Provide a Monthly Recurring Grant to brainbot

Shutter DAO DAO Proposals
1

Proposal

Provide a monthly recurring grant to brainbot to fund rapid technology development and robust marketing (in the context of the roadmap below) in order to aggressively go to market and generate revenue, thus benefiting the Shutter Network ecosystem, including but not limited to Shutter DAO 0x36, members, Keypers and the broader ecosystem.

Grant Amount & Disbursement Schedule

Shutter DAO 0x36 will disburse a grant of 233,000 (two hundred thirty-three thousand) USDC per month to brainbot on the 15th day of each month, for up to 12 months, starting on 15 August 2024.

Motivation

brainbot gmbh is the original team behind Shutter open source technology and the Shutter Network ecosystem. We started developing Shutter with a vision to make blockchains more credibly neutral, equitable, and accessible for everyone. We are proud of our recent milestones and achievements - including our very first launch of Shielded Trading on a major L1. At the same time, we believe we are at the very beginning of exploring applications of Shutter technology.

We see the next 6-12 months as a critical window of opportunity. In this time, Shutter is well positioned to leverage successful implementations on Gnosis Chain and Snapshot to secure additional integration partners, bringing these integrations to market, and enable the Shutter Network ecosystem (esp including Shutter DAO 0x36 and Keypers) to generate revenue.

In the past 4 months, brainbot has driven Shutter on an aggressive path forward - going from strength to strength. First, we have deployed Shielded Trading (encrypted mempools) on an OP Stack testnet and Gnosis Chain Mainnet. Second, we have supported the expansion of the Shutter Network by helping bring in a range of top teams - dev house on retainer, auditors, AI agent developers and TEE engineers - to develop complementary components and systems. Third, we have also spearheaded a brand refresh and marketing campaign, making Shutter more visible and accessible to retail users - our ultimate customers.

In the next 4 months and beyond, brainbot seeks to double down on recent successes and take an even more aggressive approach to market and revenue generation. We will focus technology development on one key goal and integration at a time - currently Gnosis Chain. At the same time, we will parallelize research, collaboration and outreach - e.g. conceptualizing an integration into the Espresso Sequencer framework or a potential PBS integration together with Chainbound/Bolt. First, we will make improvements to Shielded Trading on Gnosis Chain and then work to implement Shielded Trading on a second major chain - either an L1 or an Ethereum L2. Second, we will work to develop ways to generate revenue for the Shutter Network ecosystem from Shielded Voting on Gnosis Chain Mainnet and other chains. Third, we will increase support for other developers in the Shutter Network ecosystem - those working on complementary components and systems, and EthGlobal Hackathon participants. Fourth, we will continue expanding our marketing and communications campaigns with more digital assets, social media engagement, content dissemination via reputable KOLs, and an onboarding process for new ecosystem members.

brainbot is reaffirming our long-term commitment to the Shutter ecosystem. We believe in the Shutter vision now more than ever, and we see a strong opportunity to bring that vision to life - delivering impact for the crypto community and creating significant value for the Shutter Network ecosystem.

Recent Achievements

Technology

Shutterized OPStack Testnet on Sepolia

Successful deployment of a Shutterized OP Stack testnet L2 on Sepolia which integrates Shutter’s encrypted mempool. Read more.

Transaction Ordering Simulator and Research Project

Analysis, modeling and simulation of various transaction sequencing strategies and their impact on MEV and user loss. Read more.

Shutterized Gnosis Chain Chiado Testnet

Implementation of the Shutterized, encrypted mempool and “Shutterized Beacon Bhain” concept on Gnosis Chain’s testnet, Chiado. Shutterized Gnosis Chain Mainnet Full deployment of Shutter technology on Gnosis Chain mainnet, including opt-in RPC for encrypted transactions with support from Nethermind client for validators. Read more.

