We strongly oppose this proposal, as it will inevitably lead to only the “friends” of large delegates being allowed to participate in the program, while capable smaller delegates—who don’t spend time lobbying or have personal connections—will be excluded. The current program was designed to ensure fair competition, but this proposal instead gives large delegates the power to gatekeep, maintaining their position and avoiding competition by selectively allowing participation and removing delegates at will when they pose a risk.
This also introduces a significant governance risk, as smaller delegates who receive sponsorship from a large delegate may feel pressured to support that delegate’s proposals and positions to maintain their sponsorship. This would reduce the diversity of voices that could defend the DAO against harmful proposals that benefit large delegates at the DAO’s expense.
Additionally, some small delegates have personally invested in ARB to participate in the program, putting real skin in the game. In some cases, the value of the ARB they purchased has dropped by more than 60%. In our view, this demonstrates a stronger commitment to the DAO than simply being a friend of a large delegate.
Disclosure: We participate in this program, and our delegation is below 500k ARB, the majority of it is self-owned.