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.