Summary
December was a pivotal month for Balancer, and subsequently the Business Development Service Provider (BDSP), as we successfully launched Balancer v3. The BDSP efforts were primarily concentrated on partner engagement and establishing core liquidity across the initial launch chains (Ethereum and Gnosis). We also continued to support the growth of v2 where it made strategic sense.
Mid-Funding Review of BDSP Deliverables
At this midpoint of our current funding round, we assess our performance based on the objectives outlined in the BDSP funding proposal.
Initiative 1: Foster the Growth of the Balancer v2 Protocol
- Liquidity: While the general focus shifted to v3 towards the end of the quarter, the BDSP has consistently brought new partners and liquidity to Balancer v2 throughout the quarter. For example, the wBTC / eBTC pool with $3m of TVL as of writing, which launched in December.
- CowAMM Support: Launched multiple pools including the Euler 80/20 pool.
- Partnerships: Continued to build a robust partnership pipeline spanning defi protocols, new chains, infra partners, and more. A few new examples from December include World Liberty Fi, Hyperliquid, Ink (Kraken), etc.
- New metas: The BDSP and Maxis are focused on leveraging new opportunities. One such example is BTCfi where Balancer secured $28m in BTC derivatives on Mode and became the #1 dex on Mode by TVL. We will be leveraging those relationships to expand BTCfi on v3.
While v2 will continue to be an important part of Balancer’s platform, most of the attention from the BDSP was focused on v3 ahead of launch once we got into late Nov, early Dec. More on that below.
Initiative 2: Support and Execute the Launch of Balancer v3
- Launch Preparation: Collaborated with the Maxis and other DAO contributors to define launch strategies, secure partnerships, and execute the launch.
- Initial Liquidity: along with @zendragon and great partners such as @karpatkey, we secured $30m+ in liquidity across Ethereum and Mainnet for v3’s launch.
- Boosted Pools: Launched with AAVE and Morpho as boosted pool launch partners and initiated discussions with other lending protocols for future integrations (Euler, Gearbox, Seamless, etc.).
- Incentive Strategy: Crafted a comprehensive incentive strategy utilizing BAL and USDC to support the v3 launch given v3 is without veBAL until January.
- Pipeline Development: Large pipeline is in motion across defi protocols on several chains.
- Aggregator Integrations: Vast majority of this initiative is credit to John G. and team, but BDSP helped establish relationships and nudge aggregators along as necessary.
To summarize, Balancer v3 came out with a bang right before the holidays and is primed to build on the momentum in Q1 especially as we deploy on new chains and can support additional use cases / partners. We have ambitious plans for v3 in 2025!
Initiative 3: Partner Support
With @zendragon heavy involvement, this is a particular area the BDSP believes separates Balancer from its competition. The BDSP and Maxis aim to exceed expectations with supporting partners across a variety of needs and do so in an expedient manner. Feedback from partners suggests we are being effective.
Financial Breakdown
- Discretionary Spending: $0 (budget is $4k total for the 6-month funding period)
- USDC: $12,000 per month (same as budget)
- BAL: 1,462 per month (same as budget)
Conclusion
December was a transformative month culminating in the successful launch of Balancer v3. Our concerted efforts in partner engagement, protocol development, and strategic planning have laid a solid foundation for continued growth. As we move into 2025, we are poised to capitalize on the momentum generated to enhance the Balancer ecosystem.