gm!
Following @BlockworksResearch research on GMX and JOJO STIP performance, which is great and I recommend everyone must read it, they have identified certain shortcomings in the planning, execution, and reporting of the STIP. Many of these shortcomings have been addressed by the new LTIPP process, but there are still challenges and improvements to be made.
One of the issues raised, and the reason for my writing, is that we have not allocated resources to analyze whether the growth in TVL of the protocols during the STIP was due to the genuine influx of new users and TVL to Arbitrum, or if it was merely a result of fierce internal competition.
As advisors during the STIP Bridge, we have noticed that the TVL of most protocols has dropped significantly over the last month, which could call into question the sustainability of the TVL attracted to the chain through incentives.
This coincides with a TVL decline of approximately 24% since March 11, when the network peaked at 3.931 billion, according to Defillama.
In their GMX report, Blockworks mention that " It should be noted that although the incentivized TVL on GMX hasn’t been sustainable, the liquidity incentives could still be considered a success if they attracted new capital to Arbitrum, which is now rotating into other ecosystem projects. If there is demand from the DAO, this is something the ARDC could focus on going forward".
With this context and looking forward to properly setting up the Long Term Incentives Program for Arbitrum, I request the ARDC, through the DAO Advocate L2BEAT @Sinkas @krst, to deliver research that analyzes the origin of the TVL that has gone to the main protocols during the STIP, so that the DAO can determine whether the investment through incentives has attracted new users and capital to Arbitrum that has remained in the network or has left once the incentives ended.
One alternative is to conduct this research over the 5 (?) protocols that received the biggest grants. This would be: GMX, MUX, Camelot, Vertex and Radiant.
Of course, in their expertise and if deemed necesary, I look forward to the ARDC modifying the criteria for selecting the protocols or refining the data that needs to be collected to achieve the desired outcome.
Thank you very much!