0xDAO Grant Program Framework (v1)
Background, Funding Priorities, and Workflow Process
Note: Effective 15 May 2022, v2 supersedes v1
Background
The 0x protocol’s mission is to create a tokenized world where all value flows freely. Currently, this manifests mainly through a set of performant, hardened smart contracts that enable the exchange of assets on various blockchain networks, along with a staking mechanism that incentivizes professional marketmakers to provide best-in-class, highly efficient liquidity and rewards ZRX token holders for optimizing liquidity rewards distribution.
The protocol has enabled over $25B in trading volume across more than 485K unique traders worldwide, while powering the backend exchange infrastructure for dozens of top DeFi applications.
Additionally, the network has generated over 3.6K ETH in fees paid to ZRX holders and marketmakers, underscoring the value that the network can create while aligning long-term incentives for token holders and network participants alike. Protocol usage consistently ranks in the top three DEX/DEX aggregator protocols as measured by volume, market share, and number of users.
To further accelerate ecosystem growth, the 0xDAO is establishing a grant program.
Funding Priorities
Generally speaking, we prefer opportunities that have the potential to grow protocol volume exponentially via win/win partnerships with balanced risk/reward.
Specifically, we have identified the following areas for prioritization:
Projects that increase 0x protocol volume (preference for orderbook-based volume)
Projects building on 0x protocol and Polygon
Protocol feature development (for example, integrating NFT support from v3 into v4)
Non-DeFi business models and use cases (social, games, etc.)
Research, simulation, and analytics related to tokenomics design
Branding strategy
Community engagement
Developer engagement and support
Note: Grants are intended to support new development and initiatives and will not be awarded retroactively unless there are unique or extenuating circumstances.
High-level Grants Framework and Workflow
Note: This is a dynamic environment and we expect changes to funding levels, workflow, data requirements, and evaluation criteria to happen frequently.
Funding and Decision-making Authority
The 0x community recently approved the 0x Ecosystem Value Experiment (0xEVE) and allocated an operating budget of 400K ZRX from the Treasury. 0xEVE has the authority to award grants that can be funded with its own budget. Given the current budget valuation, these will be smaller grants (<$50K). Larger grants (>$50K) will be awarded from Treasury funds and will require community approval via an onchain vote. In some cases, 0xEVE may award a grant for a prototype or MVP in advance of a larger award being proposed for community approval at a later date.
ZRX Requirements
There is no requirement to hold ZRX to apply for or propose a grant. However, submitting a proposal for a community vote requires the submitter to hold (or be delegated) 100K ZRX. For a proposal to be approved, it must meet the minimum threshold of 10M ZRX affirmative votes and the majority of all votes.
Process Flow
There are two paths that grants can follow. The first is through the 0xEVE team via an application form (small grants) and the second is directly to the 0x community via the governance forum (large grants). The 0xEVE team will evaluate and score grants proposed in the forum (similar to, but less complex than, the MakerDAO collateral onboarding framework).
Step 1: Grant seekers apply for funding using the application form or posting on the governance forum. If posting on the forum, please provide the same information required in the application form.
For grants < $50K, use the Google Form
For grants > $50K, post in the Governance Forum and in Snapshot
Note: If you are thinking about applying for a grant of more than $50K but aren't ready to post a proposal in the forum, please submit your idea using the application form to start a conversation with our team!
Step 2: 0xEVE team begins evaluation and contacts grant seekers if additional information or negotiation is needed. 0xEVE team may award grants that fall within its budgetary authority or publish evaluation and scoring for community consideration. Grant seekers should monitor the governance forum to provide additional information and feedback as needed.
Note: If 0xEVE declines or is unable to fund a grant <$50k, grant seekers can post a proposal on the forum to request funding from the Treasury.
Step 3: After a reasonable time period has passed to allow for community discussion and 0xEVE scoring (we suggest a minimum of 14 days), along with temperature check signalling from Snapshot, proposals may proceed to a vote (see ZRX Requirements, above).
For awarded grants, funding will be disbursed in accordance with milestones or other metric/accountability criteria, such as KPIs.
Note: We are working on establishing consistent KPIs related to volume and users
Depending on the type of grant and the specific work involved, the 0xEVE team will assist with coordination, report on progress and metrics, and share insights and learnings with the community.
Links
Grant Application (Google Form) https://forms.gle/xkhsE8W7jDHuHCK8A Governance Forum https://gov.0x.org/c/governance/ Snapshot https://snapshot.org/#/0xgov.eth Codebase https://github.com/0xProject Building on 0x https://0x.org/docs/core-concepts
Last updated