[OpenOcean] [FINAL] [STIP - Round 1]

DAO Grant Programs Incentive Framework (Round 1)
1

UPDATE (20 OCTOBER 2023):

  • Wallet address updated to: 0x3CA3570F06ee8AeDBC0A395D5aD633e786310E73
    OpenOcean will utilize this new address for receiving and distributing grants.

SECTION 1: APPLICANT INFORMATION

Applicant Name: @OpenOcean

Project Name: OpenOcean

Project Description:

OpenOcean is a leading DEX Aggregator, cross-chain swap aggregator, and web3 middleware developer in the crypto space, offering a suite of tools across 30+ networks and 1000+ decentralized liquidity sources to provide users with the best returns for decentralized crypto trading. Launched in 2020, OpenOcean has successfully operated for over three years and on-boarded over 1 million active users.

The OpenOcean platform supports and works with some of the biggest names on Arbitrum and the wider EVM and non-EVM blockchain ecosystems. From MetaMask to Lido, token swaps to cross-chain transfers, the OpenOcean platform touches all corners of web3. Our deep integrated liquidity from our partner DEXs on Arbitrum make perhaps the best environment for our dedicated smart trade routing to thrive. This has resulted in elevated DEX volumes, increased native platform liquidity utilization and an increase in DAU. Some of our close partners on Arbitrum include:

AaveV3, BalancerV2, Camelot, Chronos, Curve, DODO, FraxFinance, GMX, Hashflow, KyberSwap, LevelV2, Lighter, Pancake, SmarDex, SushiSwap, SushiTrident, TraderJoe, Uniswap, WOO Fi, Wombat, ZyberSwap, Galxe and more!

not only individual traders and investors but also works to power and integrate with some of the biggest names in web3. The extended network of OpenOcean users come from a wide range of our API-integrated protocols: including wallets like MetaMask, leading DeFi information and trading platforms like DefiLlama, premier ETH staking protocols like Lido, cross-chain solution providers like LiFi, leading DEXes on major networks chains, lending protocols, perpetual trading protocols, best-priced FIAT on/off ramp service providers.

Team Members and Qualifications:

Leo (Tech Lead)

Leo has over 15 years of experience developing leading FinTech, CEX and digital trading systems with 8+ years in full-time senior crypto development.

Leo started his research on crypto protocols in early 2015 but has over 15 years of experience in trading system development. Leo has started his career in Intel APAC R&D center. Before joining the crypto industry, Leo used to lead the trading system development team of a leading Financial Futures Exchange.

Lawrence (Smart Contract Lead)

Lawrence was a 7yr+ experienced senior trading systems architect for IBM and former critical core member of the development team at the HP Quality Center.

Lawrence used to be a senior architect at IBM and HP. He was one of the core members of the development team of HP Quality Center, the industry-leading testing and management platform.

Lawrence also has 7 years of experience as an architect in trading platform development.

Yip Tsai (UX)

Yip used to lead the UX development of OTA company trip.com.

Cindy (CRO)

Cindy used to work for RBS as a strategy manager, 3M as an M&A manager and a well-known private equity fund as senior investment director with crypto origins dating back to 2017.

Project Links:

Telegram: Telegram: Contact @OOFinance

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OpenOceanGlobal

Discord: OpenOcean

Medium: https://blog.openocean.finance/

Docs: https://docs.openocean.finance/

GitHub: OpenOcean ¡ GitHub

Security & Audits: https://docs.openocean.finance/protocol/introduction/security-and-audit

Email: contact@openocean.finance

KYC Requirements: Confirmed

SECTION 2: GRANT INFORMATION

Requested Grant Size: 500k ARB

Grant Matching:
OpenOcean will match $ARB from the last Arbitrum Fundation Airdrop to amplify the incentive program to traders and fund additional development work to implement the STIP.

Grant Breakdown:

OpenOcean will divide the grant into a few categories to benefit Arbitrum users and help onboard more users to the Arbitrum ecosystem. For details of each category, please refer to Section 3.

