Introduction
This post serves to inform the community about my initial engagements with Maker DAO and what the community can expect from me as a protocol ambassador based on what I have learned about MakerDAO.
MakerDAO is one of the most reputable protocols in the ecosystem and has one of the oldest DAO/governance models in existence. So naturally, I believe we can learn a lot from how their DAO is run and take some lessons to feed the success of Index Coop.
For transparency, I had a call with their Core Unit Governance Facilitator this week. After this post in their governance forum.
Maker Governance
Briefly, Maker governance process starts with a Signal Requests - The Maker Forum in their forum. After that process is completed and a proposal gets a positive consensus. The proposal is moved to an on-chain poll that is voted on. If the on-chain poll goes well the proposal is prepped for an executive vote that uses staked MKR to vote in the final change to the Maker Protocol. The executive votes use a continuous governance model which means that the staked MKR used on votes has to be continuously moved from proposal to proposal meaning the same amount of staked MKR cannot be used to vote on two simultaneous proposals. If a holder wants to vote on a new proposal they must remove their staked MKR from any previous executive votes to support a new executive vote.
Meta-governance
We currently have 6493 MKR in DPI but due to the nature DPI we cannot vote on Executive votes however there is a possibility of Index Coop participating in signal requests which we believe is just as important. I will be engaging with the Engineering working group on completing this initial meta-governance integration.
Regarding participating in executive votes, that depends on whether changes are made on the DPI contract to allow the staking of tokens or if we can find a solution with the Maker DAO community. If any new developments occur in that regard I will push to integrate that as well into meta-governance.
Maker Operations
A brief note on how the protocol operates. Similar to the Index Coop working group model Maker DAO uses Core Units to maintain and scale the protocol. Each Core Unit has a mandate and in order to be created has to go through the governance process. The core units build consensus on prioritization by using a prioritization rubric in which each working group gives a score as to what products to prioritize for listing on the protocol. Each core unit is accountable to the community and has to provide weekly updates on activities to the community.
DPI Collateral On-boarding
In regards to DPI onboarding, we have been trying to push forward that process for a while with @overanalyser @DarkForestCapital on this forum post. The main problem seems to be complexity and risk of onboarding doesn’t justify the benefits from MakerDAO perspective. DPI will need to prove to borrow demand and more product adoption for the listing to push forward.
However, the process has given us an indication as to what to expect with Maker if we are looking to list our other/future products on their platform.
The Index Coop can expect the following from me as an ambassador:
- Attending MakerDAO’s weekly community calls to keep updated with all developments at Maker DAO
- Attempt to integrate MKR tokens held in the DPI contract to participate in Maker DAO Governance
- Assist in the on-boarding of Index Coop products as collateral on Maker Protocol
- Communicate any major developments involving Index Coop and Maker DAO to the community
I will definitely be taking lessons from my engagements with Maker DAO, with the hope of evaluating the feasibility of implementing some of their best practices here at Index Coop. The Maker DAO community support this ambassador initiative as it adds to the security of their protocol. The more idle MKR participating in their governance, the higher defense the protocol has against governance attacks.
Feedback is most welcomed, if you would like to see more from me let me know in the comments.
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