[Election & Application Thread] Arbitrum D.A.O. (Domain Allocator Offerings) Grant Program

Applications for DAO programs
1

After an open discussion period on the RFC and a successful snapshot vote, the DAO has decided to renew the Arbitrum D.A.O. (Domain Allocator Offerings) Grant Program for a third season with five domains.

Hereunder, please find the details for the candidacy and elections for the four following domains:

  • New Protocols and Ideas
  • Education, Community Growth and Events
  • Gaming
  • Dev Tooling on One and Stylus.

Note that, for the fifth voted domain “Orbit chains”, it was proposed with no meaningful opposition for it to be led by maxlomu.

The initiative will be led by JoJo, who will act as Program Manager.

Interested applicants can join the Arbitrum D.A.O. Grant Program Telegram chat here.

General guidelines

  1. For any questions or queries, please join the telegram channel stated above or dm JoJo on Telegram
  2. The nominations will be open from the 16th of December until 22:00 UTC of the 12th of January; any candidacy posted after this term will not be considered for the elections.
  3. Candidates (person, entity or team) may apply for only one domain
  4. Entities or teams applying for any domain must designate a single individual as their point of contact
  5. Elections will be carried through a single snapshot voting for each domain with shielded option enabled and weighted voting, as per the Code of Conduct
  6. Pending any change, the snapshot votes should run from the 16th of January to the 23rd of January, after the Holiday’s pause established in the Code of Conduct
  7. If the DAO deems necessary, the elections could be postponed to have first a set of public calls to evaluate all candidates that want to publicly pitch to the delegates.

Domain Allocator Role & Responsibilities

The elected Domain Allocators (DA) will have the mission to evaluate and manage the grants’ requests incoming in the Questbook platform and periodically communicate their results to the DAO and relevant stakeholder, alongside refining the rubric of their domain. Specifically

  • DAs will operate, on a daily basis, to evaluate incoming grant proposals in the Questbook’s Platform, including carry out due diligence on the teams, communicate with grantees, analyse milestones, disburse payments through the designated domain multisig
  • DAs will collaborate with the PM to create monthly reports for the DAO and other relevant stakeholders to properly communicate, month over month, ad interim results
  • DAs will internally select best of breed projects that will be pitched to relevant stakeholders in the DAO or in general in the Arbitrum ecosystem
  • DAs will refining the current rubrics to better reflect the updated scope of the grant program
  • DAs will commit the needed time to carry out the mentioned tasks. While there can be a lot of variance month over month based on inflow, we estimate around 80 hours per month per DA to operate. This amount can spike up to 120 hours in specific situations as testified by previous DAs.
  • The DAs will evaluate by themself grants’ requests up to $25,000, and will collaborate with another DA to evaluate grants’ requests up to $50,000. The PM will help facilitate this process
  • The DAs will provide at minimum, for each application, both a comment on each point of the rubric and a general comment justifying either the approval or the rejection, in the Questbook platform, allowing the community to be able to review their decision process
  • The DAs will evaluate each milestone separately, and either comment in the Questbook platform in relation to each milestone, or make the grantee comment each milestone, allowing the community to be able to review the progress of the grant
  • The DAs will participate in internal periodic calls with the rest of the D.A.O. Grant Program team
  • The DAs will clearly state internally any possible conflict of interest; in case a COI arise, either other DAs or the PM will evaluate the specific grant proposal
  • The DAs commit to evaluate all proposals in a fair and thorough manner, having as a goal to carry out the best possible positive impact for the Arbitrum DAO based, among others, current or future initiatives such as the MVP proposal or the SOS one once is live
  • The DAs will operate for 12 months, after Tally vote, at full capacity and managing the inflow of application, and for the subsequent 6 months at low capacity to just manage approved applications and communications with the DAO, pending any future change of the program such as votes to renew it in continuity with the current season
  • The DAs will operate at a salary of 8,000 USDC per month for the first 12 months, and at a salary of 1,600 USDC per month for the subsequent 6 months, pending any change in the Tally vote
  • In case a DA will act in malicious faith, or won’t fulfil its duties, it can be removed through a DAO vote and then replaced through an election process compliant with the DAO’s Code of Conduct

Program Manager Role & Responsibilities

The Program Manager (PM) for Season 3 will be JoJo, which will act as coordinator and in an overview capacity of the whole program, as main communication person for the DAO, the Arbitrum Foundation and other relevant stakeholders

  • The PM will coordinate the team of the 5 DAs
  • The PM will ensure that the DAs will carry out their tasks in compliance with all the rules above
  • The PM will act as main point of contact for the DAO, the Arbitrum Foundation, and any other relevant stakeholder
  • The PM will aggregate on a monthly basis all the info parsed by the DAs to create a report published in the forum; this report will be compliant to any future communication/standardization initiative that the DAO might approve during the term of this program
  • The PM will report any relevant information alongside key metrics once per month in the GCR call or in any relevant call that the DAO might create during the term of this program
  • The PM will coordinate between the DAO, the Arbitrum Foundation, and any other relevant stakeholder, to ensure not only the success of this program but also to leverage the program itself and any relevant project into other initiatives deemed strategic
  • The PM will act as point of contact with the MSS team to coordinate monthly payment
  • The PM will be in charge, alongside DAs, of signing transactions to disburse payments to grantees
  • The PM will operate at a salary of 6,500 USDC per month for the first 12 months, and at a salary of 1,200 USDC per month for the subsequent 6 months, pending any change in the Tally vote
  • In case the PM will act in malicious faith, or won’t fulfil its duties, it can be removed through a DAO vote and then replaced through an election process compliant with the DAO’s Code of Conduct

General Timeline:

  • 19th of November: RFC for Season 3 and discussion with the DAO
  • 5th of December: Snapshot for Season 3
  • 16th of December - 12th of January: candidacy for the domains
  • 16th of January - 23rd of January: Snapshot elections for the four domains
  • 30rd of January - 13rd of February: Tally voting
  • Second half of February: refinements of rubrics with the new team
  • March: start of the program

Template for application for DAs

Application template

Applicant Information

  • Name of Applicant & Applicant’s Representative (If applicable):
  • Telegram Handle (if applicable):
  • Twitter/X Handle (if applicable):
  • LinkedIn Profile (if applicable):
  • The role being applied for (choose ONLY one):
    • New Protocols and Ideas
    • Education, Community Growth and Events
    • Gaming
    • Dev Tooling on One and Stylus.

Background & Skills

Please provide a brief overview of your experience in the digital asset industry, particularly within the Ethereum & Arbitrum Ecosystems. Include your involvement in any relevant projects, grant program or contributions to the ArbitrumDAO, or other Ecosystems. (400 words max)

Domain Related Experience and Vision

Explain how your skills and experience align with the domain you are applying for, and what vision you have for this domain. (500 words max)

Grant related Experience

Highlight, if any, any previous experience in grants’ programs. Explain how a good grant proposal is structured in your opinion, what are the key points that will lead you to an approval, and what are the deal breakers. (400 words max)

Declaration of Conflict of Interest

Declare what Conflicts of Interest, to the best of your knowledge, you might have. (150 words max)

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Applicant Information

  • Name of Applicant & Applicant’s Representative (If applicable): Juan Diego Oliva Heinsen
  • Telegram Handle (if applicable): @jewandidi
  • Twitter/X Handle (if applicable): @ImJuandi
  • LinkedIn Profile (if applicable): https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivajd/
  • The role being applied for (choose ONLY one):
    • Dev Tooling on One and Stylus.

Background & Skills

  • Former Domain Allocator for the Developer Tooling Domain, successfully guiding companies and grantees from 0 → 1.
  • Supported both open and closed-source projects in identifying growth opportunities, refining go-to-market strategies, and securing post-grant funding, with multiple success stories from previous domain iterations.
  • Co-founder of Capa.fi, an end-to-end financial stack enabling wallets, exchanges, and fintechs to launch in Latin America, raising $3M USD through pre-seed and extension rounds backed by Boost VC, Better Tomorrow Ventures, and Morgan Creek Digital.
  • Successfully launched notable projects like Worldcoin in the region and collaborated with banks like Banco BBVA through their incubation program to expand stablecoin adoption in the remittance corridor.
  • Experience spanning venture capital and late-stage crypto companies, including Unreasonable Mexico and Worldcoin.

Domain-Related Experience and Vision

  • Continue advancing the agenda of supporting both open and closed-source tooling to create products that evolve into companies capable of securing alternative funding and customer bases.
  • Advocate for AI proposals that enhance developer experience and streamline smart contract integration within the Arbitrum ecosystem.
  • Prioritize second-time grantees with a strong focus on product adoption and growth.
  • Emphasize the need for scalable infrastructure companies in Arbitrum, particularly those providing open-source, multilingual tools that enhance developer onboarding across diverse markets.
  • Strong focus on registered entities either Foundations or companies. Individual KYCs will have to be filled by >1 team member and will take cautious approach for solo-grantees.

Grant related Experience

  • Actively seek out obsessed builders committed to addressing ecosystem-wide challenges, fostering code transparency, and creating tangible, scalable solutions.
  • Evaluate grant proposals rigorously, ensuring grantees can withstand product validation and demonstrate a clear path to solving critical bottlenecks in early-stage projects.
  • Provide grantees with a platform to mentor, amplify their voices and grow their solutions into viable products that benefit the broader ecosystem.

Declaration of Conflict of Interest

I (Juandi) nor Capa will be raising and funding proposals which have a direct conflict of interest.

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Well done, @Juandi, for applying to continue serving as a DA.

Our experience with Juandi as a grantee under the Dev Tooling has been exceptional. He is not just a domain allocator but also a mentor. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been on calls with him, sharing ideas and reviewing how we could improve our project. Our team has greatly benefited from his experience working on a KYC/AML project. He helped us refine our business model—initially, we had planned to charge users for KYC verifications, but he made us understand the cons. We adjusted our approach and now charge project owners for KYC instead. He also reviewed our UI during a call, pointed out necessary changes, and highlighted the data we should collect. It truly feels like he has been incubating us, not just reviewing our work. As a result, we have been able to deliver beyond expectations.

Thank you.

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I’m happy to support Juandi for his re-election as dev-tooling domain allocator. While working with him on Lava’s grant, I was highly impressed with how professional, pragmatic, and dedicated he was. He does an amazing job supporting applicants and grantees, while maximizing value for the Arbitrum & Orbit ecosystems.

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i don’t have much to add beyond what was already said by others.

juandi’s knowledge and experience speak for themselves, l3mbda.com wouldn’t be what it is today without the first grant we received from the arb tooling program.

