First of all, thank you for the long-awaited DeFi program!
At first glance, it seems quite close to simply funding the Foundation or OCL to manage BD/incentives funds at its discretion (which the DAO has done recently). I’m happy to see more involvement from the AAEs, but is the plan for them to run all the DAO funded programs?
One of the unique (albeit sometimes chaotic and inefficient) strengths of the DAO has been the involvement of contributors in operations. That structure helped surface and highlight individuals (we all know who)—now active contributors and respected delegates. If programs had been this closed off from the beginning, the DAO might not have built the pool of engaged contributors it has today. I understand the goal of efficiency, and I think it makes sense in many ways. Still, I believe it’s worth exploring ways to balance that with contributors’ involvement.
Regarding the program itself: I do like the model of targeting specific assets. It seems like a valuable experiment worth trying.
What it’s still not clear to me is: why do you believe this model will lead to sustainable growth activity on Arbitrum? What mechanisms are in place to ensure user retention, long-term commitment from potential partners, or other indicators of sustainability?
The part of the proposal I’m still not fully convinced about: as presented, the program doesn’t offer an auditable structure. The committee decides how, when, and with whom to negotiate, and even the few defined rules can be changed at will. I understand the intention is to keep the program flexible so it can iterate based on successes and failures. But that makes me wonder: why not simply request funds for the Foundation to manage directly, without much additional structure?
These look like BD funds that could be used to secure deals or attract deployments, possibly by prioritizing certain verticals. I remember that in the LTIPP, we saw protocols like Synthetix deploy quickly due to incentives, only to leave shortly after. Is there a strategy in place to ensure more sustainable engagement? Could a particular deal lead to prioritizing one vertical over others for that single reason?
This is great. It’s important to ensure coordination with the Foundation’s social media channels. During LTIPP, getting that support to help amplify awareness of the program was quite a challenge.