[Socket] [FINAL] [STIP - Round 1]

Archive Incentive Framework (Round 1)
1

SECTION 1: APPLICANT INFORMATION

Applicant Name: Sriram Vasudevan

Project Name: Socket Protocol

Project Description: Socket is an interoperability protocol for building cross-chain use cases & apps. Socket offers the most efficient way to transfer liquidity across chains by tapping into all available liquidity sources.

Socket has facilitated over $4B+ in volumes across chains and over $1B+ in volumes into Arbitrum since launch.

Team Members and Qualifications:

  • Vaibhav Chellani (Cofounder & CEO): First developer at Polygon; built first ever zkRollup & most scalable Optimistic rollup; Early core contributor at Flashbots.
  • Rishabh Khurana (Cofounder): 4+yrs of experience launching web2 products (scaled one from 0 to $40mn ARR at India’s first Unicorn).
  • Arth Patel (Head of Engineering): Early developer at Polygon, built Polygon PoS bridge, ex-developer at Union Protcol, advisor & fren to DeFi projects
  • Lito Coen (Growth): Founder of a crypto education platform since 2018, built community at Hop Protocol

Project links:

Contact Information:

TG: @vaibhavchellani

TG: @khuranarishabh

Email: rishabh@socket.tech

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vaibhavchellani

Do You Acknowledge That Your Team Will Be Subject to a KYC Requirement?: Yes

SECTION 2: GRANT INFORMATION

Requested Grant Size: 1,000,000 ARB

Grant Matching:

Socket doesn’t have a token and hence can’t match with token co-incentives. However, we plan to allocate significant marketing efforts & resources to our partners to attract users & liquidity. To achieve these we will be conducting marketing campaigns, tutorials, guides & more!

We also plan to allocate significant developer efforts & resources to help our partners build great onboarding experiences along with 24/7 user & developer support.

Lastly, we will continue to educate users & community about bridging through initiatives like our Bridge Risk Framework 1, which we launched in collaboration with L2Beat.

Grant Breakdown

We think of Arbitrum as an ecosystem of chains including Arbitrum One, Arbitrum Nova & upcoming Arbitrum Orbit chains. With an increasing number of L2s and L3s, the problem of liquidity fragmentation & bridging only increases in size.

The purpose of this grant is to fight the increasing fragmentation & unlock seamless flow of liquidity into the Arbitrum ecosystem. We will use the allocated tokens to achieve this by:

  • Working with 80+ partner ecosystems to subsidize onboarding costs for users onboarding onto Arbitrum One ecosystem
  • Encouraging developers to build unique cross-chain use cases that bring TVL into Arbitrum ecosystem. More on these use cases below
  • Incentivizing the adoption of Socket’s SuperBridge allowing users to easily transfer liquidity from other L2’s into Orbit app chains

Funding Address: 0x952aB7dd815558511bc80A3532D89368130F0809

Funding Address Characteristics: Multi-sig

Contract Address: N/A

SECTION 3: GRANT OBJECTIVES AND EXECUTION

Objectives

The primary objective of the grant is to work with Arbitrum ecosystem & attract liquidity/TVL into Arbitrum One, Arbitrum L3s and more.

We intend to bring a seamless bridging of liquidity through Socket ecosystem that has access to over 50M wallets via top web3 wallets like Metamask, Coinbase Wallet and apps including GMX, Zapper, Zerion, Layer3, Jones DAO, Lyra & more!

Here are key use cases that the grant will help us push with current & future partners:

  • Offering subsidized bridging for users bridging to Arbitrum. This includes projects like Metamask, Coinbase Wallet, Rainbow Wallet, Bungee Exchange, XDEFI, Slingshot, Layer3, Zapper, Zerion & more
  • Create chain agnostic onboarding experience into Arbitrum which allows users on Polygon/Optimism etc. to directly onboard into Arbitrum apps in 1 click (no bridging, swapping, switching RPCs or even needing GAS on Arbitrum)
  • Work with Arbitrum Orbit chains to allow users to bridge funds into the chains at NO COST. Our unique approach allows this with 0 bridge fees, 0 slippage, and no liquidity pools. This is already live with Aevo & going live with Arbitrum Orbit chains soon.
  • Expand tokens native to other chains to Arbitrum while retaining complete ownership of the token. This is based on Sovereign Token Standard- allowing token issuers to securely expand to Arbitrum with no bridge lock-in.