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Juandi is an experienced grant manager whose background as a founder and active builder in the Arbitrum community truly informs what teams are looking for when collaborating within the Arbitrum Community and beyond.

There are few teams out there who have successfully managed to onboard crypto native teams and traditional banking firms into the Arbitrum ecosystem as much as Juandi, most notably BBVA Spark, who continue to push for crypto adoption. Juandi continously serves an internal guide for them.

On behalf of Search On Dora, a consumer focused multichain search engine and block explorer who was welcomed by him and the Arbitrum Foundation into the ecosystem, and myself as an individual who strongly collaborates with the arbitrum foundation and related ecosystem projects, specially within the Orbit rollup scalability program & Stylus can vouch for Juandi’s impact into the growth of this ecosystem.

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Applicant Information

  • Name of Applicant & Applicant’s Representative (If applicable): SEEDGov
  • Telegram Handle (if applicable): POC @MinistroDolar / @Fehz93
  • Twitter/X Handle (if applicable): x.com
  • LinkedIn Profile (if applicable): SEED Gov | LinkedIn
  • The role being applied for: Education, Community Growth and Events

Background & Skills

SEEDGov is a dynamic and evolving vertical within the SEED Org Ecosystem, focused on shaping the future of decentralized governance in Web3 through active participation, community engagement and experimentation. Our approach emphasizes for minimizing governance where appropriate and professionalizing it where necessary.

As an active delegate platform, SEEDGov engages in governance across multiple projects. With roots in community values, we’ve evolved from education-based initiatives to a participatory approach that drives collaboration, coordination, and decision-making in the ever-changing Web3 landscape.

Our work embrace various protocols, from AMMs to Layer 2, where we design and implement governance infrastructures, manage grants and allocation programs, oversee incentives and onboard the right builders to meet each protocol needs. SEED’s diverse and multidisciplinary team brings the right flexibility and adaptability to strengthen the resilience of Arbitrum.

Learn more about our work in other protocols: Here

Our Background

We actively contribute with delegations to various DAOs in the ecosystem:

We have been part of several initiatives in the Arbitrum DAO:

  • Domain Allocator: Reviewers for the Questbook Grants Program, evaluating how to allocate funds to projects related to Education, Community Growth, and Events.
  • Delegate Incentives Program Manager: Fostering community and delegate engagement through a monetary incentives structure, evaluating applicants’ engagement and contributions using both qualitative and quantitative criteria.
  • LTIPP and STIP Programs: Served as Advisors for evaluating applications and deciding which protocols receive ARB to use as incentives for their users.
  • Stylus Sprint Evaluation Committee Member: Supporting Arbitrum network growth and accelerating capital distribution to both EVM and non-EVM protocols that migrate to Stylus to drive network and ecosystem growth further.
  • ARB Staking Working Group Leaders: We led the Working Group responsible for defining what makes a delegate an ‘active Governance participant’. We coordinated more than 30 people for more than seven weeks, organizing the working group calls, conducting the documentation, and holding meetings with important stakeholders and community members.

Also we’ve been involved in initiatives (some related to grants) from various DAOs. You can find more information here.

Lastly, we have extensive experience in Community Growth and Education initiatives, ranging from IRL events (such as the Governance Day at Devcon) to live sessions on YouTube, where we provide education on various verticals (DeFi, governance, infrastructure, etc.).

Domain-Related Experience and Vision

Vision

We are particularly eager to see projects built on Arbitrum that drive widespread adoption of Layer 2 technologies in the educational sector, providing a smoother and more accessible user experience for all participants. Our vision includes decentralized educational apps that bring innovative solutions for the certification and validation of academic achievements, simplifying the accreditation and acknowledgment of skills acquired within the Layer 2 ecosystem.

Additionally, we want to continue supporting teams already building on Arbitrum and delivering excellent results. For instance, standout projects from the previous season, such as DAO TOKYO, Dapps Over Apps, and Support Arbitrum LATAM for the Next 4 Months, exemplify the alignment and success we aim to foster. By continuing to encourage these teams, we ensure their sustained contribution to the growth and alignment of the Arbitrum ecosystem.

Furthermore, we are excited about Arbitrum’s platforms and protocols, which champion peer-to-peer collaboration and learning and promote the establishment of robust and enriching educational communities.

It’s important to note that with the DAO now having a defined mission and vision, all proposals must align with these guiding principles. Therefore, a compelling grant proposal for us would address the following aspects, listed in order of priority:

Organizing Hackathons: We are keen on grant proposals that focus on organizing Web3 hackathon events centered around the Arbitrum ecosystems. We believe it’s vital for developers and project builders to take their initial steps in Arbitrum, so we need to expand use cases and outreach to the developer community.

Institutional Community Growth Initiatives: We’re looking for proposals that aim to expand and strengthen the Arbitrum community through endeavors like targeted outreach programs at universities and educational institutions. We believe this is crucial to bringing Arbitrum closer to the academic realm.

Educational Content and Workshops: We are interested in backing proposals that create comprehensive and accessible educational resources on Arbitrum. Especially timeless content for devs, such as tutorials on Arbitrum development and explanatory videos on the workings of Arbitrum One, Nova, Orbit Chains, BOLD, and Stylus. This material should be public and free. We are keen on multi-language content. Note: Regarding educational aspects, we won’t support sensationalist content, topics about airdrops, ARB token prices, or news. We aim for enduring and constructive educational content.

Domain Related Experience

As Domain Allocators for this same vertical during Seasons 1 and 2, our overall experience within the program has been highly positive. Initially, we contributed to creating the framework, and over time, we have gathered insights that allowed us to learn and iterate on process design.

During this process design, we identified several key points that we’d like to share:

Discord Channels Creation

In order to increase transparency and streamline interactions with proposers, and improve response times, we introduced the idea of creating public Discord channels exclusively for this purpose. This initiative, which started in SEEDGov’s domain in Season 1, became a standard for the rest of the domains in Season 2 and later for the Stylus Sprint. You can find the links to these public channels here.

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Discord Calls

Throughout the evaluation process, we held recurring 1:1 calls with proposers to review and clarify certain aspects of their proposals. Typically, we asked a series of questions to validate the proposal’s content and verify the authenticity of the members behind it.

While these calls often helped expedite the evaluation process, we also encountered several scammers attempting to impersonate others. We detected irregularities in nine proposals.

As we encountered more verification issues, we became more diligent in validating proposers and the information they provided. This included conducting background research on each member’s profile and, in many cases, requesting that they turn on their cameras during meetings to confirm their identities.

Initial template and Important Documents.

In the first iteration, we developed a well-structured template for a thorough evaluation of all proposals. We placed significant emphasis on organization, KPIs, budget breakdown, and especially impact.

Additionally, we created a Notion document outlining the process, vision, and criteria for project approval, as well as the rubric to be used.

All these documents from V1 can be found here.

Monthly Reporting

S1: During our operations in the Season 1, we produced a total of four reports with updates on the progress of funded initiatives.

S2: During the Season 2, we have produced six reports so far, providing updates on the progress of funded initiatives.

Proposal’s Tracking Framework

To keep track of all our operations, we created a comprehensive Excel-based tracking framework to easily visualize the status of each proposal over time. This sheet also includes links to all payments associated with the projects and final reports for each initiative.

Note: All these documents are publicly accessible. The Tracking Framework is available here.

Multiregional Exposure.

One of our main focuses in this domain was regional diversity. To achieve this, we conducted internal marketing efforts to increase the domain’s exposure to new regions.

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Link: x.com

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Link: https://twitter.com/SEEDGov/status/1719047916822626480/photo/2

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See also:
Link: x.com

Link: x.com

Link: https://twitter.com/SEEDGov/status/1716899431713292483

Link: https://twitter.com/SEEDGov/status/1714511875449250223
Aligned with this approach, we prioritized regional diversity when approving initiatives, as shown in the Season 2 map:

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This map approximates the regions and countries to which the approved projects belong, demonstrating the regional diversity on which the domain is focused. Most of the projects are international in scope, but we have indicated the country of the team behind the proposal to make them more easily identifiable on the map.

Grant related Experience

Given our experience in previous seasons and our prior work on grant-related initiatives (LTIPP, STIP, Stylus Sprint, etc) we believe a solid proposal should be well-written, have clearly defined goals (KPIs), include all necessary links to validate information, and provide a detailed breakdown of costs. From our perspective, a well-structured proposal not only demonstrates the proponent team’s commitment and seriousness but also facilitates the evaluation and tracking process.

A detailed proposal allows us to clearly identify the objectives and milestones to be achieved, as well as the resources required to accomplish them. Additionally, by including a cost breakdown, transparency is enhanced. This level of detail helps evaluators better understand the proposal and increases the likelihood of approval, as it reflects meticulous planning and an organized approach.

Deal Breakers

Conversely, our deal breakers include proposals that fall outside the scope of the domain or create potential overlap with other initiatives funded by the DAO or the same Domain (to avoid double spending). Other issues include a lack of adequate details and responses from the proponent, inflated costs, or false information provided.

Key Factors for Approval or Rejection

For Approval:

  • Adherence to the template.
  • Proponent team’s experience/skills.
  • Detailed expense description (budget breakdown).
  • Costs aligned with international standards.
  • Alignment with our vision and criteria.
  • Well-organized and thorough responses to questions.
  • A clear structure for the final report.

For Rejection:

  • Disorganized or poorly structured proposal (no adherence or partial adherence to the template).
  • Unjustified costs (no rationale).
  • Proposal outside the category (out of scope).
  • Lack of authenticity in the proponent team.
  • Potential overlap with other initiatives funded by the DAO or the same Domain.
  • False or misleading information, lack of external references.
  • Slow response times.
  • Absence of KPIs or unrealistic expectations.
  • Unprofessional or uncivil language.

Declaration of Conflict of Interest

As mentioned in our background, SEEDGov actively participates in various initiatives across multiple DAOs. If a conflict of interest arises with any initiative applying to the Domain, we will publicly disclose it.

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Applicant Information

Background & Skills

I’m a BA in Economics and a CFA Charterholder. My background is in investing in traditional finance. I started my career at a consulting firm and later transitioned to real estate investing at Morgan Stanley Capital Investment. After that, I have been managing private funds and currently hold an advisory position at a family office. I have gathered significant experience over more than 10 years evaluating competent teams, investment opportunities, and new ideas.

I’ve been involved in the crypto market for over nine years, starting with my first investments in 2016. Throughout this time, I’ve developed deep expertise in research and decentralized finance (DeFi), an area where I believe Arbitrum has excelled and should continue to concentrate.

  • I’ve collaborated with JAN3 to launch and grow AQUA Wallet, a Bitcoin-native wallet.

