Blockchain Education Network (BEN) Delegation Platform

Older version posted May 2, 2023 at https://vote.uniswapfoundation.org/delegate/blockchainedu.eth

Contact info & delegation address information

Delegate Address: 0x66Aa8Bee5366b6b48811AE0Dac9Fe5e1EEfE1621

Delegate ENS Address: blockchainedu.eth

Website: https://blockchainedu.org

Twitter: https://twitter.com/blockchainedu

Voting Activity: https://snapshot.org/#/profile/0x66Aa8Bee5366b6b48811AE0Dac9Fe5e1EEfE1621

About

The Blockchain Education Network is a 501(c)3 and 1101.01(a)(2) entity established in 2014 to educate and empower the next generation of blockchain innovators. We are currently the largest network of blockchain university students, professors, alumni, with over 50k+ followers across all our socials.

Because of our mission and our non-bias as a non-profit, BEN has always been a trusted leader at the forefront of pushing blockchain innovation. We set up the BEN-Meta Delegate program for Uniswap, Aave, Compound, etc, assisted in setting up blockchain clubs as Uniswap delegates throughout 2021 and beyond, and created an educational DAO delegates course with an Aave DAO Grant.

Uniswap contributions

Since 2021, we have run the BEN Meta-Delegate program, initially supported by the UNI Grants Program. We experimented with a “1 student = 1 vote” model, held various governance calls, and voted on several proposals with 70+ students participating from over 13 universities around the world. This model also enabled international students to participate in governance without the bureaucracy of setting up a blockchain club at their school.

We assisted several blockchain clubs, including Rutgers, Blockchain at Michigan, and Penn Blockchain, in setting up their own Aave, Uniswap, and Compound delegates through educational workshops with Harvard Law and Berkeley and direct connections to interested parties like a16z who wanted to delegate their voting power to more student groups.

Additionally, we hosted a series of Twitter Spaces to educate about various UGPs. as part of our “UGP Grantee Showcase”

To this day, we push out calls to vote on important Uniswap proposals via our newsletter of 7k+ and socials of 50k+.

Skills and area of expertise

BEN was founded in 2014 and has a decade of building trust from our network. Our team has lived through Mt. Gox, the launch of Ethereum, the first DAO, the rise and fall of ICOs, DeFi Summer, the NFT craze, and more. We have seen blockchain projects start, raise, and die, so we know what it takes to succeed and how to listen to the community and the market to build a robust product. Uniswap is evolving, and the DAO needs to guide it intelligently as the space continues to grow.

Team

Tony Gomes is the President of the Blockchain Education Network (BEN). He graduated in 2020 from the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida. As an immigrant, Tony was driven by the pursuit of alternative financial inclusion solutions, leading him to a conference in 2015 where Ethereum was first introduced by Vitalik Buterin. This pivotal moment launched his career in digital assets.

Tony has held significant roles at Oracle Inc. and various venture capital firms, enhancing his expertise in strategic business alignment and operational execution. As the Capital Markets Architect at GDA.Capital, which has facilitated over $70M+ in private placements and managed over $100M+ in digital asset financings, underscoring his significant influence and deep expertise in the digital asset sector.

Erick Pinos is the Ecosystem Lead at Nibiru (https://nibiru.fi), where he has deep experience in coordinating and aligning incentives across ecosystem projects and DAOs. Nibiru recently raised $6m through a Coinlist sale and launched the $NIBI token on four simultaneous exchanges reaching a $1b+ FDV. He is an angel investor in several industries outside of crypto, including biotech and sustainability. Previously he was the Americas Ecosystem Lead at Ontology Network, where he helped with the launch of Wing Finance, setting up the Wing DAO, various proposals to improve WING’s tokenomics, driving $350m in TVL to the platform, and more. Erick has a BS in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he was the President of the MIT Bitcoin Club and a researcher at the MIT Digital Currency Initiative.

Reasons we are a delegate

As a Uniswap delegate, we are committed to ensuring that a diverse range of voices are heard and represented in the governance process. Through our work with a16z in 2021 we brought representation to student voices across the board via a plethora of student club delegates, with an added focus on international student participation in regions like Turkey.

