[GMX] [FINAL] [STIP - Round 1]

Archive Short Term Incentives Program (STIP) Round 1
83

I am all for supporting GMX’s proposal to secure a grant from Arbitrum. Having observed GMX’s journey in the DeFi space, it’s evident that they’ve carved out a niche for themselves with their remarkable achievements on the Arbitrum chain. Their commitment to excellence is reflected in the way they’ve consistently delivered, fostering trust and reliability within the community.

One of GMX’s standout initiatives is their strategic approach to bridging the divide between centralized exchange (CEX) users and decentralized exchange (DEX) platforms. Recognizing the challenges that many face when transitioning to DEXs, GMX has prioritized creating user-centric interfaces and streamlined onboarding processes. This not only enhances user experience but also plays a pivotal role in ushering in a new cohort of DeFi enthusiasts.

Looking ahead, GMX’s roadmap is both ambitious and promising. They’re not just resting on their laurels; they’re gearing up to expand their product suite, innovate further, and solidify their position as a frontrunner in the DeFi realm. Their vision for the future, coupled with their proven track record, gives me immense confidence in their potential.

In conclusion, GMX’s request for a grant isn’t just about funds; it’s about endorsing a team that has consistently shown dedication, innovation, and a genuine passion for what they do. I believe that with the right resources, GMX will continue to break barriers and set new benchmarks, further elevating the Arbitrum ecosystem. I wholeheartedly back their proposal and look forward to witnessing their continued success.

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84

Can we not with the chatgpt novels

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85

I understand your point, but bluntly GMX has shown sticky TVL on Arbitrum through the ups and downs of the last 2 years with v1, which has then been further utilised by dozens of protocols.

V2 will do much the same, if not more, as it had been built from the ground up with this in mind. It will build and retain TVL in Arbitrum as it has done before.

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86

Agree, so let GMX go to the DAO and ask for what they actually want.

Remaining in the STIP with this sized request is simply to the detriment of others trying to build and showcase their own offerings. Cynical views may suggest that is exactly what GMX would want anyway.

Nothing against competition, GMX are playing their cards. But there is almost unanimous support for this proposal, which very clearly indicates they could ask for more via a separate DAO proposal.

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87

Idle TVL is not a metric we should strive for. Any protocol can play around this to get unfair amounts of grants (paid actor liq from VCs, and such). Of course this isn’t the case of GMX but illustrates the point that using TVL as a metric for giving out grants is completely flawed.

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Sir I know you mean well, but I am not sure this tweet means what you think it means. Hamzah is highly pro-Polygon and “there is no second best” is a common meme mocking Michael Saylor’s hubris - Michael Saylor: There is no second best! - Blockchaincenter

89

GMX must be thoroughly congratulated for their success as a project and the benefits that the DEX has brought to the Arbitrum ecosystem. That said, I am disheartened by the number of simplistic brigaded comments offering no justification for support or advocating for even larger allocations.

The DAO must make decisions based on the long term health of the entire Arbitrum ecosystem, which will in turn ensure the long term health of GMX - just as the care of a plant must not neglect the ground in which it is growing.

I think Arbitrum is equally responsible for the growth and success of GMX as GMX is to the growth and success of Arbitrum. A fast, efficient, scalable, true L2 chain for Ethereum was sorely needed, and Arbitrum filled this void. Other projects deployed on Arbitrum have enjoyed significant subsequent growth also - it is not a characteristc exclusive to GMX, though GMX have been positioned on Arbitrum from launch.

Some claims made in this thread must be tempered to keep them grounded in reality. GMX have worked innovatively with Chainlink in recent times to reduce oracle latency, but GMX was not the first project to make use of decentralised chainlink oracles and it is wrong to pretend this concept is a GMX innovation in entirety.

Separately the mechanics of the GMX v2 synthetics model bear significant resemblance to past innovations by Synthetix, which existed on Ethereum for multiple years prior. While GMX has refined, optimised, and adapted the application of a synthetic asset trading model, it is misleading to pass this off as a new GMX innovation in entirety.

I make these points not to put down GMX, but to reinforce that Arbitrum itself has been key to the success of GMX to date to the same degree as vice versa. This is further evidenced by the comparative lack of TVL and trading volume occurring for GMX on the Avalanche chain over the time following GMX’s fragmentation.