  • I co-host a crypto podcast in Spanish called Criptoalfa.

  • Im cofunder and head of strategy at @eth_mty.

  • I’m part of a collective that runs DVT nodes called Rancho Stake and have been a solo staker since the launch of Proof of Stake (PoS).

  • I’m an active delegate in ARB and ZKSync.

Analyst experience:

Diego Tenorio has a strong foundation in research, leveraging data and insights to lead growth-focused projects in LATAM’s web3 ecosystem. Notably, he has spearheaded initiatives with dydx, Mantle, Bitso, Binance and more, driving user engagement and educational outreach through strategic campaigns tailored to the region. Diego also channels his research expertise into Espacio Cripto, a media company where he is the lead in strategy and operations, and his personal YouTube channel, creating educational content grounded in deep investment research in crypto. His ability to analyze market trends and distill complex blockchain concepts into actionable strategies and accessible content has been key to fostering innovation and adoption in LATAM’s web3 landscape.

Domain Related Experience and Vision

I’ve allocated capital to a wide range of ideas, companies, and founders, giving me a broad understanding of how crypto and finance intersect. Over the past 8–9 years, I’ve developed a keen sense of how new ideas can evolve. For instance, being an early investor in $LEND (now AAVE) before the entire DeFi ecosystem emerged may seem obvious in hindsight, but it wasn’t in 2017. These are the kinds of forward-thinking opportunities we should focus on in this space. Also, one of the most crucial skills needed is evaluating teams and founders, as this is a defining factor in whether a new idea will successfully be executed or get stuck.

My vision for the domain is clear: to help grow ideas that attract users and make them stay. Any chain that wants to remain relevant in the coming years will do so because of actual use, not due to VC funding, good marketing, ultra-fast TPS, airdrops, or even the best technology. This will be my focus. Additionally, I believe Arbitrum should start to narrow its focus, as certain narratives, like memes or NFTs, are already becoming difficult to compete in. However, it’s important to remain open to bold, new ideas in any direction.

These are some of the key areas in my vision (but not limited to this).

  • DeFi x Account Abstraction Applications
    The next wave of users will come where the user interface is more friendly and easy to use. Arbitrum should focus on the best applications that allow users to access all DeFi products in a simple manner. This means offering the ability to trade perpetuals on-chain as seamlessly as on a CEX, using swaps without requiring wallet approval for spending, utilizing on-chain options as if on Deribit, and depositing and borrowing from vaults without all the associated hurdles. Bridging, holding, and sending funds between users should happen without needing to understand if the transaction is on-chain. As more user-friendly DeFi products are built on Arbitrum, they will attract more liquidity, creating a positive flywheel effect of TVL, lower spreads, etc.
  • RWA (Real World Assets)
    Real-world asset integration will foster the next level of liquidity needed for Arbitrum. Ideas that incorporate real estate, private debt, and public debt (e.g., T-bills) in an accessible way will be crucial to maintaining Arbitrum’s TVL leadership.
  • Prediction and Betting Markets
    Prediction and betting markets continue to attract users worldwide, with betting at historic highs globally. Prediction markets have also proven their staying power. Innovative ideas in this area will help Arbitrum expand its use cases that have continuous engagement beyond simply parking assets, as seen in DeFi. The openness of on-chain prediction markets allows them to tap into diverse markets with local granularity.
  • AI
    New AI ideas can enhance on-chain efficiency and user experience. If Arbitrum can integrate not just the ease of creating agents but also innovative ways to use these agents in DeFi, security, governance, and interoperability, we can build a chain that drives the future of blockchain autonomous use.
  • DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks)
    This narrative has yet to fully explode, although we are seeing sparks on different chains. Attracting the right builders who can connect real-world infrastructure to blockchain will unlock explosive use cases that could grow to significant scale, potentially even to Orbit creation levels of growth.

As a domain allocator, I will always remain open to all types of new ideas, while also being decisive in closing the gates where necessary or where there is a lack of true vision.

Grant related Experience

While I do not have direct grant allocation experience, I have gathered years of experience making sound decisions based on promising teams, revolutionary projects, and synergies. I place great importance on how well a founder can explain and execute their idea, how efficiently they can operate, and what success looks like to them. I believe that while many people have ideas, only a few founders can truly make them happen.

Some key areas we focus on during due diligence include:

  1. Leadership
    Who is the team? What relevant work have they done in the past? Does the team have the skills required to execute? Why you?
  2. Product
    Does this align with Arbitrum? Can it drive adoption? Is the idea clear and innovative? Is it scalable and sustainable without relying solely on grants or fresh money?
  3. KPIs/Goals
    What are the detailed milestones? What does success look like at each milestone? What does overall success look like at this stage? What is the timeline for achieving each milestone?
  4. Challenges
    Who are your competitors? How will you attract users? What unique challenges do you face?
  5. Budget
    Can you provide a breakdown of how the funds will be used? How will you use them efficiently? Do you have a clear growth path for the next steps?

The main dealbreakers for a grant are lack of team leadership, lack of skills, or vague milestones; an idea that is not innovative or sustainable without grants; expectations that are too large or too small for the current stage; absence of KPIs, and failure to align with Arbitrum’s code of conduct and expectations.

Declaration of Conflict of Interest

I do not work for or receive any type of compensation from any organization that competes with, is associated with, or affiliated to Arbitrum or any web3 company. I participate in DIP. I invest in private founding rounds. I am a delegate for other protocols or chains. I participate actively in various local web3 communities, none of which entails a conflict of interest.

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Applicant Information

Background & Skills

Please provide a brief overview of your experience in the digital asset industry, particularly within the Ethereum & Arbitrum Ecosystems. Include your involvement in any relevant projects, grant program or contributions to the ArbitrumDAO, or other Ecosystems.

We’ve worked efficiently in tandem within both Arbitrum and GMX, governance, metrics, and cooperation between the wider ecosystems.

Saurabh has led Questbook and Gitcoin’s BD teams and was the first grants manager for Questbook’s Arbitrum DDA program. He has spearheaded GMX’s grants programs for seasons 1 and 2, represented the GMX grants committee in the LTIPP council, and oversees GMX’s BD and governance operations. This includes facilitating integrations and collaborations for GMX within the broader Arbitrum ecosystem. Additionally, Saurabh plays a key role as a GMX delegate within the Arbitrum DAO.

Shogun has worked with more than fifty teams within the industry on Dune including Railgun, Reserve Protocol, HOP, STFX, Radiant Capital, Pear Protocol, D2 Finance, and many more. Consisting of a focus in data and metrics, tooling, and support. Having been experienced in GMX’s data team and the Governance Committee, Shogun can offer a analytical approach, has meant his skills, are versed in and amongst the Arbitrum DAO and its ecosystem.

Domain Related Experience and Vision

Explain how your skills and experience align with the domain you are applying for, and what vision you have for this domain.

Our close relationships with builders on Arbitrum, has meant we’ve grown a tangential understanding in how difficult innovative solutions take, the painstaking odds, and with extensive experience in the operational efficiency of grants programs, elevating incentive mechanisms, and growing ecosystem development, our skills align seamlessly with the domain of incentives, grants, and governance. Our background spans leading grants programs, designing incentive structures, and driving integrations, all critical to building sustainable and impactful ecosystems.

Grant related Experience

Highlight, if any, any previous experience in grant’s programs. Explain how a good grant proposal is structured in your opinion, what are the key points that will lead you to an approval,

We have extensive experience managing grants programs across multiple organizations. Also Saurabh had led Questbook’s BD team and acted as the first grants manager for its Arbitrum DDA program, where he implemented decentralized decision-making frameworks. At GMX, he successfully managed the Grants Program for seasons 1 and 2, which had a combined budget of $2.6 million.

Similarly Shogun has experience from being a recipient of grants (as a builder featured in BanklessDAO, Railgun, and UniDex grant programs), presiding as a committee member to offer support for grant applicants in GMX, compiled research on incentive programs in relation to STIP Report, STIP Bridge Report, that oversaw the distribution across perps, lending, socialfi ecosystem of $10 million ARB. In strong cohesions, we represented the GMX Grants Committee in the LTIPP council, facilitating the adoption of the GMX grants template in the LTIPP program. In this Committee, we were acutely aware of the desires and developments of the builders of GMX, and helped echo this vision further by offering advice, technical assistance, and integration support.

Additionally, Saurabh has played a pivotal role in overseeing GMX’s governance and BD operations, focusing on integrations and collaborations within the Arbitrum ecosystem. Demonstrated his expertise by onboarding projects like Uniswap, Polygon, and Avalanche to the Grants Stack, showcasing my ability to build partnerships and enhance grant ecosystems.

Structuring a Good Grant Proposal

  • Clear Objectives: Start with a concise executive summary outlining the problem, solution, and intended impact. The goals should be specific, measurable, and aligned with the grantees priorities.
  • Feasibility and Roadmap: Present a well-defined roadmap with realistic timelines, milestones, and a transparent budget. Highlight the team’s expertise and past accomplishments to build confidence in execution.
  • Alignment with Ecosystem Goals: Proposals that clearly align with the ecosystem mission and strategic priorities are more likely to succeed.
  • Well-Defined ROI: Clearly articulate the tangible benefits, whether in terms of financial returns, user growth, or ecosystem improvements.
  • Proven Track Record: A team with relevant experience and past success significantly boosts credibility. Evidencing a proven record of execution helps showcase how readily a team is able to solve the proposal.

Deal Breakers

  • Ambiguity: Vague goals, unclear deliverables, or an incomplete plan undermine confidence.
  • Unrealistic Budgets: Inflated costs or poorly justified expenses suggest a lack of planning.
  • Misalignment: Proposals that do not resonate with the ecosystem’s needs or values are unlikely to gain traction.
  • Lack of Expertise: An inexperienced team without the skills or knowledge to execute the project raises red flags.

Declaration of Conflict of Interest

Declare what Conflicts of Interest, to the best of your knowledge, you might have.

Both Saurabh and Shogun are part of the GMX governance committee and also work for GMX, which is one of the ecosystem projects of the ecosystem. Having been centred around Arbitrum, we are well aware of the presence of some teams tangentially, if a significant association arises, we’ll clearly make that compromise in any outstanding or past relationships.

