# Team & Governance ### Origin EPIZO Protocol is built on Project EPIZO, an open source platform developed by Crosstalk Solutions, LLC. The protocol layer — $ EPIZO token, staking contracts, DAO governance — is developed by the EPIZO Protocol core team and community contributors. ### Governance structure The protocol is designed to progressively decentralize from day one:


Phase	Who governs	What they control
Phase 1 (testnet)	Core team + community input	Protocol parameters, content standards
Phase 2 (mainnet launch)	$EPIZO token holders — DAO v1	All protocol parameters, treasury spending, grants
Phase 3 (full decentralization)	DAO + elected Council	All of the above + protocol upgrades
Phase 4 (mature DAO)	Community — quadratic voting	Everything, including core team accountability

### DAO council Starting in Phase 3, the DAO elects a council of 7 members — including at minimum 2 seats reserved for active node operators from conflict-affected or underconnected regions. Council members serve 6-month terms, renewable by governance vote. The council has no special powers — it is an advisory and coordination body. All binding decisions remain with token holders. ### Open source commitment The core node software is and will always be Apache 2.0 licensed. The protocol smart contracts are open source and audited. No proprietary lock-in at any layer. Any community can fork the entire stack. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.projectepizo.com/team-and-governance.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.