Marketing & Communications

Public Relations

Issued a press release announcing the launch of Shutterized Gnosis Chain, earning organic and syndicated press release coverage across 57 publications with a combined monthly traffic of over 300 million visitors. Publications include: Markets Business Insider, CoinMarketCap, CoinDesk, Cryptonomist, The Defiant, Jinse, U Today, 0xzx, and others. Languages include: English, Mandarin, German, Spanish, Japanese, and Farsi. [See example here and here.

Commentaries

Wrote and published multiple X (Twitter) articles featuring insightful commentaries on the latest discussions surrounding malicious MEV by industry leaders and regulators. [See example here,
here, and here .

EthCC Activations

Held on-site activations - Shutter EthCC Bingo, Sandwich Attack!, and Rock Paper Scissors Challenge - in front of the EthCC venue over 4 days to raise awareness, educate the community about Shielded Trading, and celebrate the launch of Shutterized Gnosis Chain. [See more here and here.

Shutter Network Brand Refresh

Complete rebrand - including new logo, colors, architecture, product names, story and characters, and website - to make Shutter technology more visible and accessible. Read more.

Roadmap

Team

Grow the brainbot team dedicated to Shutter from 10 FTEs to 14 FTEs, including new:

  • senior protocol developer
  • senior protocol researcher, and
  • community and social media manager

Technology

Shielded Trading on Gnosis Chain

Continuous improvement of Shielded Trading on Gnosis Chain. Stage 2 may feature: higher stability, further decentralized Keyper set, higher percentage of participating RPCs, high percentage of participating validators, dashboards for increased system visibility, integrating with DEXs, exploring Eigenlayer-esque integration (inc hybrid re-staking with SHU and GNO for participating validators).

Shielded Trading on Ethereum L1

Research opportunity for Shutter to develop an out-of-protocol MEV and censorship prevention solution on Ethereum L1 utilizing pre-confirmations.

Shielded Trading on Ethereum L2s

Secure partnerships to build and launch a implementation of Shielded Trading on Ethereum L2s, with priority foci on OP Superchain and Arbitrum Orbit Chains.

Shielded Trading Revenue Streams

Identify and analyze various possible Shielded Trading revenue streams, including: end user transaction fees, base layer subscription fees, backrunning revenue sharing, etc. Implement one or more Shielded Trading revenue streams into live implementations.

Cryptography Research

Research regarding FHE, MPC and other encryption protocols to extend Shutter scope and security.

Shielded Voting Integrations

Build and launch an implementation of Shielded Voting for Kleros and/or Optimism Agora.

Developer Relations

Shutter Network Members

Provide support and guidance to Blockful.io and other developers who have been assigned development tasks by Shutter DAO 0x36.

Hackathon Participants

Provide inspiration, encouragement, tooling, documentation and hands-on support to hackathon participants who are building products and tools related to Shutter at EthGlobal Hackathons (Singapore, San Francisco, Bangkok) and other hackathons.

Marketing & Communications

Ongoing Public Relations

Secure continuous media coverage from high-authority sites and publications.

Brand Development

Refine the images and animations on the website and social media channels.

Website Expansion

Create webpages for Shutter products - Shielded Trading and Shielded Voting - aimed at raising awareness and increasing adoption among retail users.

Content Creation

Create a regular flow of creative and engaging social media content featuring Sir Shieldswell and the new character set. Increase Shutter Network presence and engagement on social media through targeted campaigns.

KOL Activation

Recruit and engage key opinion leaders to amplify our messaging and to educate retail users about the problems - sandwich attacks and vote manipulation - and Shutter solutions.

Galxe Campaign

Launch a Galxe campaign and incentive program, designed to onboard retail users to the Shutter Network via a series of quizzes and quests. Host a monthly lucky draw, deliver prize money to a winner - more engagement with the Galxe campaign and ecosystem creates more chances to win.

Activations & Events

Hold creative on-site activations at or adjacent to crypto events. Deliver presentations and participate in panel discussions at major crypto conferences and hackathons. Leverage activations and events to create social media content to reach wider audiences.