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Applicant Information

  • Name of Applicant & Applicant’s Representative (If applicable): Lampros DAO - @Euphoria as representative
  • Telegram Handle: Euphoria
  • Twitter/X Handle: Lampros DAO & Euphoria
  • LinkedIn Profile: Euphoria
  • The role being applied for: New Protocols and Ideas

Background & Skills

Lampros DAO, represented by Euphoria, brings a lot of experience in the Ethereum and Arbitrum ecosystems. Our key achievements include:

  • Governance Involvement: Ranked among the Top 10 Active Delegates during the Arbitrum Delegate Incentive Program (DIP) in November 2024, demonstrating a deep understanding and contribution to Arbitrum DAO.
  • Research Contributions: Successfully executed the LTIPP Research Bounty, providing insights from the successfully completed LTIPP Program to shape and refine the future incentive programs for Arbitrum DAO.
  • Education Initiative: Led a Questbook DDA Phase-2 funded educational campaign in Gujarat, India, engaging over 1,250 students across 18 colleges with hands-on blockchain training, introduction to Arbitrum, deploying smart contracts on Stylus and Arbtrum governance awareness workshops.
  • Reviewer Experience: As Tier-2 reviewers for ThankARB and Thrive Protocol, we ensured high-quality task evaluation and completion.

These experiences showcase our ability to evaluate innovative ideas, mentor teams, and contribute effectively to the ecosystem’s growth.

Domain-Related Experience and Vision

We believe that our unique insights from the LTIPP Research Bounty set us apart for the New Protocols and Ideas domain. Through our work analyzing incentive structures and user behavior, we deeply understood what drives user attraction and retention and how protocols can leverage these insights for sustained growth.

  • Commitment to Close Monitoring and Support:

    • During the STIP & LTIPP, we closely followed and analyzed all participating protocols, understanding their challenges and strengths. We intend to bring the same hands-on approach as Domain Allocators by actively engaging with projects throughout their lifecycle.
    • Our process will include detailed reviews of project proposals, providing actionable feedback to teams, and ensuring alignment with Arbitrum’s ecosystem goals.
    • Post-approval, we will closely monitor milestones, facilitating progress updates and ensuring deliverables are met within timelines.
    • Beyond milestone completion, we aim to have post-grant roadmaps and discussions with teams, supporting their transition to sustainable growth and long-term contributions to the ecosystem.

  • Vision for the Domain:

    • User-Centric Growth: Use proven strategies from our research to support projects that focus on intuitive, seamless user experiences.
    • Data-Driven Support: Evaluate proposals using metrics that predict long-term retention and ecosystem value, like multi-protocol engagement and effective ARB reward utilization.
    • Exploration of Emerging Narratives: Support bold ideas in areas such as Real World Assets (RWA), AI integration, and DePIN, ensuring that Arbitrum remains at the forefront of innovation.

Our goal as Domain Allocators is to foster a thriving ecosystem by backing protocols that bring lasting value and align with Arbitrum’s MVP. By leveraging our research-backed understanding of user behavior and our hands-on approach to monitoring and supporting projects, we aim to drive meaningful growth in the “New Protocols and Ideas” domain.

Grant-Related Experience

While we do not yet have direct experience managing grant programs, our hands-on involvement as Tier-2 reviewers for ThankARB and Thrive Protocol has equipped us with a strong foundation for assessing proposals and monitoring progress. These roles honed our ability to identify high-impact ideas and evaluate their potential for success within the ecosystem.

We recognize that a good grant proposal is not just about a great idea but also about clarity in vision, feasibility, and long-term impact. From our experience, we understand that:

  • A cohesive and skilled team is critical. Proposals should highlight not only the team’s expertise but also how their unique strengths align with the project’s objectives. As highlighted in @Entropy’s Questbook DDA Report, failing to properly verify grantee identities can lead to misuse of funds, and to prevent such issues, we will do our best to conduct thorough checks to ensure that applicants are genuine and trustworthy.
  • The innovation and scalability of the product must be evident. Projects that align with Arbitrum’s MVP and address ecosystem gaps will take precedence.
  • Detailed milestones with measurable outcomes are key. We will prioritize proposals that clearly define what success looks like at every stage and how it contributes to the broader ecosystem.

When evaluating grants, we also plan to delve deeper into:

  • The project’s ability to drive adoption and helping them sustain itself by integrating with other grant programs, ensuring a smooth transition from concept to a fully realized product.
  • Budget efficiency, ensuring that funds are allocated strategically to maximize impact.
  • The proposal’s approach to addressing potential risks and challenges, showcasing resilience and adaptability.

Our focus will be on supporting projects that not only align with Arbitrum’s MVP but also demonstrate a strong commitment to creating lasting value within the ecosystem. Our members actively read, understand, and participate in the growth of the ecosystem by engaging in proposals, discussions, and contributions, and providing directions to new participants.

Deal Breakers:
We are committed to maintaining a high standard for project selection. Proposals that lack a clear execution plan, fail to align with Arbitrum’s core values and MVP, present unrealistic expectations or have no clear team background will not be considered for approval. Our goal is to ensure that each approved grant has the potential to make a meaningful and sustainable contribution to the ecosystem.

Declaration of Conflict of Interest

To the best of our knowledge, Lampros DAO and Euphoria have no conflicts of interest that could influence the fair execution of Domain Allocator responsibilities. If potential conflicts are identified during the program, they will be disclosed promptly to the DAO and program manager.

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Minor update regarding the elections: as stated in the chat, due to the holidays and to allow for a greater pool of candidates to be available for the elections, the timeline for presenting a candidacy will be extended by one week, up to the 22:00 UTC of the 12th of january. The first post and the main thread will be modified accordingly.

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We cannot recommend Juan highly enough as a domain allocator. He has consistently gone above and beyond, making himself available beyond just reviewing our application to offer his personal advice and insights. His approach has been both diplomatic and strategic, ensuring that we not only utilized the funds for our initial proposal but also aligned them with the broader program’s goals and what’s truly needed for growth.

Juan’s representation of Arbitrum has turned us into lifelong advocates. Based on our exceptional experience working with him, we now confidently recommend Arbitrum to all of our customers. We initially expected a typical gatekeeper experience, but instead, we encountered a passionate builder with a wealth of experience. He was diligent, responsive, communicative, and truly went above and beyond to help our product grow.

Juan’s guidance on how to best utilize our funding was invaluable, and his ability to strategically direct our efforts has been instrumental. We firmly believe there’s no one better for the job.

@Juandi is the GOAT

  • thanks for everything from the Layer4 team
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Applicant Information

  • Name of Applicant & Applicant’s Representative: Nikki Tran, Adam (Flook)
  • Telegram Handle: oatm3wk , Flook3
  • Twitter/X Handle: x.com , x.com
  • The role being applied for: Gaming

Background & Skills

Nikki:

I entered the Web3 space just over a year ago as a content creator and have also worked as a Project Manager at Real Agency, where I was responsible for organizing campaigns for Web3 games. My role involved connecting Web2 creators who were open to streaming or creating content for Web3 games. During this time, I successfully collaborated with over 30+ Web2 creators, some of whom have expressed interest in further engaging with crypto projects. In my role at Real Agency, I organized several Web3 campaigns that involved Web2 creators, helping to bridge the gap between the two ecosystems.

Although I initially came from a Web2 background, I did not anticipate such an extensive involvement in the crypto space. However, I am confident that Web3 can expand and gain more awareness through the cultivation of long-term partnerships. Additionally, I recognized the potential for many creators to significantly grow their audiences by diversifying their content across multiple platforms.

Regarding my content creation experience, I have been an active Twitch streamer for the past seven years. Throughout my career, I have learned that consistency is key to growing and maintaining an engaged following. Building a deep understanding of community engagement and content consistency.

I’ve consistently re-grown my audience after each break, as reflected in my Twitch stats ccv, including a current following of 30,000+ and strong engagement metrics. On Instagram, I expanded my following from 6,000 to over 50,000 in just two years.

Within my first year in Web3, I grew my Twitter following from 2,000 to 19,000 followers, demonstrating my ability to engage audiences across multiple platforms effectively.

Adam:

For the past 3 years I’ve been the co-founder and CEO of a web3 gaming studio, Merlyn Labs. Our suite of games has attracted 10,000+ users, we’ve received grants from both the Arbitrum DAO and Foundation, and we have served as a great onboarding funnel to the Arbitrum ecosystem.

I have a deep knowledge of the web3 gaming space, specifically Arbitrum gaming, that can only be hard won through being plugged into this industry daily. I’ve worked alongside many established developers, artists, and marketers in the gaming industry who hail from AAA backgrounds working on games such as Halo 5, New World, For Honor, Borderlands 3, Mass Effect, Remnant, Need for Speed, and many others.

I’ve also worked in partnership with dozens of game developers, game designers, and Solidity engineers in the blockchain gaming space who have worked on many well known web3 projects.

My background makes me uniquely qualified for this position, especially granted my participation as the sole Gaming Domain Allocator over the past 14 months, which has been a very effective DAO program for funding development and UA for Arbitrum games.

Domain Related Experience and Vision

Nikki:

I have been involved in the Arbitrum Arcade campaign, which provided valuable experience in working with grant-related initiatives. You can view a campaign video here: Arbitrum Arcade Campaign. I also considered applying for an Arbitrum Creator Grant, although I was unable to dedicate time to the application at that moment. A rough draft of my proposal can be found here: Arbitrum Creator Grant Draft.

The goal is to identify Web2 creators to onboard into the Arbitrum Grant Program, introduce them to the ecosystem, and assist them with the application process.

Adam:

Arbitrum games have come an astonishingly long way since the genesis of the questbook program in late 2023. They are now turning the corner towards full, rich and fun experiences that need expanded User Acquisition funnels to reach their full potential.

After running the Gaming Domain for the past 14 months, I’ve elected (with input from other key members in the ecosystem) to focus this domain primarily on onboarding web2 creators and agencies into the Arbitrum Gaming ecosystem.

So what does this look like?

  • Outreach to web2 Creators and Agencies through more traditional channels
  • Onboarding them to Arbitrum Games that fit their unique genre preferences
  • Giving them a crash course in Grant structures, best application practices, and a general education in “Why Web3?”
  • Setting achievable and meaningful milestones to bring maximum impact to the games they work alongside
  • Generating quality, viral content through Twitch, Youtube, TikTok, and other underserved verticals in web3 gaming
  • Motivating these creators and agencies to spread the word through their network in order to onboard more web2 creators… and therefore more users to Arbitrum Gaming

Our grant cap of $50,000 is quite high for web2 creators, will go a long way for paid content, and should earn us a lot of organic marketing as a natural outgrowth from the paid grants.

See here an initial mockup for our outreach table: Notion – The all-in-one workspace for your notes, tasks, wikis, and databases.

Grant related Experience

Nikki:

A strong grant proposal should clearly define its

  • Clear objective and Goal
  • target audience
  • outline measurable and achievable KPIs
  • present a well-structured plan or roadmap to meet its objectives.
  • The budget should be reasonable and clearly articulated within the proposal. Additionally, applicants should demonstrate a proven track record of growth across at least two platforms and show evidence of consistent content creation.