  • Swap trading cost rebates (35%)
  • Referral program incentive emission (20%)
  • Inbound cross-chain swap incentives (20%)
  • Partnership co-incentive program to traders (25%)

Funding Address:
0x3CA3570F06ee8AeDBC0A395D5aD633e786310E73 (Updated as of 20 October 2023)
0x98823b5353b593C77947EfB94Ad078f19BA44e85 (canceled)

Funding Address Characteristics:

It’s a 2 out 3 safe on Arbitrum created exclusively to receive the grants so the funds are separated from OpenOcean’s treasury, the signers are identical as the OpenOcean treasury multisig.

Contract Address: To be provided at a later stage.

SECTION 3: GRANT OBJECTIVES AND EXECUTION

Objectives:

  • Increase trading volume across all DEXs in the Arbitrum ecosystem
  • Onboard on-chain users onto Arbitrum through OpenOcean’s cross-chain swaps and interactive aggregator incentive program
  • Recruit new users into Arbitrum through an incentivized referral program
  • Support the growth of Arbitrum dApps through the highly-composable OpenOcean product suite
  • Attract new quality projects and existing multichain projects to Arbitrum by offering free access to our builder’s suite and the OpenOcean smart v3 routing Widget/API/SDK

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

  • 100% monthly DEX aggregator trading volume growth on Arbirtrum which will also increase the trading volume on all Arbitrum DEXs
  • 300% monthly Cross-chain swap trading volume growth
  • Increase the number of users that onboard Arbitrum via OpenOcean to 100k (75k so far)
  • Achieve 10+ new projects utilizing OpenOcean swap API/Widget/SDK for inter-protocol integrations on Arbirtum

How will receiving a grant enable you to foster growth or innovation within the Arbitrum ecosystem?:

  • New User Acquisition: OpenOcean’s cross-chain swap aggregator will help to attract users to Arbitrum from over 7 different chains (with more to come this Q4).
    We hope to incentivise users to bridge, trade and start their Arbitrum experience through OpenOcean by providing campaigns, educational material and an easy user onboarding experience from another chain or from Fiat.

  • User Activation and Retention: We aim to keep users active and engaged by offering incentives and access to the deepest liquidity possible on-chain. New Arbitrum DEX LP’s and trending tokens will be continually added on an ongoing basis providing users more opportunities to use OpenOcean as their one-stop trading partner.

  • User Referrals: We plan to introduce a referral program that incentivizes users to invite others and share their experience on Arbitrum. This program seeks to attract new users to the ecosystem and encourage existing users to actively participate in current events, fostering a sense of community and growth. Refer to our previously successful referral program here.

  • Boost Trading Volumes for OpenOcean and integrated Arbitrum DEXs: Through integration with all the DEXs in the Arbitrum ecosystem, we anticipate a significant increase in trading volume for each of them, aided by swap incentives we have distributed from the grants. Our platform’s ability to source liquidity from various decentralized exchanges will enhance Arbitrum’s overall trading ecosystem, making it more vibrant, competitive and easy to use for first-time aggregatees

  • Attracting New Projects to onboard Arbitrum : OpenOcean plans to attract high-quality projects to Arbitrum by offering access to API/SDK/Widget and dev resources for inter-protocol integrations as well as attracting multichain projects which are currently not yet deployed on Arbitrum. Through the grant, we will provide projects with the necessary tools and co-partnership incentives for end users to help build and innovate on Arbitrum for now and for the future of the network. By working with new on-chain deployments we can make sure we are systematically contributing towards building the best on-chain ecosystem possible and pushing for the sustainable success of Arbitrum and L2 Ethereum scaling goals.

Justification for the size of the grant:

OpenOcean is one of the most widely used and far reaching aggregators in the Defi world. The platform sits strategically positioned to attract, guide and support the next wave of crypto users from 2024 and beyond. Doesn’t matter if you’re a trader, LST staker, web3 gamer, NFT hoarder or chart aficionado, OpenOcean is the crypto-swiss-army-knife every DeFi and crypto user needs.

Since launching on Arbitrum, OpenOcean has held a historic track record of helping to promote and foster positive growth within the Arbitrum ecosystem. From incentive programs and awareness campaigns to onboarding new multichain protocols and launching dedicated tooling on Arbitrum, our ambitions aren’t limited to just indexing liquidity. With every new development, tweak or routing update we push, we try to support as many users as possible, Arbitrum has always been a chain where we look to launch new features first.

