Applicant Information
Name of Applicant: DoDAO Team(Representative - Robin Nagpal - Founder).
Email Address: robinnagpal.tiet@gmail.com
Telegram Handle (if applicable): @robinnagpal
LinkedIn Profile (if applicable): https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-nagpal-08498614/
Role being applied for - Security-Oriented Member
Background Information [Applicable to all]
DoDAO has been working on many educational and governance tooling initiatives with some of the top projects
Educational Initiatives
https://uniswap.university
https://arbitrum.education
https://compound.education
https://optimism.university/
&& many more
Other Initiatives
Onchain Governance Proposal Analyzer and Simulator for Compound (In Progress)
Our skills and background align with multiple areas. Based on our focus and research priorities, we would like to work as a “Research-Oriented Member,” focusing on the “Adoption of Gaming” and the “Promotion of Orbit Chains.” We will be working on very specific topics, as detailed below, and will produce detailed research reports and recommendations.
Alignment as The Research Member.
Our team aims to concentrate on specific areas to promote the adoption of Arbitrum and Ethereum overall. We have observed Arbitrum One performing well in the DeFi sector, yet there remains a substantial amount of work to be done to make the Arbitrum ecosystem appealing to game developers.
Instead of reinventing the wheel of game distribution, we should assist game developers by enabling them to focus on the most significant use case, which includes the trading of in-game assets, without having to concentrate on that alone. We should avoid adding further complexities related to game distribution, user authentication and authorization, in-game transactions, etc. All these aspects should be facilitated by the blockchain, and we have already seen some other blockchains making good progress in this area.
In addition to focusing on games, we aim to encourage the adoption of orbit chains. Over the next two or three years, we expect to see many applications launching their own chains. Solidity will become the standard language for developing financial solutions. Thanks to existing libraries and protocols, even traditional banks will be utilizing Solidity, along with one of the custom L2 or L3 solutions. However, they will have a different set of requirements related to security, risk, and privacy. Another issue we anticipate in orbit chains is fragmented liquidity and cross-chain communication. We aim to work towards providing solutions in this direction.
Objectives & Motivation [Applicable to all]
Ethereum and Arbitrum can be compared to AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure. Both Ethereum and Arbitrum provide the underlying execution layer, data availability, and security (with decentralization). There are hundreds of billion-dollar businesses that run on these cloud providers. These businesses don’t have to worry about scaling, uptime, data centers, etc.
Similarly, we need to focus on enabling and creating businesses, but at Arbitrum we need to provide all the reusable features needed by various sectors so that the developers building these new decentralized apps can concentrate solely on their use cases and problems, while the infrastructure provider, which is Arbitrum, can focus on cross-cutting concerns. Billions of dollars have been poured into the ecosystem, yet we have just a few social apps that have gained some adoption, a couple of games that have attracted real users, and a handful of real-world assets that have been tokenized and put on-chain. The end-user does care about decentralization, but they seek trust, ease of use, one-click logins, and they don’t want to pay for each and every update that happens in the system. As Arbitrum, we should pave the way forward where apps can provide this seamless user experience without compromising decentralization, security, and trust.
Therefore, our focus as part of the Arbitrum Research Group will be on technical areas in gaming so that game developers, using their existing channels, can distribute and promote their games, while simultaneously leveraging the underlying benefits provided by Arbitrum to enable the trading of in-game assets. At the same time, we want to promote the adoption of orbit chains as we believe Ethereum provides the core layer for global finance and orbit chains enable different entities to configure Layer 2s and L3s and hook into this global financial system. This vision is shared by many, but there are still many technical challenges that need to be addressed, including cross-chain communication, privacy, sharing liquidity, etc. These will also be our focus areas as part of the Arbitrum Research Group.
Skills and Experience [Applicable to all]
We are one of the leading companies in providing in-depth education on Blockchain and DeFi, having collaborated with top projects on the Ethereum platform.
We also possess extensive blockchain development experience and are currently working with Compound on initiative that includes the decoding of calldata, as well as the simulation and testing of proposals.
We have worked both at a very detailed level and on high-level research and are now collaborating with Ivey Business School to create case studies and attract the best fresh graduates into the ecosystem. Having a top-notch customer education platform, on which we run academy websites for the leading projects, we understand the importance of the end user.
Proposal Review & Assistance [Applicable to all]
All the tools we develop will enhance the safety and transparency of the proposals. Our goal is to reuse all the existing libraries that have been built around proposals, and then open-source our work so that other projects can combine these modules and further integrate into the ecosystem, bringing more clarity and security to the proposals when they are submitted on-chain.
We will also work on standardizing the evaluation of the milestones and completion of the grants, so that other developers can develop UIs on top of this information and display it in multiple formats.
Review on Chain Proposal Code Updates [Only applicable to Security]
Below are the features, separated by the proposal phases, that will be part of the Arbitrum Proposal Analyzer. This tool will allow us to vet each proposal in detail.
On Proposal Submission (before voting):
Consider the example of the proposal below. Perhaps only one or two people who are voting actually understand what is happening in the executable code of the proposal. Even with the best intentions, a mistake in composing the payload can lead to the loss of millions of dollars.
Here are the first three steps we plan to implement to enhance the readability and testability of these proposals:
- Decoding of the Call Data: Based on the type of target being called, we can decode the information executed in the proposal.