Key deal breakers for me include applicants with stagnant growth who are not posting regularly, as well as those unwilling to engage with or learn about Arbitrum and its ecosystem.

Adam:

I’ve been running the Gaming Domain for this Questbook program over the past 14 months, assisting with funding both indie games and web3 creators/guilds.

I have a deep understanding of the Questbook platform, best practices in grant acceptance, and a wide network ready to help make V3 of this program an outstanding success.

My close comfortability with the Questbook platform and grant practices should help ease web2 creators into this world of web3 gaming.

Finally, after working alongside hundreds of applicants, I have a great feel for how to move applicants through the grant process to set them up for maximum success.

Declaration of Conflict of Interest

Nikki:

I am under contract as a creator for Avalanche.

Adam:

My game studio is building games on multiple chains, including Arbitrum and Treasure Chain, but this won’t affect my ability to go to bat for games on Arbitrum and bring them great web2 creators to work alongside them.

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Applicant Information

  • Name of Applicant & Applicant’s Representative : Today in DeFi Research - Brook
  • Telegram Handle : brooktc
  • Twitter/X Handle : tid_research
  • The role being applied for: New Protocols and Ideas

Background & Skills

Today in DeFi is a DeFi News media and research organization active since DeFi summer 2020. Every day we cover new projects launched as well as upcoming projects, filtering and finding good new projects and upcoming ones.

You can see our news coverage here extended back to 2020, covering thousands of projects.

Our research arm Today in DeFi Research focuses on identifying valuable projects in the industry for investment, farming, or trading purposes.

We look at new projects and ideas every day, filtering out many bad ideas without PMF, scams, and “money grab” projects and teams, then evaluating the better projects and ideas for growth potential, usability, team quality, etc.

Our daily work is almost an exact fit for the filtering and selection of good projects and ideas for Arbittrum.

Besides our media and research, we’ve been active in ArbitrumDAO as delegates,with 100% participation across Snapshot and Tally since September 2024, providing rationale for all our decisions.

Domain Related Experience and Vision

Filtering for Good Projects and Ideas
As a news media we filter dozens of projects, teams and ideas a day before covering them in our newsletter. Our research team then identifies high quality projects, and ideas with growth or trading potential for further research for trading, farming or airdrop opportunities. Example: Introduction to Euler V2

This closely mirrors the work for the New Protocols and Ideas Domain Allocator, whom must filter for good quality project ideas and teams with growth potential and PMF.

Network to help projects grow
Besides this filtering, selection and research process, we also have developed relationships with many DeFi projects and investors, allowing us to not only identify good projects but may let us guide them with the advice or connections to progress their project/idea and make it successful.

Grant related Experience

We’ve previously won a grant from Reserve Protocol for a technical newsletter targeting developers and have other experience applying for grants from Octant and other ecosystems.

As Arbitrum delegates we are experienced in explaining our decisions responsively and clearly, and as newsletter writers and researchers we’re experienced in generating regular reports of our work, as we’d be required to do in this role.

When evaluating projects and ideas, we’d look for:

Path to PMF

The project or idea should have a clear path to Product Market Fit, whether that’s fulfilling an existing use case, or exploring new markets or technologies that could open up new use cases. This helps the long term viability of the project, which should not be continuously dependent on grants. This is not Public Goods Funding.

Qualified and Driven Team

The team involved needs to be capable of executing on its mission, preferably with a history of execution on similar projects or ideas, or relevant skills and experience.

Long Term Oriented Team

Besides qualifications, we’d also look for long term oriented teams, which are aiming to do more than just get a grant, build a MVP, and move on from Arbitrum. There should be a demonstrated history of team members working on long term projects, or working at projects/ companies for significant periods of time rather than hopping from project to project or pushing short term, PnD type of projects.

Mutual Benefit with Arbitrum

The project or idea should benefit from being on Arbitrum, and Arbtirum should benefit from having that project as well.

Clear use of Grant funds

We’d want to see clear layout of how funds will be used, preferably with milestones.

Declaration of Conflict of Interest

We are not involved in any other grant programs or ecosystem DAOs and do not have any other conflict of interest that we’re aware of.

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Domain we are applying for: Dev Tooling on One and Stylus

Team Member 1: German Abal (team representative)

Team Member 2: Arturo Castañon

Background and Skills

German Abal

  • Inventor, white-hat hacker, and web3 developer with extensive experience in cryptography, software architecture, and web development since 1996, as well as Blockchain since its conceptions.
  • A serial entrepreneur and finalist in multiple ETH Global and ETH Denver hackathons.
  • He has won over 30 challenges in multiple hackathons, reported critical bugs, and collaborated on high-impact projects…
  1. Major achievements in Web3 competitions (German):
  1. Notable Web3 Contributions (German):
  • EVVM: The first virtualized EVM (Ethereum Virtual Virtual Machine), enabling scalability by doing EVM Abstraction using Smart Contracts instead of new infrastructure, giving me expertise in: Chain Abstraction, Gas Abstraction, TXs abstraction, and scalability in EVM infrastructure.
  • ETH Cinco de Mayo: Co-founder of the largest nonprofit organization in LATAM dedicated to hackathons. Focused on onboarding university students into web3.
  • PAT.IO Station: A gasless audio and video streaming platform on Mainnet, finalist at ETH Denver 2024. It develops a censorship-resistant communication protocol.
  • X-Chain Arbitrary Execution & Signed Transactions Tunneling: Libraries for arbitrary cross-chain calls and verification/decoding of EOA-signed transactions on CCIP.
  • Apeiron Protocol: A fully decentralized protocol for tokenization and token ownership in place of current centralized standards.
  • clu3 Service: Protects smart contract functions from bot exploitation using off-chain humanity proofs without relying on oracles.
  • Datamorpho: A novel approach for the “metamorphosis” of files through cryptography; finalist at ETH Mexico.
  • gm Fam!: A tool to deploy new NFT collections on “remote” chains in a permissionless manner from an existing one, featuring different parameters (fees, prices, treasury).
  • DoppelgängETH: Advanced security system that protects your CA cross chain EVM address against ‘CREATE2’ and ‘EOA initializing’ attacks deploying an upgradable proxy CA for any kind of future usage.

Arturo Castañon

  • Over 5 years of experience in blockchain and 8 years in Web2 technology.
  • He has developed technical tools, educational resources, and mentorships that have impacted communities and projects worldwide. Below are some of his most notable achievements:
  1. Technical tools (Arturo):
  • Juno Template: Designed for setting up Starknet nodes. Currently under review to ensure stability; a significant increase in node activity is expected in LATAM.
  • Cairo Docker: A development environment with over 177 downloads in the last two years. Facilitates the adoption of Cairo. Link.
  • Ticklens SDK: A JavaScript solution for Web2 developers to interact with Lens Protocol. It has 9 weekly downloads on NPM and has been used in multiple workshops. 9 weekly downloads in NPM and used in multiple workshops.
  • Atesta Bot: In beta phase, generates attestations for DAO expenses on Arbitrum and Base.
  1. Education and community (Arturo):
  • Over 10 in-person workshops on subgraphs and substreams with The Graph, impacting more than 200 attendees.
  • 6 workshops in Spanish on DApps in Starknet, with a total attendance of 300 Spanish-speaking developers.
  • Remote classes on StarknetJS for over 100 developers worldwide.
  1. Companies founded (Arturo):
  • Co-founder of Chipipay.com, an application on Arbitrum for paying utilities (electricity, water, internet, mobile top-ups) and driving blockchain adoption.
  1. Technical mentorship (Arturo):
  • Has advised MVP-stage projects, optimizing architecture and facilitating launches

Domain-Related Experience and Vision

As a Team (Arturo + German) in Dev Tooling

Both of us have built and collaborated on tools that lower the entry barriers for new developers in the blockchain industry. From node setup and development environments to creating gasless solutions and cross-chain protocols, our combined focus on Dev Tooling positions us to:

  1. Boost the use of Arbitrum: By creating libraries, SDKs, and guides that simplify the adoption of Arbitrum technologies.
  2. Optimize the developer experience: Through documentation, testing tools, and multilingual support (especially in LATAM).
  3. Promote scalability and innovation: By developing or funding projects that integrate artificial intelligence, cross-chain bridging, and decentralized identity systems to improve Arbitrum’s usability.

Grant-Related Experience

  • German has participated in multiple hackathons and has won considerable bounties, giving him insight into how viable projects are structured and presented to evaluators, sponsors, and investors.
  • Arturo has evaluated a large number of projects in hackathons and workshops in the past. He has experience with open-source projects and educational program design, identifying proposals with:
    • A clear community impact.
    • Technical feasibility backed by a solid team.
    • Achievable goals and KPIs.

As a team, we would focus on prioritizing projects with a significant impact on the adoption and development of Arbitrum technologies, encouraging initiatives that benefit both the developer community and the broader DAO ecosystem.

Conflict of Interest Declaration

Neither member (Arturo or German) has any relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Extras

  • German and Arturo are founders of ETH Cinco de Mayo, the largest hackathon in Mexico, supporting the onboarding of hundreds of developers and university students into web3 through educational events in LATAM.

As a team, we are committed to the growth of the Arbitrum ecosystem by creating innovative tools, offering continuous education, and fostering collaboration with the community, thus driving the evolution and adoption of blockchain technology in emerging markets and beyond.

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Applicant Information

Background & Skills

Carlos Gonzalez
As a Fullstack DApp Developer and Blockchain Technical Advisor since DeFi Summer 2020, I have been involved in multiple successful projects in the blockchain ecosystem. My expertise in the Arbitrum ecosystem, demonstrated through winning the ETHDenver Hackathon Orbit track, includes implementing a gaming-specific L3 chain for TheEthereans metaverse project. As an active delegate, I’ve contributed to Arbitrum’s decentralization while creating educational content and workshops for developers. My track record includes winning more than 10 hackathons, showcasing my ability to rapidly prototype innovative solutions. Throughout my career, I’ve participated in the gaming sector’s blockchain evolution, from early P2E games to the latest initiatives like gaming-specific orbit chains. I’ve consistently bridged complex blockchain technology with practical applications, establishing myself as a technical leader while driving advancement in blockchain gaming technology.

