Hi everyone, thanks for checking out the Weekly Relay! Whether you hold MKR or DAI, own a vault, or want to get more involved in governance, this is your one-stop-shop for MakerDAO updates. Authors: @alec, @nothsa, @Sol_Invictus, and @Artem_Gordon CURRENT EVENTS 📰 Budgeting for the Bear Bear markets is always bleak, but ‘bleak’ is an ever-shifting point of reference. For many, the current macro-economic landscape represents that fresh perspective. As such, much of the week’s discussion focused on long-term profitability, with a wide range of posts and discussion calls centered around budgetary management. Some of these proposed solutions could see short-term ramifications, but they aim to position the DAO for the long term better. The most recent MakerDAO DVC Meeting saw these concerns discussed in detail. A written version of the signal, posted by @pipko of the Risk CU, and its ensuing discussion can be found in this thread. Summary of the Risk CU’s Budget Re-allocation Signal “[The protocol is] well capitalized with a return to profitability in sight, but cost structure must be reassessed.” Current Financial Position ● The DAO incurred no ‘bad debt’ linked to key CeFi lenders despite significant initial exposure. ● Over a 1-month window that began on May 1, non-stable collateral fell from USD 3.3B to USD 1.2B, resulting in USD 11.3M in liquidation income. ● As of July 22, only 1.02B in non-stable collateral remains locked in the protocol, meaning the DAO can no longer rely on consistent liquidation income as a significant source of profit. Forecasted Revenue & Cash Flow ● The Protocol is operating at a loss of USD 2M per month until balance sheet assets are deployed into short-term treasury bonds. ● Without further deterioration in the crypto lending markets, Maker will break even by Q1 2023. Paths Forward Of the two proposed options, the Risk CU prefers ‘Option 2’ but will support any solution chosen by the DAO and MKR holders. That said, given their preference, the “Tactical Re-Allocation” option is more fleshed out in theory and form. As such, Option 2 will be the focus of this summary. Per Risk’s assessment, this approach enables token holders to allocate capital based on merit and granted holistically under a DAO-wide view. The framework aims to address myriad issues seen in the status quo, particularly surrounding: ● Transparency into CU activities and initiatives; ● difficulties surrounding performance evaluation, and; ● non-simultaneous budgeting periods. Proposed Budgeting Process Note that each stage of this process would be executed across all existing and proposed core units concurrently. 1. Core unit Budget & KPI Proposals ● Delegates and MKR holders would first determine the ‘Targeted Spend’ level for the budgeting period through an on-chain vote. ● CUs then propose budgets, layout key operating activities, strategic goals, and KPIs, and highlight capital tradeoffs in a “low/high” budget allocation scenario. ● As part of this process, CUs promise to deliver operating results (in the form of KPIs) in return for a capital allocation from the DAO. ● As such, core units should identify and release operational KPIs that accurately reflect the impact and return their services offer the protocol. ● Delegates and MKR holders would then assist core units with developing, negotiating, and measuring KPIs to confirm that the targets set are reasonable for both the unit and the protocol. 2. Budget Proposal Evaluation With the help of delegates and MKR holders, several competing budget iterations would be drafted and polled. The general flow would track as follows: ● Delegates and MKR holders vote in an on-chain ranked choice poll on the competing budget plans presented, excluding proposals that do not meet the agreed upon ‘Target Spend.’ ● After a ranked choice poll is selected, the winning budget plan is proposed to an on-chain binary vote. 3. Capital Allocation & KPI Re-Targeting After on-chain confirmation, CU Facilitators would be expected to communicate the perceived impact that both “lower and higher” capital allocations would impact their KPIs and new operational promises would be established. 4. Evaluation of KPI attainment Once the KPI period is complete, the delegates and MKR holders will review each core unit’s KPI scorecard to understand how they performed against their strategic goals. Once KPI attainment can be condensed into a qualitative metric, Delegates and MKR holders would have the information necessary to make informed decisions moving forward. The post ends with a Signal Request meant to gauge community sentiment on the proposed options. Option 2: Tactical Reallocation has currently captured 48% of the total votes. Note that due to the urgency triggered by market conditions, this signal will run for one-week and is set to end on July 30th. Announcement: Delegate Migration In this post, DUX Core Unit Facilitator @0xdeniz outlines a new feature added to the Governance Portal. Delegate contracts, through which delegators delegate their MKR voting power to delegates, expire after one year. Because of this, delegates and their delegators need to migrate to a new contract once the old one expires to ensure that delegated MKR intended to be activated for use in governance operations