- Simulation and Tagging Proposals: Using the decoded information, we can categorize actions as Critical or Non-Critical, assisting the community in paying closer attention. By utilizing tools like Tenderly, we can often simulate the actions that will be implemented once the proposal is executed. This approach helps in gaining confidence about the changes well before the proposal is submitted.
- Proposal CLI: Most proposals are currently generated via a UI, which can lead to numerous issues regarding the type of actions selected. Moreover, there is presently no method to write test cases for these proposals and verify them in advance. We intend to develop a CLI that will enable users to generate Solidity-based proposal code. This development will provide an opportunity to write tests before the proposal is submitted on-chain. Though it might appear excessive, this strategy is one of the most effective ways to ensure maximum value for the effort and to prevent million-dollar mistakes.
During its approval
Currently, there is no method to notify about the status of changes being applied. To support the post-proposal execution steps, we plan to extend the “Proposal” CLI and enable people to add these actions. In the current phase, we do not intend to modify any of the existing smart contracts. Instead, we will create new CLI/tooling which submits proposals on-chain using the existing smart contracts.
Being worked upon
At present, there is a lack of clarity after a proposal is accepted. We aim to integrate with existing tools like Safe Multisig, Hedgey, Superfluid, etc., to display feedback and allow the release of funds after consensus is reached on the completion of the tasks.
We plan to follow the same principles as “Stage 1 - Arbitrum One.” This means there will be one program manager issuing the grants, but multiple validators will validate the outcomes of the proposals. Validators will stake, and if they report incorrect results, they will be fined. For accurate reviews, they will be compensated.
Note: This is an ambitious plan, so for the initial release, we will be launching a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that integrates with one or two multisig/payment vesting solutions. We will implement a simpler flow for validation. Additionally, other grant tools might want to utilize this feature of our tool. Therefore, we will develop it as a module so that it can be integrated into or with other existing tools.
We will be doing extensive user/grantee study to make sure the experience for both the grantee and the program manager is as simple as possible.
In subsequent revisions, we believe the UI should also display on-chain information, such as the funds allocated, funds streamed, funds remaining, along with qualitative outcomes from the milestones.
Upon Completion of the Grant:
Capturing all the information, impact, and feedback from the grantees, as well as the grant program manager, is crucial, with the outcomes being published. Subsequent grantees working in the same area should be able to build upon the work that has already been done. This step in the process can be somewhat laborious, but it is necessary to ensure the quality of the deliverables and the effectiveness of the program manager’s execution.
This will also adhere to a similar validation logic, i.e., multiple validators will verify that the grant completion has been successfully achieved.
Note: This phase also is an ambitious plan, so for the initial release, we will be launching a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Even this part will be developed as a module so that it can be integrated into or with other existing tools.
Project Management
Robin will be the representative of Team DoDAO. Robin has over 16 years of experience in developing software and delivering it. We work in an iterative way and would be more than happy to share bi-weekly updates on our progress.
We also have a proven track record in the Ethereum ecosystem and would be more than happy to connect with the projects we have worked with for reference checks, etc.
Purpose/Mandate of the ARDC [Applicable to all]
Our role at ARDC as Security Members is fully aligned with our current projects and our future plans. We aim to enhance tooling around the transparency and security of on-chain proposals. Even a single erroneous proposal, despite good intentions, can have catastrophic consequences for the DAO.
As builders, our objective is to develop modular code that functions like interlocking lego pieces, facilitating seamless integration and extension by others. While there are numerous tools for grant provisioning, there is a notable lack of tools for grant reporting. We plan to research how to integrate these tools and develop common abstractions.
Furthermore, we will establish best practices and tools for processing grant payments.
Additional Contributions [Applicable to all]
We have begun collaborating with Ivey Business School, one of Canada’s top business schools. We aim to publish several case studies on topics related to DeFi and DAO Governance.
Our team also completed the new Uniswap V4 docs.
Cost Breakdown
We commit to a providing regular updates on our development progress.
Team Composition
- 2 Developers full-time
- 1 Developer, 28 hours per week
- 1 Product Person, 28 hours per week
| Roles | Hourly rate | Total Hours | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 developers full time | 75/hr | 176 hrs/month * 6 months | 158400 |
| 1 developer and 1 product | 75/hr | 128 hrs/month * 6 months | 115200 |
| Total = 273600 ARB |
Reiterating again: The amount requested is significant, and it is our responsibility to deliver something concrete that can be used and extended by future members. Therefore, we have included very clear deliverables. Furthermore, we will conduct a thorough review of all existing tools related to proposal safety.
Summary
We DoDAO Team(representative - Robin Nagpal), is applying for the role of Security-Oriented Member, focusing on enhancing the safety and efficiency of on-chain proposals. We have a strong background in educational and governance tooling initiatives, collaborating with top projects to provide in-depth blockchain and DeFi education. Our current project with Compound Finance involves developing tools to decode, simulate, and test proposals before submission, addressing the risk of costly errors in proposal payloads.
Our proposal includes developing the “Arbitrum Proposal Analyzer,” a tool designed to improve the proposal process by verifying, simulating, and testing proposals pre-submission to prevent potential losses. This initiative aims to bring more clarity and security to the proposal process, with plans to open-source their work for broader community benefit. Our team, comprising full-time developers and a product person will be working to deliver concrete tools and best practices for the community, highlighting our commitment to transparency, security, and efficiency in DAO governance.