Alejandro Ayala
As Gaming and Blockchain leader at Afirme (Second largest bank in Mexico), I have spearheaded strategic projects and investment decisions across LATAM with major industry publishers including Epic Games, Tencent, Riot Games, and Capcom. My role centered on evaluating and directing investments in publisher-led gaming initiatives, ensuring strategic market fit and growth potential in Latin America. Under my leadership, Afirme established itself as a principal sponsor and strategic investor in Mexico’s premier gaming and blockchain events, while driving key investment decisions in publisher projects to expand their presence in the region. I collaborated with POAP INC and VISA to launch Billú, the first blockchain financial solution in the Mexican market, achieving over 65,000 users in its first year. Notable investment achievements include funding the development of a custom virtual world metaverse with Epic Games, strategic investment in Twitch’s reward systems, backing Riot Games’ market expansion through exclusive features, and supporting Tencent Games and Warner Bros’ character licensing initiatives. I also directed investment strategies for professional esports leagues with in-person finals through strategic partnerships. These investment initiatives and strategic decisions positioned Afirme as a key financial player in the gaming and blockchain ecosystem while driving innovation in gaming financial technology across Latin America.

Domain Related Experience and Vision

The approach to grant evaluation combines deep technical expertise with strategic gaming market insights, directly addressing critical challenges in blockchain gaming.

Technical Perspective:
Assessing gaming-specific blockchain infrastructure requires profound technical understanding. Experience in creating L3 appchains and analyzing play-to-earn technical models provides unique insights into solving core challenges like scalability, economic sustainability, and user experience. Expertise in Arbitrum’s technology stack, particularly Stylus, enables a nuanced evaluation of high-performance game logic across multiple programming languages, understanding how to lower barriers for traditional game developers.

Strategic Market Dimension:
A comprehensive understanding of the gaming investment landscape brings critical evaluation capabilities. Experience with major gaming publishers provides deep insights into project viability. This includes rigorously assessing potential, understanding market dynamics, and identifying transformative factors that can elevate blockchain gaming from experimental to mainstream innovation.

Grant Evaluation Approach:
The methodology addresses critical domain challenges by:

  • Assessing technically robust blockchain gaming infrastructure
  • Analyzing economically sustainable game models
  • Identifying bridges between traditional and blockchain game development
  • Providing strategic market adoption insights

Vision for Blockchain Gaming Platforms:

  • Infrastructure Excellence:
    Envision developing specialized gaming infrastructure that maximizes Arbitrum’s unique capabilities. This involves creating optimized L3 chains for diverse gaming needs, from high-throughput MMOs to asset-heavy collectible games. The goal is to leverage Stylus for game-specific operations, enabling developers to implement performant game logic in their preferred languages.

  • Developer Ecosystem Development:
    Establishing a robust developer ecosystem through comprehensive SDKs, documentation, and specialized tooling. This includes creating standardized templates, implementing cross-game asset standards, and developing middleware solutions that seamlessly connect traditional game engines with blockchain infrastructure.

  • User Experience Innovation:
    The future of blockchain gaming demands seamless, engaging experiences. The focus is on implementing solutions that abstract blockchain complexity while preserving decentralization’s core benefits. This involves developing innovative onboarding solutions, creating efficient asset bridges, and implementing game-specific account abstraction features.

The ultimate vision transcends merely supporting games. The objective is to establish a definitive platform where the future of blockchain gaming is built, scaled, and continuously innovated.

Leveraging technical expertise and specific experience with Arbitrum’s technology stack, the approach aims to drive the gaming ecosystem forward by bridging complex technical solutions with practical, user-centric applications.

Grant related Experience

Evaluation Methodology:

  1. Preliminary Review
    • Rigorous applicant background validation
    • Comprehensive proposal integrity assessment
    • Initial viability and innovation screening
    • Strategic potential evaluation
  2. In-Depth Analysis
    • Granular technical merit examination
    • Forensic financial framework review
    • Transformative potential measurement
    • Robust risk diagnostics
    • Strategic alignment verification
  3. Continuous Performance Tracking
    • Systematic milestone verification
    • Dynamic progress monitoring
    • Multi-dimensional impact assessment
    • Adaptive optimization strategies
    • Iterative feedback integration

Critical Disqualification Factors:

  • Proposal structural ambiguity
  • Budgetary phantasmagoria
  • Unsubstantiated team credentials
  • Absence of quantifiable success indicators
  • Communication opacity
  • Fundamental strategic misalignment

Declaration of Conflict of Interest

We are committed to maintaining absolute transparency and objectivity in our evaluation process. Specifically:

Carlos Gonzalez will categorically exclude any of his personal blockchain gaming projects from consideration, ensuring no potential for self-interest or bias in the grant evaluation process.

Alejandro Ochoa commits to a complete separation from his professional banking role at Afirme. This means:

  • Strict independence from any projects that might have past or current connections to the bank’s investment portfolio
  • A clear firewall between personal evaluation work and institutional interests

Both team members understand the critical importance of maintaining an unbiased, professional approach. We are dedicated to preserving the integrity of the grant evaluation process, ensuring that our assessments are driven solely by merit, innovation, and potential ecosystem impact.

Any potential conflicts, even perceived ones, will be immediately disclosed and managed to uphold the highest standards of professional conduct.

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Applicant Information

Name of Applicant & Applicant’s Representative: Frutero Club Collective - Represented by Mel

Telegram Handle: @troopdegen

Twitter/X Handle:

LinkedIn Profile: —-

The role being applied for: Education, Community Growth and Events

Background & Skills

Frutero Club offers extensive experience in web3 educational and community initiatives across LATAM. Key qualifications include:

  • Program Management: Expertise in managing educational programs with budget tracking and impact assessment.
  • Technical Expertise: Comprehensive understanding of blockchain and web3 development.
  • Community Building: Proven track record of building LATAM communities with effective growth strategies.
  • Event Assessment: Experienced in evaluating hackathons and educational events.
  • Regional Knowledge: Deep insight into LATAM’s educational landscape and innovation potential.

Global Events & Community Building 2024

ETH Cinco de Mayo - January 2024
Hacker House
Welcome tacos meetup

ETH Cinco de Mayo - January 2024
Hacker House
Hacker House Meetup

ETH Cinco de Mayo - January 2024
Workshops
Reel of day 1

ETH Cinco de Mayo - January 2024
Workshops
Team formation session reel

ETH Cinco de Mayo - January 2024
Hacker House
ETH Cinco de Mayo recap

ETHLatam Community participation - March 2024
Community Spaces
Frutero Club hackathon participation experience

ETHGlobal London Community participation - March 2024
Community post
Brand exposure

Arbitrum Orbit workshop participation - March 2024
Hackathon
Participation evidence

Spaces - Bando x Frutero Club - April 2024
Hackathon
Discussion about community building and builder challenges in Latam

Frutero x Scroll Hacker House - April 2024
Hackathon
Hacker house deployment and hackathon participation recap

Talleres Frutifantásticos - June 2024
Hackathon
“Frutifantásticos” workshops announcement

Farcaster Frames Workshop - June 2024
Workshop
Content shared

EthCC - ETHGlobal Brussels participation - July 2024
Hackathon
Hybrid Hackathon announcement - co-organized with Open Web Academy

Onboarding Workshop Puebla State Government - September 2024
Workshop
Onboarding entrepreneurs and small/medium businesses into crypto

Frutal Web House - September 2024
Workshop
Hybrid Hackathon announcement - co-organized with Open Web Academy

Frutal Web House - September 2024
Hackathon
Hybrid Hackathon announcement - co-organized with Open Web Academy

Regen Cowork + Noches y Fines - September 2024
Cowork + Buildathon
Cowork deployed for community participation in “Nights & Weekends”-inspired builder program

Frutal Web House - September 2024
Hacker House
Hacker House announcement

Community members’ hackathon participation - October 2024
Hackathon participation
Recap of teams and projects that built during Based Latam hackathon

DevCon participation - November 2024
Hackathon participation
Frutero Club members participation and building a community tool

Frutero Club “Road to DevCon” - October 2024
Community and Education
Frutero Club DevCon tickets winners - EF Grant

DevCon participation - November 2024
X post
Set up Frutero Club node client with BuidlGuidl

Starknet Staking 101 Workshop - December 2024
Workshop
Announcement

Open Call Frutero - December 2024
Community Open Call
Announcement

Key Highlights:

  • Global Reach: Events across Americas and Europe
  • Diverse Formats: Hackathons to coworking sessions
  • Community Focus: Training and networking
  • Strategic Partnerships
  • Technical Depth: Balanced technical events

Domain Related Experience and Vision

Vision for the Domain

As Domain Allocators, we would focus on:

  1. Educational Quality Assurance

  • Evaluating educational content for technical accuracy and accessibility

  • Ensuring proposals include clear learning outcomes

  • Validating measurement methodologies

  • Confirming sustainability of educational programs

  1. Community Growth Metrics

  • Assessing realistic growth targets

  • Evaluating engagement strategies

  • Verifying community health metrics

  • Tracking long-term sustainability

  1. Event Impact Assessment

  • Analyzing event ROI and impact metrics

  • Evaluating venue and format choices

  • Assessing participant engagement strategies

  • Measuring long-term ecosystem benefits

Evaluation Strategy

We would implement:

  • Standardized evaluation rubrics
  • Clear milestone tracking
  • Regular progress check-ins
  • Impact measurement frameworks
  • Cross-program coordination

Grant related Experience

Our approach to grant evaluation is based on clear criteria proven through our community initiatives and successful project launches:

Proven Evaluation Framework: Through managing programs like Agentcamp and multiple hackathons across LATAM, we’ve developed effective criteria for evaluating educational and community initiatives:

Key Evaluation Points:

  • Team & Leadership
    • Track record in delivery
    • Technical and community expertise
    • Clear roles and responsibilities
    • Regional understanding
  • Project Structure
    • Detailed implementation plan
    • Realistic milestones
    • Clear budget allocation
    • Impact measurement framework
  • Community Impact
    • Multi-language accessibility
    • Regional relevance
    • Sustainable growth model
    • Long-term viability

Real World Experience: Our evaluation framework has been tested through:

  • Selection of 100+ builders for educational programs
  • Distribution of hackathon prizes and resources
  • Management of workshop and event budgets
  • Tracking project deliverables and impact

Assessment Process:

  1. Initial Review
  • Team verification
  • Proposal completeness
  • Budget reasonability
  • Basic feasibility
  1. Deep Dive
  • Technical validation
  • Impact assessment
  • Resource planning
  • Community fit
  1. Implementation Support
  • Regular checkpoints
  • Progress tracking
  • Resource optimization
  • Community feedback

Deal Breakers: Based on our experience, we identify these key red flags:

  • Unclear or unrealistic deliverables
  • Missing team verification
  • Inflated or unjustified budgets
  • Lack of community engagement plan
  • Poor communication or responsiveness

This experience positions us to effectively evaluate and support grant proposals in the Education, Community Growth and Events domain, with a particular understanding of LATAM market needs and opportunities.