Misc

Rationale for a Monthly Recurring Grant

Several community members have suggested that Shutter DAO 0x36 could provide a monthly recurring grant to brainbot gmbh for core development and marketing.

A monthly recurring grant would reduce administrative burden on Shutter DAO 0x36 and allow brainbot gmbh to engage in more efficient long term financial planning.

Roadmap vs Deliverables

brainbot gmbh provides the roadmap (above) for general informational purposes only. brainbot gmbh may add, remove, modify, prioritize, and/or deprioritize items on the roadmap at its sole discretion.

This grant funds and supports brainbot gmbh’s work in developing Shutter open source technology and the Shutter Network ecosystem surrounding it. This grant does not fund specific deliverables.

Reporting

brainbot gmbh will publish a public report at the end of each month, detailing our activities and accomplishments.

Additional Costs

brainbot will use the grant to develop open source software and expand marketing & communications campaigns in the context of the roadmap. It may be necessary for brainbot to hire third party agencies to perform specialized tasks - e.g. auditing, content creation, public relations, etc. In some cases, brainbot may be able to pay for these additional costs out of pocket. In other cases, brainbot may apply for additional grant(s) for specific purposes.

Discontinuation

Shutter DAO 0x36 may discontinue disbursements under this grant at any time via Decent vote and transaction execution.

Transactions


Transaction info will be added here soon.

Voting Options

Vote “Yes” to provide a monthly recurring grant to brainbot gmbh

OR

Vote “No” to not provide a grant

OR

Vote “Abstain” if you do not have an opinion but want to help the vote reach quorum

License

CC0: This work is marked with CC0 1.0 as dedicated to the public domain.

2 Likes
2

I am supportive of this grant however I would like to see a more detailed breakdown of how the funds will be spent. Can you provide a breakdown of the split between the different functions ie R&D, marketing, development etc?

3

Thank you for this proposal. In our view the proposed roadmap focus makes sense and it may be a good way to streamline things to accelerate growth and adoption. We especially believe the “Shielded trading on Ethereum L1”, “Shielded trading on Ethereum L2s”, and “Shielded trading revenue streams” are of utmost importance along with awareness. Key for Shutter is to move from R&D and low use → strong product-market-fit with a sustainable business model.

Here are some of our considerations for the proposal

  1. While the proposal in its current forms specifies that it does not fund specific deliverables, it is our view, that certain specific key deliverables should be specified for such grant to ensure accountability. An example could include 1. research report on shielded trading on Ethereum L1 incl. target delivery date, 2. Implementation of shielded trading on Ethereum L1 incl. target delivery date (might be subject to outcome from 1.). Prior deliverables of key roadmap items have been very delayed and it is thus important that we are sharp here.

  2. A budget overview is necessary for us to have before we can decide whether to be in favour or not as well as commitment to transparently report on a monthly basis the use of the funds from the grant.

  3. Monthly reporting on key results of the efforts would also be needed.

Looking forward to hearing Brainbot’s feedback and the rest of the community’s voices

1 Like
4

Thank you @d0z3y and @dbas for your comments and questions. I’m sharing a couple replies below:

Projected Costs

Here is a breakdown of brainbot’s projected costs by category:

  • Dev: 44.1%
  • Other: 11.9%
  • RnD: 11.6%
  • Biz Dev: 10.8%
  • Marketing: 9.7%
  • Admin: 9.1%
  • Legal: 2.7%

Projected Costs

Reporting

As mention in the original proposal (above):

5

Thanks Loring. Does “detailing our activities and accomplishments” include monthly breakdown of the actual spend? We’d like to see that on the monthly reporting

6

Yes, brainbot can include a breakdown of the actual spend in our monthly report.

1 Like
7

A quick update and small modification to the proposal:

We have created a transaction to set up a Sablier stream, which (if approved and executed by Shutter DAO 0x36) will automatically transfer 233,000 USDC from Shutter DAO 0x36 to brainbot on the 15th day of each month. Unfortunately, we are unable to test the transaction due to an issue with Sablier and Decent.

