Optimizing Grants Strategy for Continued Growth on SSV Network
The ssv.network DAO (SSV DAO) has made significant updates to its grants strategy to align better with the evolving ecosystem’s needs. These changes aim to foster innovation, forge strategic partnerships, and ensure continued growth and success for the ssv.network ecosystem.
Current Grants Program: Key Highlights
The existing grants program, DIP-5, has been pivotal in supporting decentralized staking applications and services development on the SSV network. With 23,000+ validators and 745,000 ETH staked shortly after the mainnet launch, the program has awarded over $3 million across 60+ projects, cultivating a diverse staking ecosystem with various use cases and tooling.
Reasons for Strategic Changes
As the SSV network has evolved, integration and development processes have become more straightforward, leading to redundant grant milestones, such as seed funding and TVL growth incentives. The incentivized mainnet program effectively drives Total Value Locked (TVL) growth, decreasing the need for separate TVL milestones and prompting a revamp in the grants process.
Revamped Grants Strategy
The updated grants strategy focuses on innovation through open grants for unique use cases and strategic partnerships for critical ecosystem elements. Key changes include:
- New Application Process: Temporarily closing grants and reopening with the new strategy.
- Discontinuation of Seed Funding Grants: Halting seeding grants for staking services and pools.
- Support for Existing Grants: Guiding approved grants to completion.
- Phasing out TVL Grants: Avoiding conflicts with the incentivized mainnet program.
- Emphasis on Open Grants: Concentrating on grants for unique and critical ecosystem components.
- Continuation of Bug Bounties and Micro-Grants: Maintaining these programs following current guidelines.
Next Steps in the Evolution
- Consultation and Alignment: Finalizing the new strategy, incorporating community feedback and input from SSV Labs’ teams.
- Update Grants Portal: Reflecting the new strategy on the grants website and adjusting application terms and conditions, including KYC/KYB requirements.
Success Story: SSV Scan Partnership
The SSV Scan, developed by DragonStake and Polkastats, exemplifies the grants program’s success. This network explorer has enhanced transparency and usability, providing users with tools to evaluate network performance over time.
A partnership extension with DragonStake aims to scale SSV Scan to support over 100,000 validators, showcasing the strategy’s focus on strategic partnerships for critical infrastructure.
Closing Thoughts on Enhanced Strategy
These adjustments are geared towards streamlining the grants process, aligning incentives, and stimulating innovative development within the SSV network. The SSV DAO is eager to witness more success stories akin to SSV Scan as the new strategy unfolds and appreciates community feedback and engagement during this transition.
Remember, your involvement and support are vital for the continued growth and success of the SSV ecosystem!
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