Declaration of Conflict of Interest

Frutero Club and its team members will not participate in, evaluate, or vote on any grant proposals submitted by its own members, employees, or direct partners. We commit to maintaining strict objectivity in grant allocation and will immediately declare any potential conflicts that may arise during our term as Domain Allocator.

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Applicant Information

Name of Applicant & Applicant’s Representative (If applicable): Castle Labs (represented by NDW and Chilla)

Twitter/x (if applicable): @castle_labs

Representatives: @cryptondee / @chilla_ct

Telegram (if applicable): @cryptondee / @chilla_ct

The role being applied for: New Protocols and Ideas

Background & Skills

Castle Labs, a decentralized research collective, has been deeply embedded in the Arbitrum ecosystem since its inception. The team has contributed extensively to governance and incentive program design. This includes advisory roles in the Long-Term Incentive Program Pilot (LTIPP) and STIP Bridge initiatives, which provided insights into refining Arbitrum DAO’s strategic frameworks, with over 60 protocol applications reviewed followed by a close working relationship with the teams throughout the distribution of their incentives

Key contributions to Arbitrum include:

  • Publishing research and analyses on Arbitrum-native protocols,

  • Producing educational content that simplifies complex topics, including dashboards and reports on STIP performance.

  • Participating in governance initiatives, such as the Multisig Signer Service (MSS) and the ARB Staking Rewards Source working group, to ensure transparency and alignment with the ecosystem’s goals.

Castle Labs, a research-driven advisory collective, operates at the forefront of decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain innovation. Originating as a community meritocracy, Castle Labs has evolved into a sustainable organization emphasizing transparency, collaboration, and innovation. The team engages across diverse sectors like DeFi, AI, interoperability, and privacy, collaborating with leading ecosystems such as Arbitrum and Berachain. With expertise spanning research, funding, and advisory, Castle Labs provides tailored support to projects, ensuring their success. Through initiatives like The Castle Chronicle newsletter, the collective shares insights and fosters education, solidifying its role as a trusted partner in different ecosystems. Castle Labs will be represented by Chilla and NDW.

Chilla’s primary experience stems from his previous full-time role at Dewhales Capital, an investment DAO for nearly two years, where he reviewed projects daily for investment purposes. He has also advised crypto startups on tokenomics, go-to-market strategies, product development, and pitch deck preparation.

NDW brings over a decade of experience in stock trading, investment due diligence, and strategy development. During his career, he has reviewed hundreds of pitch decks, whitepapers, and teams to assess their potential. As a lead at Castle Labs, he spearheaded the creation of a dealflow arm, where in less than a year, over 150 projects were reviewed for potential investment. This effort resulted in six investments totaling $700k, applying rigorous due diligence frameworks to evaluate projects effectively.

Domain-Related Experience and Vision

Castle Labs’ experience in dealflow, governance, consulting numerous protocols of different sizes, and incentive structure design is pivotal for evaluating new protocols and ideas. Our due diligence methodology emphasizes a holistic evaluation process covering technical design, team capabilities, financial risks, governance, and community engagement. This approach ensures we prioritize the most innovative and impactful projects to drive ecosystem growth. Resources are limited, so prioritizing the most innovative and impactful projects is essential.

NDW has over 10 years of experience across intrinsic value investing, distressed debt analysis, start up evaluations, and blockchain funding (ICOs, IDOs, IEOs, LBPs, etc.). He has a well-rounded perspective on projects of all sizes and stages. This enables him to assess the idea and the execution capabilities of founding teams. Feedback is crucial—even for teams not approved for grants, we aim to provide actionable insights and feedback to help them refine their proposals and stay within the Arbitrum ecosystem.

Chilla’s academic background allows him to proceed through a quantitative and qualitative analysis of projects in a systematic and structured way. Furthermore, the experience accumulated during his work in web3 by reviewing more than 600 projects in various verticals of the crypto world in about 2 years allowed him to develop a deep vision for the fundamental properties of a crypto start up, as well as the development of a series of methodologies to help them in their all-round development.

Vision

For Arbitrum’s ecosystem, the focus should be twofold:

  1. Strengthening Arbitrum’s DeFi Presence: Despite Arbitrum’s strong foundation in DeFi, innovation has slowed compared to emerging trends on other chains like Solana and Base. We believe Arbitrum’s dominance can be reignited by fostering experimentation and composability in DeFi. Funding projects that push boundaries at the intersection of new innovations like AI, RWA, payments, to name a few, rather than sticking with"safe" ideas, will catalyze breakthroughs and draw developers back to the ecosystem.

  2. Leveraging Arbitrum’s Advanced Tech Stack: Orbit chains and Stylus present transformative opportunities. However, projects must utilize these technologies because they are integral to their success, not just as showcases. For example, a Stylus-built AMM on an Orbit chain might demonstrate technical proficiency but may not drive meaningful user adoption. Instead, we should focus on:

  • Applications that significantly enhance user experiences, such as seamless account abstraction.
  • Games that leverage Orbit chains for engaging experiences beyond financial speculation.
  • Novel financial primitives and dApps that solve real problems and attract sustainable user bases.
  • Scalable solutions with long-term potential and meaningful impact across the ecosystem on metrics like Total Value Locked, Daily/Monthly active users, total new users onboarded.
  • Teams that push the Arbitrum stack to the edge of what is possible.
  • Dev tooling to further improve developer experience and lower the barrier to entry to develop new dapps on Arbitrum

Our broader vision extends to nurturing high-growth sectors that have yet to establish a foothold in the ecosystem. These include:

  • AI-driven agents and tools.
  • On/off ramp payment solutions that simplify blockchain interactions.
  • Consumer-facing applications that make blockchain intuitive.
  • DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) and DeSci (Decentralized Science) initiatives.

We also see immense potential in leveraging Arbitrum’s Timeboost technology. By mitigating spam, minimizing MEV exploitation, and streamlining user interactions, Timeboost not only enhances the user experience but also creates an opportunity for the Arbitrum DAO to capture new revenue streams that do not come at the expense of users since the value being captured already exists.

Ultimately, our vision is to empower builders with the resources and guidance to create groundbreaking applications that drive meaningful adoption and ecosystem growth. We aim to enable projects that can onboard the next 100k users and showcase Arbitrum as the go-to platform for innovation.

Grant related Experience

Castle Labs has extensive experience managing and advising on grants within the Arbitrum ecosystem, notably through our advisory roles in the Long-Term Incentive Program Pilot (LTIPP) and Short-Term Incentive Program (STIP) Bridge. These programs provided invaluable insights into designing efficient grant frameworks and evaluating protocol applications. Besides, our expertise in dealflow and due diligence processes along with our core advisory business that drives go-to-market strategies and content strategies are also key assets in our ability to assess and support projects effectively post grant applications.

LTIPP and STIP.b Contributions

  1. Application Refinement and Guidance:

  • Reviewed over 60 protocol applications across both programs, ensuring alignment with Arbitrum’s goals and facilitating iterative improvements through structured feedback.
  • Worked closely with protocols to refine their applications, helping teams define realistic goals, justify funding needs, and strengthen overall proposals.

  1. Framework Development:

  • Assisted in designing scoring rubrics and application templates that streamlined evaluation processes and enhanced transparency for applicants and stakeholders.
  • Shifted the focus from delegate-heavy reviews to a council-led analysis process, improving efficiency and accuracy in application evaluations.

  1. Pilot Outcomes:

  • Helped reduce total grant requests by 50% (from 152.4M ARB to 65.9M ARB) through collaborative revisions, ensuring resources were distributed judiciously.
  • Supported teams in building strong incentive mechanisms aligning their goals with short-term program objectives.

Key Insights and Methodology

Our advisory work emphasized:

  • The importance of feedback loops to improve application quality and program outcomes.
  • A data-driven approach to assessing project viability and alignment with ecosystem needs.
  • Transparent documentation and reporting practices to maintain accountability and build trust.

This extensive grant management experience underscores our ability to evaluate proposals, provide actionable feedback, and effectively allocate resources to drive meaningful impact in the Arbitrum ecosystem. Operating as a decentralised collective, Castle Capital has honed project management skills through its involvement in the Arbitrum ecosystem. An internal committee efficiently handles Castle’s responsibilities as an Arbitrum delegate, including research, feedback, proposal support, and voting, in a decentralised manner. As LTIPP and STIP Bridge advisors, Castle Capital managed collaborations with over 60 protocols and took ownership of the database management system used by advisors and council members. This experience underscores the firm’s ability to effectively manage complex, multi-stakeholder projects.

How a Good Grant Proposal is Structured

A good grant proposal should include:

  • Team Strength: The founding team must have relevant expertise, such as technical skills for building a product or specific domain knowledge.
  • Clear Objectives: Applicants should articulate their goals, if applicable using data-driven KPIs, detailing what they aim to achieve and how their project aligns with Arbitrum’s priorities.
  • Market Validation: Evidence of market research, target audience identification, and potential product-market fit.
  • Competitor Analysis: Applicants should demonstrate an understanding of existing solutions and how their project differs or improves upon them.
  • Implementation Plan: A clear roadmap, including milestones, metrics for progress, and success measurement.
  • Budget Transparency: A well-researched budget, supported by quotes and breakdowns, to justify the grant amount.
  • Measurable Impact: A clear explanation of how the project benefits the Arbitrum ecosystem and its broader user base.
  • Post-Grant Roadmap: Plans for sustainability and long-term contributions to the ecosystem.

Key Points for Approval

  • Alignment with Arbitrum’s ecosystem needs and technological advantages.
  • A strong, capable team with demonstrated experience.
  • Novelty and innovation, addressing gaps, or introducing new ideas.
  • Implementation should be feasible with a detailed plan and clear deliverables.
  • Measurable impact, including ROI and potential ecosystem growth.
    • Bonus if the requested amount is justified by price research.

