Protocol Guild: Securing the Future of Ethereum's Core Protocol Development

Public Good Projects Discussion
6

Hello again everyone! This update follows the new format required of Octant’s recipients, using the long-term template:

Milestones and Deliverables

  • Milestone: Make working on Ethereum’s core protocol economically rational on a risk-adjusted basis
    • Immediate Outcome: Provide financial incentives - in the form of ecosystem tokens vested over 4 years - to Ethereum’s core protocol contributors, to incentive them to stick around for the long term
    • Metrics:
      • Total Protocol Guild Members: 177
      • Median Vested / Member Last 12 Months: $22,071
      • Median Vested / Member Next 12 Months: $53,234
    • Self-Assessment: Today the financial incentives associated with Protocol Guild membership are still not sufficient to (1) replace a full-time salary, or (2) counter large job offers these contributors get elsewhere in the ecosystem
    • Karma GAP: Karma GAP - Protocol Guild

Challenges

  • Previous Challenges:
    • Description: Our biggest challenge is establishing the Protocol Guild Pledge as a social norm
    • Updates: Since the last epoch, 1 new project has taken the pledge - re.al, a RWA-focused L2
    • Resolution: We will continue proactive fundraising initiatives to get more projects to take the pledge
    • Lessons Learned: Establishing a social norm is hard! Lots of time is needed. We are up for the challenge :saluting_face:

Outputs and Outcomes

Outputs (Last Epoch):

Short-term Outcomes: Raise awareness about Protocol Guild, to encourage more projects to donate / take the Protocol Guild Pledge

Long-term Outcomes: Establish the Protocol Guild Pledge as a social norm

Metrics for Outcomes: To avoid redundancy, please see relevant metrics shared in the “Milestones and Deliverables” section as well as “Other Funding” section

Plans for Potential Funds Raised in the Next Octant Allocation Window

  • Goal 1:
    • Description: Continue to boost the financial incentives associated with working on Ethereum’s core protocol
    • Expected Outcome: Onboard and retain Ethereum’s core protocol contributors over the long term
    • Funding Needed: Given the ambitious scope of our mission - to rebalance financial incentives towards Ethereum’s core protocol work - Protocol Guild requires continuous funding to achieve its goals. Ultimately, the long-term success of the Protocol Guild is thus contingent on it being embraced by Ethereum’s ecosystem and community.

Other Funding

Since the last update, we have received 179 donations from 115 unique donors, totaling $50mm at the time of donation (worth $22mm today). The vast majority of that came from Ether.fi, who followed through with their Pledge to donate 1% of their token supply to the Protocol Guild.

All Protocol Guild’s funding can be found in our Dune dashboard: https://dune.com/protocolguild/protocol-guild#donations

Future Plans for Financial Sustainability

We are looking to onboard a new full-time contributor to assist with fundraising efforts.

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