Author: Stake DAO Association
Summary
Votemarket gives voters six months to claim once a campaign ends. Part of those rewards is claimed by Stake DAO on behalf of the voters and pushed to a merkle contract, and those merkle contracts have no claim deadline. This proposal applies the same six-month claim window to those merkle contracts. After six months, the treasury may claim any rewards that remain unclaimed. One contract is excluded and keeps no deadline: the vlCVX delegation merkle that pays forwarders in scrvUSD (as the rewards themselves are yield bearing and do not require claiming to benefit from this yield).
This is a harmonization. Nothing changes in how rewards are earned, calculated or distributed. The same rule simply applies to everyone.
Context
On Votemarket, a campaign ends, voters have six months to claim. In some cases (notably vlCVX voters) Stake DAO claims them on behalf of voters, then pushes them to a merkle contract, and the voter claims from that merkle instead of claiming from Votemarket. The six month claim window applies to the Votemarket campaign. However, the claim deadline of the merkle was never specified. This proposal clarifies this point.
Governance has already set a deadline on other merkle trees one tree at a time, in SDGP-51, SDGP-52 and SDGP-69. Each one took its own vote. Setting one rule for every Votemarket merkle contract, including the ones deployed in the future, means governance will be required only to deviate from that rule for specific purposes, rather than validating it at every instance.
Proposal
Set a claim window of six months on every merkle contract that distributes Votemarket rewards (each a “Votemarket Reward Merkle”, meaning a merkle distribution contract used to distribute some rewards originating from Votemarket voting campaigns; the contracts currently deployed are listed in the Contracts section below).
Each distribution stays claimable for six months from the day that distribution’s merkle root is first published on chain. After six months, the root is updated so that any rewards not claimed within that window lapse and may then be claimed only by the Stake DAO treasury. A voter who does not claim within the window retains no further entitlement to those rewards.
The rule applies to distributions already published. For any distribution published more than six months before this proposal passes, voters will be given a transition period to claim before any amount is swept: Stake DAO will announce the change on at least two of its official channels (as listed under Notices in the Legal Annex), and voters will have no fewer than thirty (30) days, running from the later of (i) the date this proposal passes and (ii) the date of that announcement, to claim. Only after that transition period has expired may the treasury claim the amounts that remain unclaimed.
Any merkle contract deployed later for Votemarket follows the same rule, without a new vote; governance may, by a subsequent proposal, exclude a specific contract or vary the window for it.
The vlCVX delegation forwarders merkle is excluded
One contract is explicitly left out of this rule: the merkle that pays the vlCVX delegators who forward their rewards. They receive scrvUSD, and scrvUSD gains value on its own while it sits unclaimed. Stake DAO chose a yield bearing token for exactly that reason. A deadline there would be counterproductive and would go against the design.
Contracts
The following contracts are those deployed as of the date of this proposal. Future Votemarket Reward Merkle contracts are covered automatically as set out above.
| Distribution | Contract | Status |
|---|---|---|
| vlCVX voters, non-forwarders and self-voters (Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum) | 0x000000006feeE0b7a0564Cd5CeB283e10347C4Db |
Covered |
| vlCVX delegation, forwarders paid in scrvUSD | 0x17F513CDE031C8B1E878Bde1Cb020cE29f77f380 |
Excluded |
Vote
For (Yes): apply the six month claim window to the contracts listed above, and leave the vlCVX delegation forwarders merkle out of it.
Against (No): reject the proposal and keep the current situation.
Abstain: take no position.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Forum debate period | 3 days minimum |
| Voting period | 7 days |
| Debate and vote | Sequential (debate first, then vote) |
| Quorum | 15% of total vlSDT supply |
| Approval threshold | Simple majority (>50% of votes cast, excl. abstentions) |
| Anticipated execution | If the quorum and approval threshold set out above are met |
Legal Annex
Nature of this document
This document is a non-binding governance coordination notice published by the Stake DAO Association (a Swiss not-for-profit association) for the benefit of participants in the Stake DAO governance process. It does not create contractual rights or obligations between any person and the Stake DAO Association, between any participants, or with any third party. Where this document refers to actions to be taken by smart contracts, those actions are performed autonomously by code deployed on a public blockchain and are not undertaken by any legal person on behalf of any other legal person.