Deal Breakers

  • Weak team with no relevant experience (unless other factors score highly).
  • Lack of budgeting and cost justification.
  • Absence of market research or understanding of the crypto ecosystem.
  • No measurable output, no capacity for producing such output, and no impact on Arbitrum or the broader ecosystem

Declaration of Conflict of Interest

Castle Labs has the following potential Conflicts of Interest:

  • Research Member of ARDC V2.
  • Grantee of the Education Domain Questbook (Season 2).
  • Member of the MSS
  • Atomist (Castle Labs Founder) sits on the GMX Governance Committee.
  • Castle Labs offers sponsorship services for our newsletter and research blog to a number of vetted protocols - currently, none are service providers or participants of the DIP.
  • Castle Labs offers marketing, growth, and content services to a number of protocols - currently, none are service providers within the DAO or are participants of the DIP.
  • Castle Labs has previously worked with clients on Arbitrum such as Level Finance, Aark Digital, Bonsai DAO, Maia DAO, Gloop, Brahma, and many other non-Arbitrum protocols.
  • Castle Labs has an ongoing working relationship with Curvance.
  • Castle Labs is available to answer questions on any of its future or past engagements to address issues of conflict of interest in the future.
  • NDW is a multisig signer of Gearbox DAO
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Applicant Information

  • Name of Applicant & Applicant’s Representative (If applicable): Saswat Sahu
  • Telegram Handle (if applicable): POC @republicofocean
  • Twitter/X Handle (if applicable): (x.com)
  • LinkedIn Profile (if applicable): https://www.linkedin.com/in/saswatksahu/
  • The role being applied for: Education, Community Growth and Events

BACKGROUND & SKILLS:
Saswat Sahu

Saswat is a Global Visiting Professor at EGADE, specialising in Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital. EGADE (
Tec de Monterrey is the premier university of Latin America)

He comes with a decade-long experience in strategy consulting across multiple geographies. He is a Bain advisor and has worked with Deloitte, Accenture Strategy & other global consulting firms in the UK, Middle East, US & APAC. Saswat is a MassChallenge (US/Israel) & On Deck (Silicon Valley) Alumnus and is the host of 2 podcasts. SaaS it up is one of the top SaaS podcasts in the world where he speaks with Investors and founders. In collaboration with Forbes (US), he is relaunching his second podcast named as the Web3 Ocean Pod. He was the speaker at Tulum Crypto Fest 2024 in Mexico last December. He is a Blockchain expert and has been a Delegate to Token2049 (Singapore) and Taipei Blockchain Week (Taiwan). His Research work revolves around Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs) and innovations in the decentralised AI canvas.

You can learn about his work at https://arbalestpartners.com/

Saswat is the co-founder of Offchain Monterrey and has spearheaded few offchain IRL meet-ups to bring university students and blockchain ecosystem players together.

With a Builder score of 77, I have participated in previous EthGlobal Hackathons too.

Domain Related Experience & Vision:
Education at universities follow the academic curriculum. Blockchain innovations and knowledge base hasn’t reached the universities yet. Primarily because university professors are not hands on blockchain users or ecosystem participants. With a decade long strategy consulting experience, when I explored academia, I started teaching about entrepreneurship and venture capital. As I moved my base from India to Latin America, I saw a huge gap in terms of blockchain educational knowledge base in the academia. So, I gradually introduced blockchain concepts within my curriculum. I am aiming to curate more knowledge assets for students via Podcasts, Blogs, Research Papers and cohort based projects in accelerators. As a mentor in Kernel0x and Foundership, I started delivering classes to my students in universities and cohort programs. Now, I am aiming to record classes and mint it on-chain via podcasts and use decentralised socials (Lens) for distribution. I founded the Offchain Monterrey community to help university students with the resources to get started with their blockchain journey.

My quest is to make an impact in the education space and I think getting integrated within the ArbitrumDAO would give me the right group of peers to accelerate my goals and knowledge base.

You may check out some of my on-chain classes which are minted on the blockchain:

  1. Hey
  2. Hey
  3. Hey
  4. Hey (Market Segmentation)
  5. Hey
  6. Hey
  7. Hey
  8. Hey

This year, I shared my DAO experiences with my DAOpunk friends in Austin.

Collaborative Vision:

I am strong believer of collaboration. If stakeholders with strong expertise in education collaborate, then the final offering for the end users is of high quality.

  1. Socratic Methodology: I usually start my classes at the university following a socratic technique by asking the right questions. If we ask the students, what they would like to learn within the blockchain space (Ethereum, L2s, et al), we would be amazed at the lack of knowledge assets available in the ecosystem because blockchain ecosystems and protocols haven’t identified the teaching pedagogy for university (technical and business) students yet.
  2. Knowledge Assets: I would love to build knowledge assets for students (+ working professionals & freelancers) via a ShotGlasses templates that we use in consulting engagements.
  3. University Research: I would love to accelerate the linkages between universities and protocols (Ethereum, Arbitrum etc) in 2025. I have socialised this plan amongst my friends and colleagues and would love to discuss with the DAO members in the coming years.
  4. Blogs & Research Papers. Blogs are usually for our friends but Research Papers needs long term viewpoints. I’ll discuss about the research work we are undergoing within our university peer groups.

Grant-Related Experience

I was running the Accelerator program at StatesDAO in 2022. You can check out the format here.

Having participated in DAO grants programs and running DAO accelerators (scouting projects and funding opportunities for them) has made me an active participant in the DAO ecosystem.

I have been reading the proposals on the forum and I am aligned on many of the pointers shared by our friends. My approach would be effective collaboration and stakeholder management amongst all these participants.

Successful programs needs the following:

  • Effective AI driven Program Management
  • Quick Responses to the queries of the stakeholders

As easy it may sound, it’s hard to implement it without the right expertise and experience. I was impressed by the responses (TAT) I got from @JoJo on the telegram chats.

Declaration of Conflict of Interest

None

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Applicant Information

  • Name of Applicant & Applicant’s Representative (If applicable): Arbitrumhub with representative @0x_buidler and @monk
  • Telegram Handle (if applicable): @BoldPanther
  • Twitter/X Handle (if applicable): @0xBoldPanther
  • The role being applied for (choose ONLY one):
    • Education, Community Growth and Events

Background & Skills

We’ve been deep in the Web3 space since the early days, building and scaling decentralized solutions. Our work with Akash Network, Gitcoin, and ArbitrumHub has given us real hands-on experience in what works and what doesn’t.

This past year, we’ve gone all-in on the Arbitrum ecosystem, creating ArbitrumHub as a central spot for the community to come together, learn, and have a say in governance. It’s been amazing to see it grow and actually make a difference in how people engage with Arbitrum.

For more details about https://www.arbitrumhub.io/. Pls go through ArbitrumHub Deck.

We’re not just idea people – we get things done. Whether it’s figuring out who to target, managing resources, leading teams, or working with partners, we’ve proven we can deliver results.

What makes us stand out for this Domain Allocator Role? A few key things:

  • We’ve actually built stuff in Web3 that people use
  • We’ve put our own money and time into Arbitrum for over a year
  • We know how to lead teams and get projects across the finish line
  • We turn big ideas into real plans that work

Bottom line – we’re doers who understand both the tech and the community side of things. We’re ready to bring that experience to help grow education and community events in the Arbitrum ecosystem.

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Domain Related Experience and Vision

Our experience lines up perfectly with what’s needed for Education, Community Growth, and Events. Just look at ArbitrumHub.io - we built it from scratch as a one-stop shop for everything Arbitrum. The platform has been key for:

  • Getting new users up to speed with easy-to-follow resources
  • Bringing the community together through discussions and polls
  • Keeping everyone in the loop about upcoming events

Where do we want to take this Domain of Education, Community Growth and Events ? We’ve got some solid ideas:

We’re planning to roll out grants for structured learning programs and hands-on events like hackathons and workshops. But we’re not just about throwing things at the wall - we believe in tracking what works through clear metrics and being smart about how we use resources.

We’re big on transparency too. That’s why we want to make all grantees content open-source and available to everyone. And when it comes to managing grants, we treat them like investments - setting clear milestones, keeping grantees accountable, and making sure we can scale what works.

What makes our approach different is we’re flexible and practical. We’re ready to experiment, learn from what works (and what doesn’t), and adjust our plans to get the best results. At the end of the day, it’s about making every grant count and building something that lasts.

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Grant related Experience:

We know what makes grants work because we’ve been on both sides of the table. Let’s break down our hands-on experience:

First-hand Grant Experience:

  • Successfully navigated ArbitrumHub through multiple funding rounds - first with Pluralistic Labs, then three proposals with ArbitrumDAO. Each time, we refined our approach based on delegate feedback.
  • Built real relationships with key stakeholders through this process, understanding what they look for and how to meet those expectations.

Grant Review Experience:

  • Served as official reviewers for Polygon grantees through Thrive Protocol
  • Developed deep expertise in evaluating proposals using structured criteria
  • Hands-on experience categorizing applications and providing detailed grading rationales

This dual perspective shapes how we evaluate proposals. Here’s what we look for:

Must-haves:

  • Clear goals that actually make sense for Arbitrum
  • Realistic timelines and milestones anyone can measure
  • Solid research showing why users need this
  • Transparent budgets that add up
  • Strong plan for tracking and reporting progress

Red flags we watch out for:

  • Fuzzy objectives without clear deliverables
  • Missing accountability measures
  • Overambitious promises that don’t match reality

Having been both applicants and reviewers, we know exactly what separates successful grants from failures. We’ve learned these lessons first-hand, and we’ll bring this practical experience to strengthening Arbitrum’s grant program.

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Declaration of Conflict of Interest

We want to be completely upfront: our team has built relationships across the Arbitrum ecosystem through our work on ArbitrumHub and other projects. However, these connections help us understand the ecosystem better - they don’t compromise our judgment.

When it comes to evaluating grants and making decisions, we’ll stay objective and follow clear criteria. Our track record shows we put the ecosystem’s interests first. Every decision we make will be transparent and based on what’s best for Arbitrum’s growth, not personal connections.

We’re committed to being fair judges and responsible stewards of ecosystem resources. That’s our promise to the community.

Post-Election Vision

If selected, we’ve got concrete plans to make the grant program more effective. Here’s what we will propose to incorporate during rubrics refinement process post election:

Quick Wins:

  • Speed up response times to grantees - no more waiting in the dark
  • Set up clear internal rules for giving timely, useful feedback
  • Make project pitch meetings mandatory - we need to see the team and vision behind each proposal
  • Regular check-ins during project delivery to track real progress

The Big Changes: We’re introducing a smarter way to handle different types of projects:

For Strategic Projects ($50K+):

  • Breaking them into “Macro Milestones” - each worth up to $50K
  • Perfect for big, complex projects like game development (remember @jojo pointing out how the current $50K cap makes game development impossible?)
  • This approach lets us attract and support serious, long-term projects without compromising on accountability

For Standard Projects:

  • Using “Micro Milestones” for clearer tracking
  • Categorizing projects as Strategic, Tactical, or Operational for better resource allocation

The Goal: Until the foundation program is live, we can use this Domain Allocator Offerings (D.A.O.) approach to make sure we don’t miss out on valuable projects that could benefit Arbitrum. We’ll evaluate each milestone based on:

  • How resources are being used
  • Whether the spending makes sense
  • The actual value created for the ecosystem

It’s about being smart with our resources while keeping Arbitrum competitive in attracting serious projects.

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