All of the above use cases not only help bring native TVL into the Arbitrum ecosystem but also help increase significant transaction activity for Arbitrum ecosystem apps.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

We will use the following KPI’s to track the success of our grant:

  • Cross-chain TVL migrated to Arbitrum
  • Total volume & users bridged into Arbitrum
  • Number of first-time users bridging to Arbitrum

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

There are 4 major ways we foster growth and innovation within the Arbitrum ecosystem:

  • Better UX in Arbitrum Native Applications: The typical user journey of a user on Polygon who wants to deploy on Arbitrum app is 40+ clicks and 10+ tabs. We work with apps to reduce it to a single transaction & click. The grant will encourage the usage on these apps & encourage more apps to adopt such innovative UX drive features
  • Native bridging to Arbitrum in wallets: A year back no wallet allowed users to bridge to Arbitrum natively in the wallet. Socket has expanded this coverage by working with top wallets. The grant will encourage the usage & discovery of bridging features on these wallets and encourage more wallets to add native bridging into Arbitrum
  • Bootstrap Arbitrum Orbit chains: Users directly want to jump into L3s directly from other L2s without multiple hoops like L2 → Arbitrum → L3. Liquidity bridges do not scale for such use cases because of issues like extensive liquidity bootstrapping. We offer a unique solution that allows users to bridge into L3s from any chain without any liquidity pools or bridge fee
  • Expansion of non-Arbitrum native apps to Arbitrum: Today a protocol with token on BSC has no way to expand to Arbitrum without locking the token into the specific bridge. We allow these projects to come securely using sovereign standards and be bridge agnostic always

Justification for the size of the grant:

The objective of the token distribution is to supercharge our existing efforts of liquidity migration and user onboarding into Arbitrum.

The grant becomes immediately accessible to 50MN+ wallets via our 80+ partner ecosystem & many more incoming partners. This includes top wallets like Metamask, Rainbow Slingshot, XDEFI, OneKey & Zerion, and top protocols including GMX, JonesDAO, Mux Protocol, Lyra, Level & Bungee

The grant also helps bootstrap Arbitrum Orbit chains with unique onboarding experience and bring new Arbitrum native apps to massively attract cross-chain TVL. Finally, we’re also helping expand non-Arbitrum protocols expand to Arbitrum.

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

  • Collectively bridged $1.5Bn+ volume into Arbitrum across 1.5M+ transactions
  • Been one of the first bridging partners to Arbitrum since Dec’21
  • Were the 2nd most used bridge during Odyssey Bridge Week
  • Socket is a Top 10 protocol on Arbitrum according to Nansen
  • Used by over 30+ wallets, apps & protocols on Arbitrum
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Execution Strategy:

$ARB tokens will be distributed to developers building on Socket, users bridging to Arbitrum One and other Arbitrum chains using Socket.

Users (100%) - 1.0M ARB

Here is the breakdown of how the tokens will be distributed amongst different user groups:

Note: We plan to have a max cap per transaction & a minimum bridging amount to avoid sybiling.

700,000 ARB: Users bridging to Arbitrum One through Socket API/SDK contracts:

Every user that onboards to Arbitrum via Socket via our partner apps(bridging/cross-chain deposits) will have 80% of their total onboarding fees refunded in $ARB. The total onboarding fee includes the total GAS spent + the bridging fee from the underlying bridges

200,000 ARB: Users bridging to Arbitrum Orbit Chains via Socket SuperBridge (0 cost L2-L3 bridging)

Every user that onboards to Orbit Chains via Socket SuperBridge, will have 80% of their total onboarding fees refunded in $ARB. The total onboarding fee includes the total GAS spent + the bridging fee from the underlying bridges.

100,000 ARB: Users bridging SuperTokens (Sovereign token standard) into Arbitrum One/Orbit chains

Every user that bridges Supertoken between Arbitrum and Orbit chains will receive bridge rebates. This will help strengthen the adoption of LSTs/stablecoins/governance tokens on Arbitrum.

Grant Timeline:

Since the contracts and analytics infrastructure for this are already set up we could target a launch in a few weeks of grant approval. We expect rewards to last 2-3 months but it will ultimately depend on the bridging volume.

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

SECTION 4: PROTOCOL DETAILS

Provide details about the Arbitrum protocol requirements relevant to the grant. This information ensures that the applicant is aligned with the technical specifications and commitments of the grant.

Is the Protocol Native to Arbitrum?

No. As an interoperability protocol Socket is available on multiple chains.

On what other networks is the protocol deployed?

Ethereum, Optimism, Polygon, zk-Sync, Gnosis Chain, Avalanche, Aurora and Polygon zk-EVM, BSC & Fantom.

What date did you deploy on Arbitrum?

December 2021

Protocol Performance: [Detail the past performance of the protocol and relevance, including any key metrics or achievements, dashboards, etc.]