For reference, here’s a quick look into our existing stats showcasing our existing impact on Arbitrum ecosystem:

  • Collectively executed $344m+ volume on Arbitrum with 275k+ transactions
  • OpenOcean has served 75k unique wallets on Arbitrum
  • Integrated 53 liquidity sources across the ecosystem, the most of any aggregator
  • Partnered with leading DeFi protocols in the ecosystem offering products from our swap and builders suite, such as MetaMask, DeFiLlama, Camelot, GMX, Vela, Interport, Li.Fi, ZyberSwap.
  • Launched 2 major successful quests on Arbitrum with 145k+ participants and 134k+ participants

Execution Strategy:

Given our role as a leading DEX aggregator featuring smart routing, the uplift in trading and user volumes we drive will benefit not only our platform, but will also be channeled to all DEXs on Arbitrum via our smart routing. This creates a mutual win, boosting the whole Arbitrum ecosystem.

1. Swap Trading Cost Rebates (35%):

Allocation: 35% of the grant will be dedicated to swap trading cost rebates within the Arbitrum ecosystem.

Execution: We will deploy these cost rebates strategically to enhance trading activity within Arbitrum. These incentives will be structured to attract traders to participate actively on Arbitrum-based decentralized exchanges.

Use of Funds: The funds allocated for swap trading cost rebates will be used to provide refund to users based on their trading volumes and trading frequency.

Risk Management: To manage the risks associated with rebates, we will closely monitor the effectiveness of the program through regular data analysis. Adjustments to the rebate structure will be made if necessary to ensure that the program achieves its intended goals. Also on-chain monitor will help block any suspicious bot activity.

2. Inbound Cross-Chain Swap Incentives (20%):

Allocation: Another 20% of the grant will be allocated to inbound cross-chain swap incentives.

Execution: We will use these incentives to attract users from various blockchain networks to Arbitrum. OpenOcean’s cross-chain swap aggregators will play a pivotal role in this process. Users will be incentivized to explore Arbitrum by providing cross-chain swap incentives.

Use of Funds: The funds will be used to provide incentives for users who migrate their assets from other chains to Arbitrum. This will involve designing attractive reward structures that encourage cross-chain activity.

Risk Management: To mitigate risks, we will closely monitor the success of these incentives in attracting users from other chains to prevent bots involved.

3. Referral Program Incentive Emission (20%):

Allocation: 20% of the grant will be dedicated to the implementation of a referral program.

Execution: Our referral program is designed to drive more traffic and active new users to Arbitrum contracts, aligning with incentivizing existing user interaction within the Arbitrum network.

Distinct from other referral programs, Referrers will receive ARB tokens from our contract via a user-friendly UI, equivalent to up to 50% of their gas fees on Arbitrum, and the referred gets up to 40% rebate, paid in ARB tokens, this will directly foster interaction with Arbitrum contracts.

The referral program’s distribution and calculations are trackable on-chain. We already have the system and UI ready, the next step is to integrate it with Arbitrum to enable payments in ARB. Refer to our previously successful referral program here.

We will implement anti-Sybil Attack measures and prohibit self-invites to maintain the program’s integrity.

Use of Funds: The allocated funds will be used to provide referral rewards and bonuses to users who refer others to Arbitrum. This will stimulate organic growth and community engagement.

Risk Management: The success of the referral program will be monitored closely through user participation and growth metrics. Adjustments will be made once we detect potential Sybil Attack.

4. Partnership Incentive Program to traders(25%):

Allocation: The remaining 25% of the grant will be dedicated to a partnership incentive program to end users of partner projects.

Execution: The purpose of the “Partnership Incentive Program to traders” segment is to attract more partners to join the Arbitrum ecosystem and to draw partners’ users to Arbitrum through the integration of OpenOcean‘s easy-to-use Arbitrum API/SDK & Widget.

We will initiate integration with wallets, DeFi projects, decentralized game projects, and any other projects on Arbitrum that may involve trading function to realize this goal.

Due to market fluctuations, we will disclose the addresses of the contracts we intend to incentivize upon completion of the integration process.

Use of Funds: Funds will be used to support co-partnership incentive program to traders, joint initiatives, and rewards for users of partner projects that enhance the Arbitrum network. This will foster a collaborative environment and attract high-quality projects to onboard Arbitrum.

Risk Management: The success of partnerships will be measured by the number of integrations and the impact of partner projects on Arbitrum’s ecosystem. Ongoing communication with partners will ensure the effective use of funds and alignment with shared goals.

