YONA Governance Statement
Published: April 11, 2026
1. Purpose
This statement describes how YONA releases and companion documents are currently stewarded, how future YONA releases may later transition to member governance, and what that governance does and does not control.
This statement applies only to proposal, review, approval, publication, deprecation, and retirement of YONA releases and companion documents. It does not affect runtime message validity, request/response binding, authorization outcomes, counterparty eligibility decisions, or any other live protocol interaction between counterparties.
2. Current steward and publisher
YONA LLC is the current founder-led steward and publisher of YONA Ruleset 1.0 and companion documents.
Until the transition conditions in this statement are satisfied and a stewardship transfer is completed, YONA LLC remains the sole steward and publisher of YONA releases.
3. Open implementation and no required relationship with YONA
YONA specifications are open for reading and implementation.
No approval, membership, contract, or commercial relationship with YONA LLC is required to read, implement, test, evaluate, or deploy YONA specifications.
YONA LLC may offer optional services such as pilot support, implementation support, training, conformance testing, or related assistance, but use or purchase of such services is not required for interoperability, for a pilot, or for a conformance claim.
No issuer has exclusive authority to determine or declare conformance under YONA specifications unless a specific counterparty independently chooses to rely on that issuer for its own local trust or procurement purposes.
4. Current governance model
At present, YONA governance is founder-led stewardship by YONA LLC.
Under this model, YONA LLC may:
- publish YONA releases and companion documents;
- publish corrections, clarifications, and new releases;
- mark releases as active, deprecated, or retired; and
- publish non-normative governance, contribution, pilot, or conformance materials.
This current governance model does not create any runtime dependency on YONA LLC.
5. Intended future transition
If sufficient independent VASP support exists, YONA LLC intends to form a separate nonprofit, member-governed entity to steward future YONA releases.
That entity would be separate from YONA LLC and would not be a renaming of YONA LLC. It is not treated in this statement as already existing.
Any future member governance would apply only to future YONA releases and related companion documents after an effective stewardship transfer. It would not retroactively alter the meaning of previously published releases.
6. Readiness threshold for initiating formation
YONA LLC will initiate formation of that entity only when all of the following conditions are satisfied:
- At least five (5) unaffiliated regulated VASPs have signed written founding-member commitments.
- Those VASPs have either:
- approved substantially final bylaws for that entity; or
- participated in drafting those bylaws and then approved the final bylaws package for adoption at formation.
- Each of those VASPs has committed in writing to become a dues-paying founding member upon formation and to pay its initial dues within 30 days after formation or invoice, as specified in the founding-member commitment.
- The proposed membership classes, governance scope, and initial dues schedule have been circulated in final or near-final form to the prospective founding members.
For purposes of this statement, unaffiliated means not controlling, controlled by, or under common control with another counted founding VASP.
For purposes of this statement, regulated VASP means an entity that is licensed, registered, chartered, or otherwise lawfully authorized under applicable law to conduct the virtual-asset business activities relevant to its participation in YONA governance.
Satisfaction of this readiness threshold authorizes YONA LLC to proceed with formation work. It does not by itself complete the transition of governance.
7. Formation and transition conditions
Even after the readiness threshold is satisfied, that entity will not become the steward of future YONA releases unless all of the following additional conditions are completed:
- A separate legal entity has been formed.
- Its initial bylaws have been adopted.
- Its initial governing body and officers have been appointed or elected in accordance with those bylaws.
- A written stewardship-transfer instrument has been executed that identifies which future YONA releases and companion documents will be governed by that entity and the effective date of that transfer.
- The initial dues schedule has been adopted and founding-member admissions have been accepted under the adopted bylaws.
- YONA LLC has publicly announced the effective date on which that entity becomes the steward of future YONA releases.
Until all of those conditions are satisfied, YONA LLC remains the sole steward and publisher of YONA releases.
8. Scope of member governance after transition
If that entity is formed and stewardship of future YONA releases is transferred to it, its governance rights are limited to the governance of future YONA releases and companion documents.
Those governance rights may include:
- submitting formal change proposals;
- voting on proposed future releases;
- approving future releases;
- changing the lifecycle status of releases, including deprecation or retirement; and
- approving non-normative governance procedures and companion governance materials.
Those governance rights do not include authority to:
- determine runtime validity of a live YONA message;
- override local policy decisions made by counterparties;
- compel implementation of a release by any VASP;
- control counterparty eligibility decisions;
- issue transaction-level approvals or denials; or
- create any runtime dependency on that entity.
9. Voting members in good standing
If that entity is formed, a Voting Member in Good Standing is a member that:
- has been validly admitted under its bylaws;
- remains current on required dues and other membership obligations; and
- has not been suspended or otherwise deprived of voting rights under those bylaws.
Only Voting Members in Good Standing may exercise formal voting rights over future YONA releases.
Non-members may still read, implement, evaluate, and comment on YONA specifications, but they do not have formal voting rights unless admitted under those bylaws.
10. Conformance claims and commercial services
Conformance claims are optional and do not require review, approval, issuance, publication, or purchase of services from YONA LLC, any future member-governed steward, or any other specific party.
YONA LLC may offer optional services before or after any governance transition, including pilot support, testing, training, implementation support, or related services, but such services:
- are separate from governance;
- do not confer voting rights;
- do not confer official status by themselves; and
- do not create exclusive authority over conformance claims.
If a future member-governed steward is later formed, it may publish its own governance, membership, or recognition materials for future releases, but no such materials may retroactively alter the technical meaning of previously published releases.
11. Publication, amendment, and effect
While YONA LLC remains the steward, YONA LLC may amend this statement by publishing a new version.
If a future member-governed steward is later formed and stewardship is transferred, that entity may publish successor governance materials for the releases it stewards.
Any amendment to this statement is non-runtime and MUST NOT be treated as changing the technical semantics of an already published YONA release.
12. Effective date
This statement takes effect on the date it is published by YONA LLC and remains in effect until replaced or superseded by a later published version.