Protocol Roadmap:

We have recently released Socket Messaging which helps apps extend secure connectivity and message passing in their apps. Socket Messaging helps to bring fast bridging support to L3s and we are launching this with several Arbitrum Orbit chain projects. Here is a detailed look into other things on our roadmap.

Audit History

You can find all audits here. Socket contracts are also verified, open-source, and can be viewed here.

SECTION 5: Data and Reporting

Provide details on how your team is equipped to provide data and reporting on grant distribution.

We are well equipped to provide data and reporting as we track this data already.

Is your team prepared to create Dune Dashboards for your incentive program?:

Yes

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

Yes

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

6 Likes
2

+1 on this proposal

Socket is one of the highest performing teams in crypto, and had lots of success with their OP rewards program. Would love to see the same on Arbitrum!

3

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

  1. Grant funds may only be used to incentivize Arbitrum contracts and can not be used on “developers” or “grants”
4

Thanks for the feedback Matt!

We have made edits to our proposal to address this. Thanks again :slight_smile:

5

at Jones we use socket to let users have a really smooth experience in bridging assets directly into our arbitrum vaults. And the experience is smooth indeed. Team has been a pleasure to work with, and @litocoen is always available despite being super busy. Full support!

3 Likes
6

Really don’t see the benefit to arb by using grants to refund gas/fees. It’s a non-issue to growth of the chain.

7

Thank you for making these changes! Your submission now meets all requirements to be considered for a snapshot vote.

2 Likes
8

Can you provide the address of these LPs?

1 Like
9

Can you describe in more detail what these limits will be?

1 Like
10

There are already many cheap bridging options to Arbitrum. This framework should be for incentivising apps on the chain to bring users to the ecosystem. Giving incentives to a bridge does not add value. No one uses Arbitrum just because of a bridge, they use Arbitrum because of GMX etc.

On top of this,

There are no Orbit chains live yet? How do you justify 300k for something that isn’t even active or operational.

There is no clarity or details about ‘supertokens’ or what this looks like.

This proposal incentivises Socket at the expense of the ecosystem, therefore I am voting against.

1 Like
11

Hello @sriram ,

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.

3 Likes
12

Orbit chains are an important part of Arbitrums roadmap and there at least 10 in the making. Some have announced their plans publicly such as Xai, Sanko, Winr etc. but many have not and so we are not at liberty to disclose them.

13

I believe socket is a powerfull tool to improve user experience. As abracadabra we are looking forward to implement socket infrastructure for our upcoming GMX v2 products and Abritrum native products!

I have personally spoken with multiple users that joined either Jones or GMX products from other chains thanks to socket implementations, and I am looking forward for any improvement that this grant might add.

Support the proposal!

1 Like
14

Blockworks Research is inclined to support this proposal on the condition that the requested amount comes down from 1.5M ARB to 1M ARB based on, among other things, the anticipated sustainable impact on, and goodwill to, the ecosystem, metrics such as TVL / volume / fees on Arbitrum and overall, a comparative analysis of all submitted STIP proposals, the distribution of incentives across verticals, as well as, to a certain extent, the recommendations made by the Arbitrum Working Group through the four grant categories.

1 Like
15

@sriram Friendly reminder to complete the following:

16

We have incorporated all the valuable feedback from Blockworks, Matt, axlvaz!

Our STIP is now ready to proceed from [Draft] to [FINAL], pinging @stonecoldpat @eli_defi @cliffton.eth for reference.

Thank you, all, for helping moderate all of these STIPs, much appreciated!

2 Likes
17

Thank you for your thoughtful feedback!

We have lowered the requested amount to 1M ARB to show goodwill and make sure more projects are eligible for grants during this round.

We are happy to be aligned with the Arbitrum ecosystem and excited for the first STIP Round!

1 Like
18

Post has been marked FINAL and locked.

1 Like
19

Full support on this. Had the pleasure to speak with Lito a couple times and we are using socket to use our chain abstraction usdc bridge instead of directly integrating to cctp.

Socket-based infra seems to be the way to build vertical wallets, something that we should be advocating in the space to fully develop chain-agnostic products.

1 Like
20

I am writing to express our unwavering support for Socket and their commendable contributions to the Arbitrum ecosystem. We’ve been diligently monitoring Socket’s progress and have had the privilege of establishing a close working relationship with their core team. Moreover, I am personally a fervent user of Socket’s services and have enthusiastically recommended them to my community.

I like the proposal put forth by Socket. Despite not being native to Arbitrum, Socket has already made significant strides in bolstering the ecosystem. Their dedication and commitment to further enhancing the platform in the future are undeniable.

1 Like