Applicant Name: 404 DAO [POC: Rika Goldberg]
POC TG: RikaGoldberg
Voting Wallet: 0xE93D59CC0bcECFD4ac204827eF67c5266079E2b5
What is your motivation for applying to this working group?
404 DAO’s motivation for applying to this working group stems from our passion and commitment to the Uniswap DAO. As active Uniswap Delegates, we are responsible for making process and policy decisions that impact the allocation of funds from the Uniswap treasury. It is this commitment to governance that motivates us to apply to this working group and play a direct role in ensuring the long-term health and sustainability of the Uniswap treasury.
Please list your association, history, and contributions to the Uniswap protocol or DAO
- We have been an active delegate in Uniswap for the last 8 months.
- We were elected for the underrepresented delegate program.
- We participated in the inaugural Blessing and GovSwap at ETHDenver.
- We regularly attend and participate in the Uniswap Community Call.
Briefly provide an overview of your experience with DAO treasury management, traditional fund/asset management, DeFi incentive programs, and/or any sort of professional investing
Our team is composed of individuals with education and experience in finance, accounting, and digital asset management. Specifically, the following team members plan to be most active in this working group:
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Ryan Demattia has over 12 years of experience in blockchain and crypto and has been managing institutional capital on chain since 2020. He is the Founder and Managing Director of multiple institutional digital asset funds, including Coindex Capital which was nominated for the HFM Best Digital Asset Fund in 2023, and has previously managed over $35M in AUM.
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Rika Goldberg has been working in blockchain and crypto since 2017. She is a former CPA and has worked at Deloitte and ConsenSys. In addition to her governance work at 404 DAO, she also contributes to Content Guild, MetaCartel DAO, and is a delegate for Open Dollar.
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Kaleb Rasmussen is a junior studying Finance and Computer Science at Georgia Tech. He is the VP of Governance for Blockchain at Georgia Tech and has interned with Engage Venture Capital, where he produced blockchain research.
Our team provides a risk management perspective to treasury management as Ryan’s work has focused on delta-neutral strategies with an emphasis on risk management
Additionally, 404 DAO was elected to Arbitrum’s Long Term Incentive Pilot Program Council, where we helped to design the program’s application and a scoring system (rubric), and reviewed 120+ applications, mostly targeted towards DeFi projects.
Propose one meaningful way by which Uniswap can bolster its treasury
First and foremost, we acknowledge that this working group’s scope does not encompass the direct implementation of treasury management strategies. Instead, the goal of the working group, as written in the forum post, is to “present the DAO with an assortment of options, backed by interviews and research.”
Given this context, we appreciate the opportunity to address this question hypothetically, drawing upon the expertise of our team members.
Uniswap can bolster its treasury by using DeFi protocols to unlock capital efficiency. For example, Uniswap could open collateralized-debt positions using UNI as collateral to borrow stablecoins. Uniswap could then lend these stablecoins on reputable battle-tested DeFi protocols such as Aave to earn interest.
We strongly advocate for Uniswap to take a holistic and balanced approach when executing this strategy. Alongside evaluating the strategy’s upside potential, it’s crucial for Uniswap to factor in risks and costs of using borrowing and lending protocols. Factors such as impermanent loss, accounting and tax implications, as well as administrative and operational best practices, should be thoughtfully considered. Moreover, it’s essential to weigh the opportunity cost of borrowing and lending on DeFi protocols against alternative strategies, such as simply swapping UNI for stablecoins.
We believe that a scoring system (i.e., a rubric) should be created to provide clear guidance for any implemented strategy. Such a system would strengthen Uniswap’s treasury by empowering the working group and ultimately the DAO with a structured framework and a North Star for thoughtful and clear decision making.
Lastly, we emphasize the importance of ensuring that any DAO-required actions around treasury management include strategies aimed at alleviating the decision-making burden and time constraints faced by delegates. It’s crucial to consider approaches that streamline decision-making processes to enhance the overall efficiency and effectiveness of governance within the DAO.