As a result, we are now creating a new transaction, which (if approved and executed by Shutter DAO 0x36) will make a one-time transfer of 200,000 USDC + 33,000 USDGLO from Shutter DAO 0x36 to brainbot. I will add the new transaction here soon.

Then, once the transaction to set up a Sablier stream is tested and confirmed, we will put it to a second vote on Decent.

8

As mentioned above, here are the new transactions for a one-time transfer:

Transfer 200,000 USDC to brainbot gmbh

targetAddress: 0xA0b86991c6218b36c1d19D4a2e9Eb0cE3606eB48
functionName: transfer
functionSignature: address,uint256
parameters: 0xb75E2fB01521Bd7b6369F831414840A54a3C7234,200000000000
value: 0

Transfer 33,000 USDGLO to brainbot gmbh

targetAddress: 0x4F604735c1cF31399C6E711D5962b2B3E0225AD3
functionName: transfer
functionSignature: address,uint256
parameters: 0xb75E2fB01521Bd7b6369F831414840A54a3C7234,33000000000000000000000
value: 0
9

The revised proposal (a one-time transfer) has been put to a vote on Decent:

Voting will be live now through Thursday, August 8 at approx 16:00 CET.

In the meantime, we can continue the discussion here.

10

Base on the pie chat, I would love to know how many full time contributor in the team now and what’s the role. Previously, brainbot will ask extra grant for the activity(such as ETHCC), if we pass this proposal is everything will be included? Will be great if also have the resporting for the detial of the spend thx.

11

Hi @franklivid - Thanks so much for your questions. A few replies:

I would love to know how many full time contributor in the team now and what’s the role.

brainbot’s team dedicated to Shutter is currently ~13.5 FTEs:

  • 1 CEO
  • 1 Finance & Admin
  • 2 Business Development
  • 2 Marketing & Communications
  • 6 Protocol Developers
  • 1 Researcher
  • 1 Lawyer (part time)

Depending on the needs of the project, brainbot may hire an additional senior protocol developer and/or a social media manager.

If we pass this proposal is everything will be included?

Mentioned in the grant:

“brainbot will use the grant to develop open source software and expand marketing & communications campaigns in the context of the roadmap. It may be necessary for brainbot to hire third party agencies to perform specialized tasks - e.g. auditing, content creation, public relations, etc. In some cases, brainbot may be able to pay for these additional costs out of pocket. In other cases, brainbot may apply for additional grant(s) for specific purposes.”

In summary, brainbot will pay for minor additional costs out of pocket, but may need ask Shutter DAO 0x36 to pay for major additional costs.

At present, brainbot does not foresee any major additional costs.

Will be great if also have the reporting for the detail of the spend thx.

brainbot will provide Shutter DAO 0x36 with a monthly report, including:

  • grant money actually spent (also, any grant money not spent and therefore carried over for future use)
  • activities
  • milestones and achievements
1 Like
12

I had to vote no on this one because I feel $2.5M USD/year or $16k/head/month burn with the current accountability model is a bit of a stretch. (Note that the proposal passed regardless, so it does not matter.)

I understand that the development needs to be funded, but good governance would be to have someone who is independent to follow up brainbot and report to DAO. So I am voting no on the basis of the governance, not on that the money is going to be well spent.

13

I agree with you. It was a precipitated vote. The DAO funds should not be directed to a single entity. The DAO funds should never be “used” - They should be part of a proven business plan that ultimately grows the value of the project. Since the Brainbot vote passed, the price of the token, which is the ultimate measure of the success of anything that happens with Shutter, has tanked way passed its previous low, which tells a lot about how the community actually received that vote. Badly. This is just the beginning and we should continue to monitor the situation, as if it is not improved, the vote for funding should be canceled in the nearterm future.