Lastly I am unsure that giving such a large grant to the already-dominant protocol is wise. It is in the long term best interests of the Arbitrum ecosystem to encourage diversification and a healthy level of competition that spurs innovation. Blatant clones/forks of GMX should not be incentivised as they add little value, but incentivisation of legitimate competition is vital to discourage monopolisation and centralisation. Diversification is central to the ethos of Ethereum.

In summary, GMX is the leading DEX project on Arbitrum and has brought great benefit to the ecosystem, but GMX is not the entirety of Arbitrum even if such a claim makes for a popular Blueberry Club meme. Diversity and long term ecosystem resilience must be prioritized by the DAO. I support a grant for GMX but I have concerns about its size. I definitely do not support the provision of a persisting guaranteed approval for further grants via the program - each future grant should remain assessable on its own merit, and kept aligned with the best interests of Arbitrum.

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91

Does anyone know what the GMX team did with the 8M ARB it received with Arbitrum genesis airdrop? Haven’t followed up with it but if it wasn’t spent for the community yet, shouldn’t they spend that first before asking for such a large grant?

Also unrelated but anyone know what happened over the last few days for this surge in users?

Screenshot 2023-09-30 at 2.47.15 AM
Screenshot 2023-09-30 at 2.47.15 AM3213×849 182 KB

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92

GMX is one of the most important project on Arbitrum and is the cornerstone of Arbitrum, it help arbitrum dominant the DeFi derivatives

GMX build an organize ecosystem, but after Arbitrum’s competitors, such as Optimism, grants lots of incentives in their Perp DEX, still loss some market share. Now is the opportunity to reclaim lost territory.

14M looks like a lot ,but if we consider the size and influence of GMX, this is actually on the lower side

Comments from CapitalismLab, we have devote into arbitrum ecosystem for a long-time, the first Arbitrum product we loved is GMX. We believe that many in the community, like us, see GMX as the flag bearer for ARB."

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93

As mentioned in the proposal, these tokens were retained in their entirety both as a reaffirmation of our commitment to the Arbitrum ecosystem but also to backstop the safety and security of the platform.

In terms of the recent spike of activity, GMX is one of the featured protocols in week 1 of the 7 week Odyssey campaign undertaken by Arbitrum, an initiative to work to bring attention to the chain and dapps on it. You can read more about the campaign at Arbitrum Odyssey — Reignited!

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94

ABSOLUTELY, GMX was a product that simply could not exist without a blockchain environment like Arbitrum. Your points actually undersell what was made possible by this tech stack as GMX has continued to iterate as a protocol, leveraging what is possible.

For reference GMX wasn’t just positioned on Arbitrum from launch, the protocol and community waited months for Arbitrum One to launch because there was a clear understanding of what this environment could allow to be built, and its great that over time, many others have followed and done the same.

Will stick to covering GMX instead of other protocols. Chainlink is the industry leader in the Oracle space, having both built and maintained a network that supports the majority of flagship DeFi platforms, so GMX utilizing Chainlink is nothing special. What is different is contributors from GMX and Chainlink, spend a year designing and improving along with months of testnet and mainnet for testing to ensure that the product is optimized to meet the needs

GMX is not piggybacking on this infrastructure as others have instead its agreed through governance an aligned structure where 1.2% of GMX V2 revenues are directed to the Chainlink Network for utilizing this infrastructure and providing complete independent verifiable data to power the platform. Just as GMX built and refined the platform to leverage what a chain like Arbitrum could enable, the same has been done with the new robust set of low latency data on price and market structure in a way that is different than any other DeFi protocol.

I suspect that many of the other protocols will soon benefit and shift to this same infrastructure in short order. For GMX the goal isn’t to build just for itself but to try to move the entire space forward.

Couldn’t agree more, which is why GMX has been a strong supporter of the STIP program, so every protocol has the opportunity to make their case.

GMX presents its case here, as have other protocols. This is not a grant being sought for GMX’s history but how GMX can help support and accelerate Arbitrum’s growth. What history does do is show a strong commitment to Arbitrum, having built here, being a good actor supporting the wider ecosystem, and remaining active in the discussion of the future of Arbitrum by retaining our entire builder ARB to support our voice in governance.