Regulatory & Legal Notice
This document is a governance coordination notice relating to the operation of a decentralised protocol. It is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer, solicitation, recommendation, investment advice, or any regulated financial service in any jurisdiction. The Stake DAO protocol operates through non-custodial smart contracts. The Stake DAO Association does not custody or take title to user funds. Nothing herein is legal, regulatory, accounting, financial, or tax advice. Participation is voluntary and at each participant’s own risk.
Nature of the claim window. The six-month claim window is a condition of the rewards to which it applies and not a debt or other obligation owed by the Stake DAO Association or any other person. Rewards that are not claimed within the applicable window lapse; a participant who does not claim within that window retains no continuing entitlement to those rewards, and any amount subsequently swept to the treasury is treated as a protocol-owned asset. This proposal does not change how rewards are earned, calculated, or distributed.
Restricted persons. Nothing in this document is directed at, or intended to be acted upon by, any person who is (a) a U.S. Person as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, (b) ordinarily resident in any jurisdiction in which participation would be unlawful, or (c) the subject of sanctions administered by the United Nations, the European Union, SECO, the United Kingdom, or OFAC (each a “Restricted Person”). No distribution will be made to any person who is a Restricted Person, and any amount otherwise attributable to a Restricted Person lapses and may be claimed by the treasury.
Forward-looking statements. Statements in this document regarding future deployments, participant behaviour, unclaimed amounts, and similar matters are forward-looking and reflect current expectations only. They are subject to smart-contract, market, counterparty, and regulatory risks and are not guarantees or commitments; actual outcomes may differ materially, and no Released Party (as defined in the Provisions below) undertakes to update them.
Risk Acknowledgement
Participants expressly acknowledge and accept: (a) Smart-contract risk: audited code is not warranted to be free from defects; (b) Market risk: token values and reward amounts may vary materially over time; (c) Counterparty/integration risk: third-party protocols operate independently of Stake DAO and may modify or discontinue their integrations; (d) Regulatory risk: applicable regulatory frameworks may evolve; (e) Tax risk: participants are solely responsible for their own tax obligations; (f) Claim-window risk: rewards not claimed within the applicable claim window lapse and may be swept to the Stake DAO treasury, and each participant is solely responsible for claiming within the window.
Provisions
The following provisions apply to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, and to the extent any liability or relationship is nonetheless asserted to arise out of or in connection with this proposal.
Limitation of Liability. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, and subject to the mandatory provisions of Swiss law, the aggregate liability of the Stake DAO Association and each of its members, directors, officers, employees, agents, and contributors, and any person acting on its or their behalf (each a “Released Party” and collectively the “Released Parties”) to any claimant for all claims arising out of or in connection with this proposal shall not exceed the greater of (i) the total protocol fees actually paid by that claimant to a Released Party in the twelve (12) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim and (ii) USD 100. Nothing in this section limits or excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, for wilful misconduct or gross negligence, or for any other liability that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded under Swiss law.
Force Majeure. No Released Party shall be liable for any failure or delay resulting from causes beyond its reasonable control, including network failure, smart-contract exploits, regulatory orders, or acts of God.
Governing Law and Dispute Resolution. This proposal is governed by the laws of Switzerland. Any dispute that is nonetheless asserted to arise out of or in connection with this proposal shall be finally resolved by arbitration administered by the Swiss Arbitration Centre under the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration. The seat of arbitration shall be Zurich, with a sole arbitrator, in English.
Severability. If any provision is held invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, it shall be severed and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force.
Amendment. This proposal may be amended only by a subsequent proposal adopted in accordance with the Stake DAO governance framework.
Notices. Official communications will be published through (i) gov.stakedao.org, (ii) @StakeDAOHQ on X/Twitter, or (iii) stakedao.org.
This proposal follows the Stake DAO Proposal Framework.