does not go “stale.” To facilitate this process, the Governance Portal UI now displays a banner letting both delegates and their delegators know when their existing delegate contract is expiring and offering guidance through the migration process. Request for feedback - legal work for MakerDAO @Balloonist, a member of SES’s currently incubating Legal Research Team, has put together a document intended to serve as a go-to resource for answering legal and other questions: “a Stack Overflow-like database for DAO and DeFi problems and solutions.” @Balloonist envisions the document potentially becoming broader in scope and encompassing contributions from members of other DAOs to help define and refine problems and offer broadly applicable solutions. Codeknight Delegate Platform My goal is to turn Maker into a trillion-dollar entity that is easy to understand and decentralized. I am committed to helping grow Maker into a sustainable, profitable system. @CodeKnight published their Delegate platform on Monday. Their core values include: ● Simplifying the core protocol by eliminating unnecessary complexity, making it easier for stakeholders to understand the protocol and its governance, as well as making decentralization easier to achieve ● Developing sustainable, decentralized systems ● Making sure MKR holders’ interests are represented In terms of voting expectations, @CodeKnight states that they will support proposals that anticipate “strong risk-adjusted returns” and object to proposals that are too expensive. End-Game Summary - Part 5 @LongForWisdom published a new edition of their work summarizing @rune’s ongoing series of posts on his Endgame Plan. Part 5 of the Endgame Plan is the first to discuss the Endgame Plan Product Roadmap, a complete list of all the core Maker products and features that will need to be in place to establish the immutable Endgame state described in @rune’s posts. This summary provides basic info about each of the products delineated in the original post, together with notes on timelines and objectives. https://dune.com/stratfi/maker-stratfi-directory, The Strategic Finance Core Unit has made its dashboards and queries publicly available. A wide range of data is accessible on topics from stablecoins to oracle gas fees. Governance Security Module (GSM) Adjustment [Informal Poll] The Governance Security Model (GSM) Pause Delay is used to help ensure MKR holders have time to review all upcoming protocol changes for malicious intent before they are enacted. This poll, which aims to gather sentiment from the community on whether to adjust the GSM Pause Delay, is coming to a close. The “no change” option is currently in the lead, which would preserve the current GSM Pause Delay of 48 hours. This Week in Governance Weekly MIPs Update #97 Ratification polls, proposals, and pre-MIP discussions. Executive Vote(s) This week’s Executive Votes were put on hold as a valuable portion of our members and Delegates were attending–and enjoying–Paris EthCC. Stay tuned to the next G&R Meeting for further information on upcoming Executives. Last week’s Executive: MOMC Parameter Changes – Passed on July 14, 2022, 06:10 UTC. Executed on July 16, 2022, 06:16 UTC. Active Poll(s) Community Greenlight Poll(s) Less than a week to cast your vote for the only Greenlight on chain: Greenlight Poll Vote Breakdown Start Date End Date Community Greenlight Poll - bIBTA (Backed Finance Short-Term Bond ETF) July 18, 2022, 16:00 UTC August 01, 2022, 16:00 UTC Ended Poll(s) @Patrick_J became the novel Governance Facilitator for GovAlpha, to serve along @Prose11 as a Co-Facilitator, with the unquestioned approval of our community. Congratulations, Patrick! 🤝 Poll Name Vote Breakdown End Date Ratification Poll for Governance Facilitator Onboarding GOV-001 (MIP41c4-SP37) July 25, 2022, 16:00 UTC Meetings and Events Last Week’s Call Recordings: ● Open Decentralized Voter Committee | Forum | Video ● Delegate Office Hours | Discord | Video ● Governance and Risk - Ep. 200 | Forum | Video ● Open Decentralized Voter Committee | Forum | Video Upcoming Calls: ● Open Decentralized Voter Committee | Forum | Join Link on Wednesday, July 27 at 19:00 UTC ● Delegate Office Hours | Discord | Join Link on Thursday, July 28 at 16:00 UTC ● Governance and Risk - Ep. 200 | Forum | Join Link on Thursday, July 28 at 17:00 UTC ● Open Decentralized Voter Committee | Forum | Join Link on Thursday, July 28 at 19:00 UTC Core Unit Office Hours ● Join Link | GovAlpha Governance Q&As - Mondays at 17:00 UTC ● Join Link | Immunefi Security - Every Other Monday at 23:00 UTC | Alternative Join Link - Every Other Wednesday at 15:00 UTC ● Join Link | Protocol Engineering - Tuesdays at 15:00 UTC ● Join Link | Sustainable Ecosystem Scaling - Tuesdays at 13:30 UTC ● Join Link | Growth - First Wednesday of Each Month at 17:00 UTC ● Join Link | Real World Finance - Every Other Wednesdays at 18:00 UTC ● Join Link | Governance Communications - Fridays at 18:00 UTC ● Join Link | 6S Capital - Every Other Wednesday at 14:00 UTC Disclaimer Disclaimer: This update is assembled by a group of members in the MakerDAO community. This does not serve as financial advice or an inducement to vote in any specific way. This update is for information and communication purposes only.