On this we both clearly agree. Based on your moniker ArbitrumMaximus and your long feedback, its clear you care about Arbitrum. Look forward to watching for your feedback on other proposals in SIFT, once you post them. Others can track posts and other feedback from ArbitrumMaximus at Profile - ArbitrusMaximus - Arbitrum

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95

i agree with you, i love GMX and their impact on Arbitrum can’t be denied, but, to me, they ask for too much in their proposal. They definitely deserve a grant, but not this high at the expense of emerging protocols and visionary projects (not just in the realm of Perps). GMX is already at the top as everyone already knows the protocol and 90% of Arbitrum users are already, or have been, using it.

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96

“are already, or have been, using it.”

The proposition of “matching” fees comparable to those of Binance could significantly attract capital that previously found trading on the chain cost-prohibitive. Take, for instance, the practice of Delta hedging the PNL of an options book. The difference in PNL between 2 bps and 10 bps may seem inconsequential for casual, high-risk directional trading, but it becomes crucial when implementing institutional-grade strategies ( it is definitely a great factor for the performance of D2.finance vaults).

The enhancements brought about by V2 might be underestimated by the average retail user. However, for professional money managers, who more often than not have a fiduciary responsibility to justify their fee allocations (and compete with other funds), these improvements hold significant value.

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GMX is a cornerstone protocol in the Arbitrum network. As a decentralized exchange, it facilitates both spot and perpetual trades, showcasing low swap fees and presenting an array of opportunities for users. GMX has been a part of Arbitrum from its early days, launching in September 2021. The Magpie Ecosystem lauds GMX for its innovative contributions and sees it as a true representation of Arbitrum’s essence. Strengthened further by the backing of STIP, GMX is well-equipped to propel Arbitrum’s expansion, attracting an increasing number of users to its DeFi ecosystem.

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98

good proposal! GMX is def. one of the core protocols on Arbitrum

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99

I am unsure from the vague wording of your reply whether or not you are in support of the pro-rata future grant approvals, but your comments on the value of prioritizing Arbitrum and the allowance of other protocols to make their case (even those involved in the future of Arbitrum which do not yet exist) hopefully mean that you do share my concern about this idea.

GMX is far from the only DeFi protocol to have worked in collaboration with Chainlink on oracle optimizations. I strongly suspect it is not even the only protocol on Arbitrum this can be said of. The claim “in a way that is different than any other DeFi protocol” could be made about literally any non-forked protocol, but I do acknowledge the point you were trying to make here. I seek only to temper what strikes me as an inflated claim. Separately, even if this were to be accepted at face value I am unsure that it would be grounds for increased grant funds - a truly groundbreaking development would be able to prove itself through market forces in its own right.

For GMX the goal isn’t to build just for itself but to try to move the entire space forward.

I truly hope so.

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100

Please find attached the updated information for the multisig, and your patience while this was updated.

For those that aren’t aware @Matt_StableLab and the whole StableLab team have been doing a lot of heavy lifting, tracking, reviewing, and ensuring these proposals are in proper order. Wanted to thank you for the work you’ve done for the DAO, it’s made the work of delegates, builders, and the community during this process so much more manageable.

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101

fully support this proposal. Without GMX there wouldnt be arbitrum. Gmx is killer app of ARB.
TBH i think gmx deserves more than 14m arb. incredibly well written, hats off

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103

Unpopular take: GMX is dead and is a detriment to Arbitrum, as is apparent in their asking for more than 25% of capital allocated to the entire ecosystem.

It would be one thing if the ask were for better use, or if the protocol had better design. But to ask for tokens as trading and LP rewards when more than $309M in GLP is yielding 2.5% is just sad.

I’ve been a GMX user and I believe it played a pivotal role in Arbitrum to its scale, but the market is different now. There are alternatives for leveraged perp trading and anyone with a basic understanding of the markets knows the deposit base will continue to move to better options.

No way anyone with the right mind should support this if they actually care about the Arbitrum ecosystem

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Thorough!

Tho the ask is quite huge, I’m sure the team will have the utmost competency to manage expectations and deliver what is needed to further grow the ARB ecosystem.