Disclaimer: I am currently a Balancer Maxi and Director for the Balancer Foundation. Because of my engagement in the community, I am abstaining (and have abstained) from any SP Proposal voting
Introduction
As we further decentralize the Balancer ecosystem, we now look at the next 6-months to complete Year 1, with a view over Year 2, solidifying our Service Provider framework model. The Balancer community can now clearly see the core entities in the ecosystem and the role they are playing, pushing Balancer forward through the winter.
With no intention of being the only “source of truth” or reference, we understand keeping the community and Balancer stakeholders best informed of our Treasury health and forecast, is the best way to achieve decentralization through transparency.
This post assembles some useful information for easy consultation. Enjoy!
Resources
- Balancer Analytics by @Xeonus
- @solarcurve provided a great overview and a spreadsheet which models profit and loss within the DAO and helps understand the length of our USD runaway.
- Messari report “State of Balancer Q4 2022” sheds some light on our DAO activities, in contrast with our increasing market share in L2s and TVL holding when compared to other dexes.
- Spreadsheet on our Notion webpage showing money moving from Treasury to SPs (and vice-versa)
For additional context, please refer to this first report, released in August ‘22: State of the Balancer Treasury: Q4 2022
Service Providers
Orb Collective
Funding Proposal
Marketing Budget Q3 2022
Marketing Budget Q4 2022
August updates
September updates
October updates
3-Month Financial update
November updates
December updates
Orb Collective has shown an effort to reduce costs in a positive response to feedback and community concerns. Bizdev flagship was handed over to Maxis, reducing staff and relying more on community contributors, cutting marketing budgets for Q1/2023. Also noted, Orb has hired new tech employees, adding more to the integrations team, that now corresponds to 50% of the people. Orb has refunded the Treasury $291,165.77 USDC last month, roughly ~12% of the original ask for the 2022 budget.
Balancer Maxis
Funding proposal Q3
Funding proposal Q4
Funding proposal Q1 2023
July updates
August updates
September updates
October updates
November updates
December updates
Maxis see continuous funding and have taken more responsibilities on their agenda, notably adding the Bizdev relationships, the increase in community contributors through Coordinape and hiring a new talent Tritium initially focusing on governance rework. Aside from BAL rewards given to all community contributors, Maxis are only compensated by fully locked 1-year veBAL, which we can (biased and arguably) say it is the best format in interest of the Treasury.
Balancer Grants
Funding proposal Q3
Funding proposal Q4
Funding proposal Q1 2023
July updates
August updates
September updates
October updates
November updates
December updates
Balancer Grants committee also sees continuous funding, focusing almost entirely on developing projects building on Balancer. Wave 6 followed 19 approved grantees and organized an RFP (Request for Proposals) webpage, along with other ecosystem entities, for projects that want to tackle specific challenges and opportunities within Balancer. For a complete update, please refer to Wave 6 final report. Grants SP doesn’t take USD from the Treasury, as salaries and grants are paid in liquid BAL tokens.
Balancer Foundation
Balancer OpCo
The Foundation and OpCo have also succeeded cutting costs, specially focusing on non-people budget (contracts and subscriptions) that are understood to be seen in the following quarters. Headcount is intended to be capped at the current level, so we expect no budget increase for staff.
Conclusion
Please reach out for any feedback or missing information on this post for edits, and we’ll gladly respond to any inquiries to the best of our abilities.