One of the founders of the Uniswap Foundation, Ken Ng, is a BEN alum and former director, which encouraged us to take on an early role in Uniswap governance. Additionally, we maintain a close relationship with Devin Walsh and Erin Koen, continuously gathering feedback on how we can grow. By continuing as a Uniswap delegate, we aim to amplify diverse voices, advance educational initiatives, and uphold our mission to empower the next generation of blockchain innovators.

What do you want to see happen in Uniswap governance over the next year?

We want to see more governance participation from qualified diverse voices, guiding the DAO to create real and tangible impact for the adoption of Uniswap. By encouraging a broader spectrum of qualified participants to engage in governance, we aim to bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas that can drive the platform’s growth and adoption. We believe that active and varied participation is crucial for the DAO’s success, as it fosters a sense of ownership and accountability among all stakeholders.

1 Like

Voting Update
https://www.tally.xyz/gov/uniswap/proposal/63
DeFi Education Fund
Voted “For”

As one of the “YES” voters for the original proposal in 2021, we applaud seeing DEF fight alongside crypto projects like Beba LLC and James Harper. We want to see more of DEF assisting in such legal battles helping smaller organizations opposing oppressive legislation and setting new precedents for better crypto regulations. We were considering voting “No” because the majority of the delegate votes supporting 300k UNI incentives. However, given the stipulations of the original proposal and since a lot of the votes for 300k in the temp check are now voting in favor of the 1 million on the onchain vote, we decide to vote “YES” for the 500k UNI + 500k UNI streaming.

Been reading through the reports and financials - $250k / mo burn rate, and a budget proposal of $200k / mo for the next 12 months. That’s 1m UNI an additional $11.3m, an additional 4.3 year runway, and we should be very diligent to make sure the funds are going to good use and be ready to stop the stream if needed.

Some thoughts-

  • DEF should prove it can fundraise equal or near equal amounts from other sources. The Arbitrum proposal is for DEF receiving up to 1.5m ARB ($1.2m)
  • DEF has provided a monthly budget breakdown but we also want to see a list of specific battles DEF is tackling for the next year besides the oracle patent and the de facto DeFi ban.
  • We also want to see an easier way to sort through DEF’s accomplishments. Reading through the DEF financials page, we have to click through month-by-month. The Arbitrum proposal does a good job of summarizing some of DEF’s largest accomplishments.
  • If broader education is a goal, we would also like to see growth plans there (# of newsletter subscribers, social media growth plan, etc).

We signed up for the newsletter, but not clear when future DEF community calls are or where the previous ones are archived.

1 Like

Voting Update
https://www.tally.xyz/gov/uniswap/proposal/64
Uniswap Delegate Reward- 3 Months Cycle 1
Voted “For”

Excited to see the results of the program.

2 Likes

Voting Update
https://www.tally.xyz/gov/uniswap/proposal/65
Uniswap Arbitrum LTIPP Matching
Voted “For”

Uniswap should match Arbitrum’s incentives and doubling down on their continued success on Arbitrum.

https://twitter.com/BlockchainEdu/status/1805624948121018582

1 Like

Voting Updates

7/27 - [Temp Check] Uniswap Onboarding Package - Gnosis Chain

  • Voted “$250k”
  • We generally support deployment of Uniswap on new chains.

8/7 - [On-chain] Onboarding Package for Gnosis Chain

  • Voted “For”
  • See above

8/7 - [Temp Check] Uniswap Onboarding Package - OKX

  • Voted “Against”
  • We generally support deployment of Uniswap on new chains but in this case OKX is not providing incentives to match Uniswap’s.

8/13 - [Temp Check]- Revised - Uniswap Onboarding Package - OKX Chain

  • Voted “For”
  • OKX took in community feedback and we were in favor of the new terms.

8/14 - [On-chain] Deploy Uniswap v3 on X Layer

  • Voted “For”
  • Covered above
    8/24 - [REDO: Temp Check] Activate 2, 3, 4 bps fee tiers on Uniswap v3 on Base
  • Voted “For”
  • In order for Uniswap to remain competitive, it needs more flexibility to adjust the fees. From the proposal it was surmised that fragmenting liquidity and lowering fees doesn’t have as much of a negative impact on L2s as it would on Ethereum, so it’s a worthwhile experiment.

8/25 - [Temp Check] Uniswap Delegate Reward Initiative - Cycle 2

  • Voted “Yes”
  • Delegates should be compensating for voting and proposing. This continuation of the program with the additional tweaks are worthwhile experiments to spur more community participation