Thanks for opening up the discussion, Brendan. This topic has so many nuances and levels, I’ll try my best to combine my feedback and commentary while keeping a red thread.
I don’t have an opinion about this yet, but would appreciate any input from PoolTogether OGs like @gabor, @Torgin, @BraveNewDeFi, @therealtuna, or @Leighton.
What has been the initial reason for introducing this governance ability?
The reasoning makes sense though. Winding down governance would lead to this anyway, I’d figure?
The time has come!
When thinking of POOL distribution, it’s interesting to browse some posts from back when the distribution initially ended. Example: POOL Distribution & V4 Rollout
It feels like we’re finally able to return to the original plan and vision. Let’s get this dusty treasury POOL in the hands of the users again. I’m all for it.
I see the pilot program as extremely valuable for sustaining some flexibility and ensuring we can react to potential flaws or surprises.
With this in mind, it will be useful to define a set of metrics and questions in advance we can later use to evaluate the success of our pilot program. We’re looking at a tight schedule that’s potentially about to begin very soon, so we should have it all in place to swiftly incorporate feedback and learnings from the pilot phase into the automated program.
Is there any existing tech to leverage you have in mind or is the plan to create a custom-built solution? Eg. could this simply be streamed to the rewards contracts or do we need to plan for intense security audits?
Getting right to it. I like it. We need to force ourselves to action.
At first look, the swift two-step timeline feels scary. I think this is normal when facing a big decision like this. However, this requires us to have a bulletproof plan. It could be worth thinking of adding another phase in between the pilot and final all-in and having two shorter pilot phases instead of a long one.
This Governance Will Self-Destruct
Great points, Brendan. I’m with you here. Winding down governance feels inevitable and right.
A truly decentralized protocol is owned by no-one because it belongs to everyone. PoolTogether is a true public good and it belongs to anyone onchain. It’s not just a hype-y title from the marketing department but will be cemented with the executing the POOL endgame plan.
What makes PoolTogether valuable is that anyone can use it to make money.
Apps and products can be built on top. The protocol is designed so that any product leveraging it could accrue value in various ways (vault fees, prize hooks, etc). At the same time, the protocol enables builders to direct value generation toward other ecosystems. An example of what I mean by this: A team could build a prototype for a no loss donation platform and acquire direct grant funding from an ecosystem of their choice.
We still need to work on a shift in our culture to better empower and celebrate builders. No one should be afraid to present their work and progress. As a community, we need to become more hands-on in our feedback and support. I’m looking at people like @geeloko and @MTheory here - your help and judgment are super valuable to help us figuring out what direct improvements we can make.
Not a noobie question, but a great one!
Let’s take token tickers as an example. Any ticker could be used by any amount of different tokens. Who decides which is the “official” ticker? It’s the one that’s being used the most and shows the most liquidity.
How are decisions made on Ethereum? It’s the social consensus.
Anyone could make a decision. It’s the distribution and adoption that matters in the end.
This means, that even though there is no “governance”, governance is reborn in other means. There remains a need for platforms of exchange, like a forum, digital meetups, arrangements between contributors & builders, and so on.
Final thoughts
Historically the protocol always had one blocker that prevented it from scaling indefinitely. This time, the tech won’t be the issue.
The protocol is brilliantly designed and is highly adaptable and extendable. It’s ready to deploy to numerous chains and easily integrateable in both directions.
In my opinion, there are three key blockers to the protocol’s success:
- The POOL Token
- The PoolTogether Narrative
- The Distribution
I believe by leaning into the POOL endgame, we can remove all three.
This is our chance to clean up with all uncertainty and close the gap in PoolTogether’s narrative. POOL incentives will attract yield-generating assets allowing prizes to grow and making it more compelling to use the protocol for its prizes instead just its incentives.
I want to echo this call to action to everyone else!
Do you see a spot for you in helping PoolTogether succeed during the POOL endgame?
This is the time to get involved. Create a request for comment (RFC) here on the forum or drop a message in the #governance channel on Discord and get started by collecting some feedback for your ideas & budget.