Grant Timeline:

We plan to allocate and distribute the ARB from the STIP grant over a period of 4 months (estimated from October 2023 to January 2024, as per the program requirements). The start date and end date are dependent on when the grant is finally received.

Do you accept the funding of your grant streamed linearly for the duration of your grant proposal, and that the multisig holds the power to halt your stream? [Yes/No]

Yes

SECTION 4: PROTOCOL DETAILS

Is the Protocol Native to Arbitrum?:

Arbitrum was one of the first L2 scaling solutions supported on OpenOcean. In December 2021, OpenOcean expanded to Arbitrum to enhance its one-stop Defi trading solution. By aligning and forming partnerships with 53 liquidity sources on Arbitrum, including all leading DEXs like Uniswap, Balancer, Camelot, SushiSwap, Curve, TraderJoe, KyberSwap, SpartaDex, Ramses, and more, OpenOcean guaranteed to deliver the best swap returns. To this day, OpenOcean has accumulated a total volume of $344M and 75k users on Arbitrum, holding the position of our most traded L2, highest DAU, and most L2 volume.

On what other networks is the protocol deployed?:

OpenOcean is currently deployed on 32+ Networks: Arbitrum, Aptos, Avalanche, Aurora, Base, Boba, BNB, Celo, Cronos, Ethereum, Fantom, Gnosis, Harmony, Heco, Kava, Linea, Metis, Moonriver, Near, Ontology, Ontology EVM, opBNB, Optimism, OKC, Polygon, Polygon zkEVM, Scroll Alpha, Solana, Starknet, Telos, Tron, zkSync Era.

What date did you deploy on Arbitrum?:

December 8, 2021

Protocol Performance:

Overall Achievements:

  • Trading Volume: $6B
  • Transactions: 3.5M+
  • Active Users: 950K+
  • Networks Integrated: 30+ chains with 1000+ liquidity sources
  • In-Wallet Swaps: Powering MetaMask, Rabby, xDefi, Fantom fWallet, Krystal, and more
  • Innovation: Developed the in-house ground breaking v3 smart routing API in use by many web3 platforms such as Camelot.

Arbitrum-Specific Accomplishments:

Arbitrum stands as one of the most used chains on OpenOcean, marking significant achievements:

  • Arbitrum Trading Volume: $344M+, surpassing $40M in 30-day volume.
  • User Engagement on Arbitrum: 75K+ users with 275,182 total transactions.
  • Cross-chain Swaps: $1.5M inbound volume to Arbitrum.
  • Protocol Quests: Led quests with 15 leading protocols on Arbitrum include GMX, TraderJoe, Buffer, Camelot, Radiant, Vesta, JonesDao, Galaxy, Dopex, SushiSwap, WOONetwork, Stargate, ZyberSwap, Beefy, and GainsNetwork. Successfully attracted total 279k+ participants. Arbitrum quests details; Cross-chain quests details
  • Liquidity Integration: Integrated 53+ liquidity sources on Arbitrum to ensure the deepest liquidity and the best swap rates. Check it here

OpenOcean’s Arbitrum Dashboard: Dune

1600×705 133 KB

Protocol Roadmap:

Upcoming OpenOcean Updates in Q4 2023 on Arbitrum Network:

  • Improve Cross-Chain Swaps: 1. Adding more chains for inbound swaps to Arbitrum; 2. Integrating more bridges and cross-chain service providers that support Arbitrum.
  • Expand Liquidity: Optimizing and integrating more liquidity sources on Arbitrum for better swap prices.
  • Optimize Swap Routing: Refining for a faster and more efficient trading experience.
  • Implement portfolio tracking system: Introducing a user-friendly portfolio tracking system for improved user experience.

Audit History:

Please see our docs here Security & Audits - OpenOcean

SECTION 5: Data and Reporting

Is your team prepared to create Dune Dashboards for your incentive program?: Yes, whenever possible

Does your team agree to provide bi-weekly program updates on the Arbitrum Forum thread?

Yes, we’ll share key metrics every two weeks and provide details on grant usage

Does your team acknowledge that failure to comply with any of the above requests can result in the halting of the program’s funding stream?: Yes

1 Like
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Hello @OpenOcean thank you for submitting! Please make the following changes to your proposal to comply with the program rules.

