Voting is the primary mechanism through which Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAO) reach decisions. Although transparent, the voting process can be complex: it can involve many interacting smart contracts. The nexus of the decision-making process can be relocated and the true voter demographic obfuscated. Furthermore, DAOs can govern other DAOs -- metagovernance. We present a method for identifying DAO-to-DAO metagovernance on the Ethereum blockchain. We focus on the links between DAOs and token contracts. We employ a signature-matching algorithm to flexibly handle a variety of DAO frameworks and voting schemes. Once we establish token-to-DAO relationships, we gather and process voting data to produce a list of metagovernance relationships. We apply this algorithm to an initial set of sixteen DAOs and we extend the dataset as more DAOs are identified. We produce a metagovernance network with 61 DAOs and 72 metagovernance relationships. We examine three case studies that show metagovernance of various forms: strategic, decisive, and centralised where a DAO becomes a nexus for metagovernance. We demonstrate that metagovernance obscures voting context and introduces entities driven by self-interest that can significantly influence governance. We highlight instances of metagovernance between DAOs operating on the Ethereum blockchain where current governance tools inadequately reveal such dynamics. To preserve the transparency-centric ethos of DAOs and mitigate risks associated with metagovernance, there is a pressing need for enhanced tools to address such issues.

翻译：投票是去中心化自治组织（DAO）做出决策的主要机制。尽管投票过程是透明的，但它可能非常复杂：可能涉及许多相互作用的智能合约。决策过程的枢纽可能被转移，真实的投票者群体也可能被模糊化。此外，DAO可以治理其他DAO——即元治理。我们提出了一种在以太坊区块链上识别DAO-to-DAO元治理的方法。我们重点关注DAO与代币合约之间的关联。我们采用一种签名匹配算法，以灵活处理各种DAO框架和投票方案。在建立了代币与DAO的关系后，我们收集并处理投票数据，以生成一份元治理关系列表。我们将该算法应用于初始的16个DAO，并随着更多DAO的识别而扩展数据集。我们构建了一个包含61个DAO和72个元治理关系的元治理网络。我们研究了三个案例，展示了不同形式的元治理：战略性的、决定性的，以及集中式的——即一个DAO成为元治理的枢纽。我们证明，元治理会模糊投票背景，并引入受自身利益驱动的实体，这些实体可能对治理产生重大影响。我们重点指出了在以太坊区块链上运行的DAO之间发生元治理的实例，而当前的治理工具未能充分揭示这种动态。为了维护DAO以透明为核心的理念，并降低与元治理相关的风险，迫切需要增强工具以应对此类问题。