Proposal Name
Working Group Uniswap - Arbitrum
Authors
Alastor and web3 Studios - bringing together top-tier experience from work in web3 (Uniswap, Zerion, Polygon, Lido, Gitcoin, and others), TradFi (Qatalyst, Blackstone), Consulting (McKinsey) and collectively creating an extensive web3 network.
Alastor is a crypto-native strategic and financial advisory firm for Web3 based out of New York. Its founders, Jordan Stastny and Sam Bronstein, were previously M&A advisors at Qatalyst and Citigroup where they advised leading technology companies on M&A and strategy.
The Alastor team recently prepared the Uniswap Fee Switch Report diving into fee switch ramifications and recommendations and served as advisor to mStable on their sale to dHEDGE. The Alastor team has done strategic grant work for Lido, Decentraland, and Gitcoin.
web3 Studios (“w3s”) is an investment banking firm exclusively focused on companies building the open economy based out of London, Lisbon, and Berlin. Founded by Blackstone and McKinsey alumni, the group facilitates M&A, capital raising, and strategic projects for web3 companies and DAOs.
The group has previously been engaged with Zerion, doing Strategic Work for Gro DAO, and conducted research work together with leading web3 firms such as Polygon, The Sandbox, and DappRadar.
This Working Group Zero (WG0) is aimed to propose the UNI-ARB Working Group guidelines and transitioning its operations into the hands of the community.
Abstract
We propose the establishment of the UNI-ARB Working Group, leveraging a substantial allocation of 2.2 million ARB tokens intended to enhance the Uniswap ecosystem within the Arbitrum Protocol. WG0 will work along two major sub-working groups focused on:
- Protocol Delegates: Active participation in Arbitrum governance through a delegation committee
- Ecosystem Fund: Management of grant program and research for projects fostering the Uniswap-Arbitrum ecosystem
Introduction
The objective is to form the UNI-ARB Working Group, tasked with exploring governance and operational structures that enable the DAO to maintain its operation and initiatives indefinitely. The Group will create a sustainable, community-led infrastructure that further decentralizes the DAO, improves operational efficiency, and maintains the flexibility to adapt to any arising opportunities. It will also provide a clear vision and mission for all initiatives within the Arbitrum and Uniswap ecosystem.
Motivation
The ARB airdrop provides the Uniswap community with an opportunity to enhance its presence within the Arbitrum ecosystem, thus nurturing growth. The received airdrop allows us to cover various aspects of ecosystem growth. The UNI-ARB Working Group will consolidate all initiatives under one structured system to ensure alignment with the Uniswap vision, ready to leverage potential allocation opportunities.
Rationale
The Working Group establishment will provide structure and a unified vision for the UNI-ARB ecosystem. It will incorporate the two main areas of Protocol Delegates and Ecosystem Fund. The future potential of the Sub-Working Groups is oriented at Uniswaps’ existing initiatives driving value to its ecosystem, namely, the Optimism delegation program and the Uniswap Grants program.
Hence, Working Group Zero (WG0) is acting as a structural roof of key Sub-Working Groups and is tasked with:
- Formation of the Sub-WGs, incl. participant nomination and election process
- Establishment of the Sub-WGs objectives and ground rules
- Initial planning of the investment schedule (picked up by the elected Grant Program)
Specifications
Working Group Charter
Mandate and Scope:
We propose the establishment of the UNI-ARB Working Group, allocating the ARB tokens as follows:
- Protocol Delegates: 1.1 million (25% of the total airdrop) ARB tokens for Governance - Empowering the committee to actively participate in Arbitrum governance and influence strategic decisions.
- Ecosystem Fund: 1.1 million (25% of the total airdrop) ARB tokens for Arb-Uniswap Grants - Supporting growth and development of projects within the Arbitrum-Uniswap ecosystem, with a focus on long-term benefits.
There are various suggestions to allocate a portion of the airdrop towards liquidity mining rewards; however, this particular proposal does not address that aspect.
1. Protocol Delegates
To ensure effective representation, a committee of 3-5 members will serve as dedicated representatives of the Uniswap community’s interests as it was implemented by Uniswap-Optimism Delegate Committee [LINK] . These committee members will exclusively represent Uniswap, ensuring unbiased decision-making. The primary goal is to actively engage in Arbitrum governance, allowing the Uniswap community to shape the future of the ecosystem.
Task areas:
The Uni-Arb Working Group will transparently and accountably represent the Uniswap community’s interests in the Arbitrum DAO. Potential responsibilities might include:
- Participation in voting discussions
- Voting participation through multi-sig
- Attendance at bi-weekly community calls
Selection criteria:
We would propose the same criteria to delegates as for the Optimism proposal, meaning that the successful candidate should satisfy the following qualities:
- Demonstrated contributions to the Uniswap and/or Arbitrum ecosystems
- Familiarity and experience with DAO governance
- Demonstrated Uniswap and Arbitrum protocol knowledge
- Commitment to being an active delegate based on proclaimed bandwidth
- No already existing ARB delegations to avoid moat building, while contributing new perspectives to the Arbitrum governance process
ARB allocation:
1.1 million ARB should be allocated to this Sub-Group, passing the minimum threshold of 1M tokens [LINK] allowing the committee to post on-chain proposals
2. Ecosystem Fund
The Ecosystem Fund, fueled by the ARB-Uniswap Grants, will serve a crucial role in fostering a thriving and sustainable Uniswap-Arbitrum ecosystem.
