics, to direct the protocol's resources toward the common benefit, and to ensure that governance rests with those who build it.

The protocol belongs to its contributors. This Council exists to honor that principle and to see it realized.

Tari Labs, the protocol's instigator, participates in the Council as a member, not as its authority. Its voice carries the weight of its contributions, nothing more. Over time, an increasing share of operational control shall pass to the Council, until the protocol belongs fully to those who choose to do the work.

Article II. Composition

The Council shall consist of five to seven members, drawn from the community and from enterprise, serving terms of twelve months. Initial terms shall be staggered so that no more than half of the Council's seats expire in the same period. No term shall be presumed to renew. At the conclusion of each term, the community may nominate the member to continue, or the seat shall pass to another.

Council members shall receive a monthly stipend of 100,000 XTM for their service, subject to a USD-equivalent reference cap of $4,000 per month calculated at a forward-looking reference rate of $0.04 per XTM. The Council shall publish the calculation method used to determine the stipend and shall review it no less than quarterly. Any increase to the stipend, or change to the calculation method, shall require the charter amendment process and community ratification.

Article III. Authority and Responsibility

The Council shall govern the community token allocation.

The Council shall:

Direct what gets funded and what gets built.
Assess community consensus and produce decisions. Where consensus is clear, the Council shall act on it. Where consensus is ambiguous, the Council shall decide and explain its reasoning publicly.
Ensure the protocol has funded contributors, operational infrastructure, a functioning governance process, and a clear public voice.
Appoint and oversee workgroup leads responsible for protocol development, infrastructure, community, and ecosystem growth.
Set and enforce spending thresholds, ensuring no disbursement exceeds the limits prescribed by this charter without the required level of community review.

Article IV. Character of a Council Member

A Council member shall hold the protocol in the highest regard. They shall act in its interest above their own, above any organization's, and above the Council's.

A Council member shall be willing to yield their seat to anyone who can advance the protocol further than they can. This is not an aspiration. It is a condition of service.

A Council member shall demonstrate, through sustained conduct, the qualities the protocol demands: consistency of commitment, constructive in disagreement, generosity toward newcomers, and excellence in the work they produce.

Council service is an active working role, not an honorary position. Members are expected to maintain regular availability, participate in scheduled Council deliberations, review proposals, vote when required, and contribute materially to at least one area of Council responsibility. The Council shall publish attendance, votes, recusals, and a brief monthly activity summary for each member.

A Council member may be removed by majority vote of the remaining Council for sustained misconduct, prolonged unexplained absence, or conduct incompatible with this Charter. The removal and the reasoning behind it shall be made public. A removed Council member may request review by proposing three community members to serve as an ad hoc Review Panel. Proposed panelists must not be current Council members or have a direct stake in the outcome. The Review Panel may issue a public recommendation. The Council must either adopt the recommendation or publish its reasons for declining it.

Article V. Decisions

Routine matters shall proceed by lazy consensus. A proposal made publicly and meeting no objection within five days shall be adopted.

Substantive matters shall be discussed in public channels and community calls. The Council shall assess rough consensus. The standard is not unanimity. The standard is whether those who object can articulate why.

Strategic matters, including significant spending, protocol changes, and amendments to this charter, shall require fourteen days of open discussion, a seven-day Final Comment Period, and majority Council approval.

Article VI. Core Contributors

The Council shall establish and maintain a Core Contributor Program. Core Contributor status is binary: a person either holds it or does not.

The Council shall maintain a public Contribution Rubric defining the categories, evidence, and example thresholds used to evaluate sustained, verifiable contributions. The rubric may include, without limitation, merged code, infrastructure operation, documentation, testing, security review, governance facilitation, community support, ecosystem development, and completed funded work. The Council shall admit contributors who meet the rubric's threshold and shall publish each admission decision with a written explanation referencing the rubric and the evidence considered.

A single or token contribution shall not suffice for admission. Sustained misconduct shall disqualify a candidate regardless of the strength of their contributions.

Core Contributor status may be revoked by the Council for sustained inactivity or misconduct, with a public written explanation. A contributor whose status is revoked may request review by proposing an ad hoc Review Panel as described in Article IV.

The inaugural Council shall publish the initial Contribution Rubric and admit the first Core Contributors within its first 90 days of operation.

Article VII. Nomination and Selection

Any person who has made sustained, verifiable contributions to the Tari protocol may be nominated to the Council. Contributions include, but are not limited to: code, infrastructure, documentation, governance facilitation, community building, and ecosystem development. A single or token contribution shall not suffice. Sustained misconduct shall disqualify a candidate regardless of the strength of their contributions. Nominations shall be made publicly, with evidence of the candidate's contributions and a clear account of why they would strengthen the Council.

Core Contributors shall elect Council members. Council members who hold Core Contributor status must recuse from votes on their own seat. The Council shall define and publish the election procedure, which must include a public nomination period, open discussion, and a recorded vote of Core Contributors. Every election result shall include a public written explanation of the outcome.

The Council shall reflect the breadth of the protocol's needs: development, infrastructure, community, and enterprise. No single interest shall dominate.

The inaugural Council shall be appointed by Tari Labs from nominations received from the community. Thereafter, nominations and selections shall follow the process described in this Charter.

Article VIII. The Obligation to Improve

The Council's highest obligation is to the protocol, not to itself.

Every member shall accept that the Council must be continuously strengthened. If the protocol would be better served by different people at the table, the Council is bound to make that change. Permanence is not a virtue. Progress is.

This obligation shall be the measure against which every future Council is judged.

Article IX. Amendments

This charter may be amended through the same process required for strategic decisions: open discussion, a Final Comment Period, and Council approval.

Any amendment affecting Council powers, member selection, removal, stipend calculation, or amendment procedures shall require community ratification by a two-thirds supermajority of Core Contributors, following the public discussion and Final Comment Period.

When this charter no longer serves the protocol, the community shall have both the power and the duty to change it.

This charter is published in draft for community review. It is not handed down. It is offered up.