  1. Please note grant funds may only be used to incentivize Arbitrum contracts and can not be used for a “Referral Program”

  2. Please disclose which contracts you will be incentivizing for the “Partnership Incentive Program to traders” portion of your application.

3

Hey Matt, @Matt_StableLab Thank you for your kind feedback on our application. Below are our clarifications for your feedback.

1. Please note grant funds may only be used to incentivize Arbitrum contracts and can not be used for a “Referral Program”

We understand the concerns regarding the grant distribution. To clarify, our referral program is designed to drive more traffic and active new users to Arbitrum contracts, aligning with incentivizing user interaction within the Arbitrum network.

Referrers will receive ARB tokens from our contract, equivalent to up to 50% of their gas fees on Arbitrum, and the referred gets up to 40% rebate, paid in ARB tokens, this will directly foster interaction with Arbitrum contracts.

The referral program’s distribution and calculations are trackable on-chain. We already have the system and UI ready, the next step is to integrate it with Arbitrum to enable payments in ARB. Refer to our previously successful referral program here.

We will implement anti-Sybil Attack measures and prohibit self-invites to maintain the program’s integrity.

We hope this addresses the concern, and we are open to modifying the referral program to fully comply with grant policies. Could we retain the referral program given these clarifications?

2. Please disclose which contracts you will be incentivizing for the “Partnership Incentive Program to traders” portion of your application.

The purpose of the “Partnership Incentive Program to traders” segment is to attract more partners to join the Arbitrum ecosystem and to draw partners’ users to Arbitrum through the integration of OpenOcean‘s easy-to-use Arbitrum API/SDK & Widget.

We will initiate integration with wallets, DeFi projects, decentralized game projects, and any other projects on Arbitrum that may involve trading function to realize this goal.

Due to market fluctuations, we will disclose the addresses of the contracts we intend to incentivize upon completion of the integration process.

5

Thank you for this clarification and these edits! Your submission now meets all requirements to be considered for a snapshot vote.

6

Hey @OpenOcean
Do you have analytics of the volume processed by OpenOcean compared to other aggregators, for Arbitrum?

Would you be willing to delete the item:

achieving a Requested Grant Size of 400k ARB

7

Hello @OpenOcean ,

Now that your application has been marked eligible, please be advised of the remaining steps in the application process to be completed prior to the Review Period Deadline:

Please complete the following steps required for your application to proceed to Snapshot:

To change your proposal to final, please tag an Arbitrum Foundation Forum Moderator (@ stonecoldpat @ cliffton.eth @ eli_defi) by the Review Period deadline to notify them of your proposal’s readiness to proceed from [Draft] to [Final] status.

Once notified, the Arbitrum Foundation Forum Moderator will adjust your title from [Draft] to [Final] status. Once marked as [FInal], your application post will be locked by moderators and you will no longer be able to edit your proposal.

8

hey @stonecoldpat , @cliffton.eth , @eli_defi , Our proposal is finalized and ready for transition from [Draft] to [Final] status. Could you please assist with this change? Thank you!

9

hey Jadmat, Thank you for your review!

First, regarding the analytics of the volume processed by OpenOcean compared to other aggregators on Arbitrum, we’ll provide it shortly for a clearer perspective.

As to the Referral program, we genuinely appreciate your feedback. As previously discussed with Matt_StableLab, we believe this program plays a crucial role in encouraging more active users and interactions on Arbitrum via OpenOcean. We will prove you it’s in the best interest of our shared goals to keep it.

Your understanding and continued support mean a lot to us : )

10

Post has been marked FINAL and locked.

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We would like to thank OpenOcean for their detailed incentive applications that offer various use cases. In addition to your efforts to bring both users and new projects to the Arbitrum ecosystem, we believe that with referral programs and rebases for your own user base, you will efficiently utilize the requested budget.

12

I know about openocean well. I have been an OpenOcean holder for 2 years.
The OpenOcean team are scammers. It initially started as a DEFI&CEFI aggregator, but integration was rejected by Binance.
They made the excuse that CEX was dangerous. Afterwards, the name was changed to DEFI Aggregator.
OpenOcean has only about 1,000 users per day. There are only about 50 Arbitrum users per day. Even the swap ratio is bad. It is a project without any special features.