The fund could extend its scope in a multitude of ways:
- Strengthening ecosystem partnerships
- Seeking investment opportunities through the ARB-Uniswap Grants Program
- Assisting chosen projects with strategy, customer acquisition, retention, engagement, go-to-market, and fundraising/mints
To bring the Ecosystem Fund to fruition, we’ll begin with defining a clear investment policy that articulates our financial objectives, risk tolerance, and target investments. We’ll seek out innovative projects and initiatives within the Arbitrum-Uniswap ecosystem that align with our strategic goals and have a high potential for long-term growth.
Setting up a dedicated team will follow, composed of experts well-versed in DAO governance, blockchain tech, and investment management. This team will be responsible for overseeing fund operations, conducting due diligence, and making investment decisions.
Lastly, we’ll establish an investment schedule that lays out a timeline for deploying the funds. It will detail key milestones for the initial disbursement of funds and subsequent follow-on investments, ensuring an organized and effective allocation of resources to foster the growth and success of the ecosystem.
Potential task areas:
- Accelerator Program: A part of the funds could be used to run an incubator or accelerator program, providing a more structured way to support early-stage projects. These programs often provide funding, mentorship, and networking opportunities over a fixed period.
- Mentoring and Advisory Services: The Ecosystem Fund could provide mentorship and advisory services to grantees, offering guidance in critical areas such as strategy, customer acquisition, retention, engagement, go-to-market, and fundraising/mints
- Research Initiatives: A portion of the Ecosystem Fund could be allocated to support research initiatives aimed at exploring new use cases, or addressing technical challenges within the Arbitrum-Uniswap ecosystem.
- Developer Grants: These grants can be provided to developers or development teams to create new features, improve existing services, or address known issues within the ecosystem.
- Cross-community Grants: These can be aimed at community builders who can contribute to the growth of the Uniswap-Arbitrum ecosystem through educational content, community engagement initiatives, and promotional activities.
To initiate the Ecosystem Fund, we’re stepping forward to nominate ourselves as contributors, given our deep understanding of the Arbitrum-Uniswap ecosystem and our experience supporting leading early-stage projects (Uniswap, Zerion, Polygon, Lido, Gitcoin, and others) along their journey through our advisory work.
Additionally, we warmly extend an invitation to current contributors of the Uniswap Foundation / Grant Program or other talented individuals with complementary skillsets to join this Sub-Working Group. We believe that their insights, experiences, and ideas will be invaluable in shaping the direction of the Ecosystem Fund and ensuring its success in supporting the flourishing of the Uniswap-Arbitrum ecosystem.
ARB allocation:
1.1 million ARB tokens will be allocated to Arb-Uniswap Grants, supporting long-term benefits and the growth of projects within the Arbitrum-Uniswap ecosystem.
Working Group Zero Members
Initially, we propose the formation of the interim Working Group (WG0), comprising 3-5 members. This preliminary group will be entrusted with laying the groundwork for the overall structure, defining roles, responsibilities, and operational procedures. WG0 will set the foundation and provide a clear blueprint for the subsequent sub-working groups.
Post this initial phase, we will facilitate a nomination and election process to choose members for each of the two Sub-Working Groups: Protocol Delegates and Ecosystem Fund. We anticipate electing 5 members for each sub-group, resulting in a robust team of 10 members in total. We believe this size will balance the need for a wide range of skills and perspectives with the ability to maintain efficient communication and decision-making processes.
Steps to implement:
- Approve the formation of WG0: Align on the formation of a UNI-ARB Working Group Zero.
- Sub-working Groups Objectives and Ground Rules: Iterate on guidelines for the Sub-Working Group to follow together with the community.
- Define the Protocol Delegate Committee Scope: Establish the committee’s responsibilities, focusing on its role in Arbitrum governance and representing the Uniswap community’s interests.
- Kickstart the Sub-Working Group Election: Facilitate a fair and inclusive election process to select the committee members representing the Uniswap community.
- Define the Grant Program Vision: Articulate a comprehensive vision for the ARB-Uniswap Grants Program, supporting innovative projects and fostering growth in the Uniswap-Arbitrum ecosystem.
- Engage the community to surface new ideas and contributions.
- Provide regular updates to the DAO community on the group’s operations and decisions.
Timeline
- Week 1-2: Iteration on the proposal including feedback from Uniswap/Arbitrum community/contributors
- Week 3-4: Establishment of objectives and ground rules for Working Sub-Groups
- Week 5-7: Run nomination and election process
- Week 8+: Sub-Working Groups commence operations, incl. defining key deliverables and budget