Member Tiers
The ƒxyz Network contribution-based tier system that gates governance participation and role eligibility
The ƒxyz Network extends standard Holacracy with a contribution-based tier system that determines what governance actions a member can take. This is an ƒxyz extension -- standard Holacracy has no concept of membership tiers; anyone assigned to a role simply participates.
In the ƒxyz Network, your tier reflects your contribution level and gates your governance access accordingly.
Tier Overview
Members progress through five governance-relevant tiers based on their contributions to the network:
| Tier | Description |
|---|---|
| OBSERVER | New or passive members with view-only access |
| INITIATE | Early contributors beginning to engage with governance |
| EXPLORER | Active members with voting rights and proposal capability |
| NAVIGATOR | Experienced members with full governance access |
| FOUNDER | Core members who ratify the Anchor Circle |
The application's Network Standing surfaces (dashboard, /allocate, header) extend this with two pre-governance lifecycle tiers (GHOST, GUEST : derived from the standing logic, not from CES). Co-founders hold the FOUNDER tier through the same CES-derived thresholds as any other FOUNDER-tier member.
Tier Eligibility Matrix
Each tier unlocks specific governance capabilities:
| Capability | OBSERVER | INITIATE | EXPLORER | NAVIGATOR | FOUNDER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fill Roles | No | Custom only | Non-structural | Any role | Any role |
| Vote in Elections | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Raise Tensions | View only | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Create Proposals | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Anchor Circle Governance | No | No | No | No | Yes (ratifier) |
Capability Details
Fill Roles defines which types of roles a member can be assigned to or elected into:
- Custom only: INITIATE members can fill custom roles created within circles but not the four structural roles (Circle Lead, Facilitator, Secretary, Circle Rep)
- Non-structural: EXPLORER members can fill any custom role and participate fully, but cannot hold structural roles
- Any role: NAVIGATOR and FOUNDER members can fill any role including structural roles
Vote in Elections determines whether a member can participate in integrative elections for structural roles. See Integrative Elections for details on the election process.
Raise Tensions controls whether a member can identify and raise tensions for processing. OBSERVER members can view tensions raised by others but cannot raise their own. All other tiers can raise tensions.
Create Proposals determines whether a member can author governance proposals to create, modify, or remove roles and policies within a circle.
Anchor Circle Governance is a special capability reserved for FOUNDER-tier members. Per Article 1.4 of the Holacracy Constitution v5.0, the Anchor Circle has no Circle Lead. Instead, FOUNDER-tier members serve as ratifiers -- the group that adopted the constitution and has ultimate governance authority over the Anchor Circle.
Progression
Contribution level progression is based on the member's ƒxyz governance position (on-chain balance + Formula B conviction accumulator built from CES production function inflow). The thresholds below are token-denominated; the USD reference column shows the FDV-tier framing used in the anchor pool, where bigger commitments map to a lower fully-diluted valuation:
| Level | Token Threshold | FDV-Tier Reference |
|---|---|---|
| FOUNDER | >= 166,666,667 | $30M FDV tier : anchor commitments $250K+ |
| NAVIGATOR | >= 33,333,333 | $50M FDV tier : anchor commitments $100K–$250K |
| EXPLORER | >= 16,666,667 | $75M FDV tier : anchor commitments $50K–$100K (the $50K minimum-allocation lock applies here) |
| INITIATE | >= 0 | Any contribution |
| OBSERVER | 0 | No contributions yet |
The $50K minimum allocation is a locked decision; it sits at the EXPLORER tier threshold but is not the tier definition itself.
Level advancement is tracked automatically by the platform via the contribution_level field on the Member node. The CES score combines Florin (capital), Joule (work), and HoW (knowledge) contributions with an HHI diversity bonus. See Scoring Algorithms for the full CES formula.
On-chain verification is available via membership credentials. See ƒxyz Extensions for details on the on-chain membership system.
Relationship to Standard Holacracy
In standard Holacracy, there is no concept of tiered membership. Any person assigned to a role is a "Partner" with full governance rights within that circle. The ƒxyz tier system adds a layer of access control that gates who can be assigned to roles in the first place.
This extension serves several purposes:
- Gradual onboarding: New members can observe and learn before taking on governance responsibilities
- Contribution alignment: Governance power correlates with demonstrated commitment to the network
- Token-gated access: The ƒxyz Network is a token-gated community, and tiers reflect the crypto-native membership model
- Anchor Circle governance: The tier system provides a concrete mechanism for determining who serves as Anchor Circle ratifiers
Technical Implementation
In the data model, each member has a contribution_level field with one of the five values (OBSERVER, INITIATE, EXPLORER, NAVIGATOR, FOUNDER). The platform enforces level-based restrictions when:
- Assigning members to roles (checks contribution level against role type)
- Starting an election (filters eligible voters by contribution level)
- Processing tensions and proposals (checks authorship permissions)
- Rendering governance UI (shows or hides actions based on contribution level)
Related Documentation: