Stake DAO Association Grant H2 2024
Preamble
This proposal serves as a formal request for a half-yearly grant (“Grant Proposal”) from Stake DAO for the period of H2-2024 (ending on December 31) in continuation and recognition of the governance proposal (SDGP#32) and of the previous Grant proposal (SDGP#34) previously adopted by Stake DAO.
The StakeDAO Association ("Association”), established as a pivotal entity within the Stake DAO ecosystem and based in Zug, Switzerland, aims to further the development and growth of Stake DAO through specified services aligned with the Stake DAO’s strategic objectives.
Grant Award
Amount Granted: The Association hereby requests a grant amount of USD 876,986 ("Grant Amount ”) designated for the execution of the milestones further described below ("Grant Purpose”). To determine the Grant Amount, the financial reports of the previous grant received have been used (Annex 2), as well as the forecast for future exceptional costs that are to be expected.
Milestones:
The Grant Amount shall be paid to the Association in six (6) installments as described in Annex 1 ("Annex 1”) to perform the following milestones ("Milestones”):
- M1 (October 2024): Roll out of Votemarket v2 (required budget: $150,000).
- M2 (November 2024): New reward architecture (required budget: $150,000).
- M3 (December 2024): Roll out of new tokenomics (required budget: $100,000).
- M4 (December 2024): Maintain a high level of uptime of Stake DAO’s product and user interface (>95%) (required budget: c.$300,000).
- M5 (December 2024): Ensure steady business development efforts to bring a stable flow of vote incentives to Votemarket and increase Liquid Lockers’ TVL. Target: $175m TVL in Liquid Lockers and their strategies, and $2m of monthly deposited vote incentives on Votemarket (required budget: c.$200,000).
The detailed explanation of those milestones will be given during the StakeDAO Association community call.
The first installment of the Grant Amount shall be distributed to the Association per mutually agreeable arrangements within seven (7) calendar days following the approval of the Grant Proposal by the Stake DAO.
Association Autonomy
The Grant Proposal does not create a principal or agent, employer or employee partnership, or joint venture between the Association and the Stake DAO.
The Association is free to decide upon the way to carry out the execution or fulfillment of the Milestones set forth above. The Association retains its independence in achieving these Milestones, leveraging either internal capabilities and resources or engaging suitable third parties as auxiliary persons.
Purpose and Limitation of Use
As described in the Milestones, the Grant Amount shall fund research and development (R&D) initiatives aimed at enhancing Stake DAO’s decentralized finance (DeFi) products and services, encompassing new product development, user experience enhancements, security auditing, and risk management, as well as the operation and maintenance of the existing product when needed.
The Association understands and acknowledges that the Grant Amount shall be exclusively used to execute the Milestones defined within the Grant Proposal.
Internal regulations shall be in place to address any misuse of the funds, ensuring that all activities funded by the Grant Amount shall directly contribute to the specified project and the broader Stake DAO ecosystem.
IP Ownership and Source Code Publication and Licensing
The Association shall become the sole owner of any intellectual property rights in and to any kind of work products that have been or will be created in the context of this grant.
The Association acknowledges its role in holding and managing intellectual property rights within the Stake DAO ecosystem.
All backend and frontend code developed as part of this grant, including smart contracts and web interfaces, will be published on a designated public GitHub repository. The software will be licensed under an open-source license (such as the BSD License, the MIT License, the Apache License Version 2.0, or any other license approved by Stake DAO), promoting transparency and accessibility.
Reporting Obligation
In line with the commitment to transparency and accountability, the Association will include details regarding the Grant Amount and its utilization in its monthly activity reports. This report will be prepared in accordance with the governance proposal’s requirements, ensuring the Stake DAO community is fully informed of the progress and outcomes of the funded initiatives.
Conclusion
This proposal, structured in accordance with both the strategic goals of Stake DAO and the legal guidelines provided, represents a comprehensive plan for utilizing the requested grant to achieve significant advancements within the Stake DAO ecosystem. The Association commits to fulfilling the outlined objectives with the highest standards of transparency, efficiency, and accountability.
Proposal specifications:
Admin: veSDT holders
Community feedback: 3 days minimum
Voting Duration: 7 days
Footnotes:
1. Any gas fees accumulated may be allocated by the Association or through carefully selected subcontractors, to cover the operational gas expenses and support the financial sustainability of future initiatives. This approach aims to ensure the longevity and efficiency of our ecosystem, prioritizing the community’s interests and promoting a cycle of reinvestment into our shared infrastructure.
Annex 1: Association Budget and Grant Payment Schedule
Annex 1: Association Budget and Grant Payment Schedule
Annex 2: H1 Grant reporting
March Activity report: March 2024 activity report
April Activity report: Stake DAO Association April 2024 Report
May Activity report: Stake DAO Association May 2024 Report
Looking back at H1 grant’s milestones:
- M1 (April 2024): Roll out of OnlyBoost for Curve (required budget: $65,886) - Done
- M2 (May 2024): Full decentralisation of the technical stack, including implementation of the new on-chain voting structure (required budget: $65,886) - Delayed,ongoing, contracts are governed by elected Multisig signers, but for the last mile (veSDT governance), new tokenomics proposal justifies delaying the update.
- M3 (June 2024): Significant progress was made in the research for Votemarket v2. Target: either a whitepaper, a detailed product explanation, or a significant update of the current Votemarket version (required budget: $197,660) - Done
- M4 (June 2024): Maintain a high level of uptime of Stake DAO’s product and user interface (>95%) (required budget: $197,658) - Done
- M5 (June 2024): Ensure steady business development efforts to bring a stable flow of vote incentives to Votemarket and increase Liquid Lockers’ TVL. Target: $150m TVL in Liquid Lockers and their strategies, and $3m of monthly deposited vote incentives on Votemarket (required budget: $131,773) - Missed: Due to a significant market downturn, particularly the drop in CRV prices, we were unable to meet this objective.