Polkadot Referendum Roundup Week 41: Ecosystem Agents 🤝

Your Weekly Polkadot OpenGov Digest

Author

Dam Sky
October 15, 2023

Introduction

Welcome to another weekly edition rounding up the key developments and discussions unfolding across Polkadot's vibrant governance landscape. This past week saw new proposals submitted, ranging from ecosystem growth funds to wallet integrations, while executed referenda covered grant extensions for ongoing projects.

We also have an update on the nuances of the recently approved Referenda 166 ahead of the crowdloan unlocking. Read on for a recap of issues shaping Polkadot's present and future.

Treasury Update

The current treasury balance of 44.51M DOT represents a decrease of approximately 1.61% from last week's balance of 45.24M DOT.

Executed proposals

  • Referenda #160: Web3 Education and Investment proposes AIWeb3 Chinese Unit proposal (爱Web3 中文社区提案) - September, 2023 - March, 2024 | 16,231 DOT

  • Referenda #166 (Whitelisted Caller): Tweak Polkadot's Ideal Staking rate. Scroll down for more info

Rejected Proposals

  • Referenda #148: NotifiNetwork2023 proposed Notifi - Communication & Notification Tooling for Polkadot's Broader Ecosystem V2 Proposal | 35,008 DOT

Current Proposals

Medium Spender Queue

  • Referenda #188: ELLIPAL Self-custody Cold Wallet 1 Proposal: DOT/KSM Tokens, Staking,ASTR & GLMR | 33,943 DOT | 5d ago.

  • Referenda #187: EncodeClub presents Encode latest tranche request | 12,091 DOT | 6d ago.

  • Referenda #185: OneBlock proposes Polkadot Hackathon 2023 Winter in HongKong | 90,540 DOT | 7d ago.

  • Referenda #183: Polkassembly Social Contract | Maintenance proposal Q3 & Q4’23 | 43,154 DOT | 7th Oct '23.

  • Referenda #181: Valletech introduces Polkawatch, Decentralization Analytics, Continued Operation and Development | 12,115 DOT | 5th Oct '23.

  • Referenda #180: Polkascan Foundation on transforming Subsquid aggregates for a user-friendly Polkadot experience | 16,955 DOT | 5th Oct '23.

  • Referenda #178: DotLeap Editor's initiative, Dot Leap 2: Let's grow! | 37,851 DOT | 4th Oct '23.

  • Referenda #177: AJUNA NETWORK's Polkadot Unity SDK proposal to become a Verified Solution (Part 1) | 42,685 DOT | 3rd Oct '23.

  • Referenda #175: Day7 proposes SubQuery <> Nova Wallet Common API: Maintenance Cost For Q1-Q2 2023 | 11,183 DOT | 2nd Oct '23.

  • Referenda #172: OpenSquare with infrastructure products maintenance and a new batch of features development | 67,438 DOT | 2nd Oct '23.

  • Referenda #165: MOTIF.NETWORK's Polkadot Nominator Insight Hub | 32,480 DOT | 28th Sep '23.

  • Referenda #163: Zhixi Interlay's Polkadot Parachain Assets Onramp Bounty Program | 11d ago.

  • Referenda #162: JKRB | Tower Bridge's Polkadot Live | 24,937 DOT | 27th Sep '23.

  • Referenda #154: PARACHAINS.INFO's maintenance/development of Parachains.info | 22,400 DOT | 18th Sep '23.

Big Spender Queue

  • Referenda #192: A proposal for the Polkadot Accelerator (fund) | 425,660 DOT | 3d ago.

  • Referenda #179: FINOPS_PBA_TIM's Polkadot Blockchain Academy - retroactive funding for wave 3 of the Academy held at UC Berkeley | 255,835 DOT | 4th Oct '23.

  • Referenda #161: Matjaz ⧓ presents the Apillon Platform Milestone 1 Proposal | 171,454 DOT | 26th Sep '23.

  • Referenda #157: Tobias Airdrop.com proposes to increase DOT media visibility through media buying and airdrop campaign | 247,058 DOT | 19th Sep '23.

AAG Spotlight

Governance in Action

  • The Web3 Foundation announced a $40M fund to bolster teams on Polkadot, distinct from the current treasury. This raises questions on the future interplay between this dedicated fund and Polkadot's OpenGov and its treasury allocation.

  • A Twitter Spaces discussion is scheduled for next Wednesday, 18:00 CET, where prominent ecosystem agents will discuss the implications of Web3 Foundation's new $40M ecosystem fund on OpenGov. Set a reminder for the event.

  • A couple of notes on the Referenda 166: The recent approval of Polkadot's referendum 166 signifies an important adaptation in anticipation of the crowdloan unlock on October 24th. Given the forthcoming influx of DOTs due to the unlock, the community and developers believed it was essential to adjust the ideal staking rate, ensuring that the network can efficiently accommodate this new DOT without compromising staking rewards.

    • This referendum essentially modifies the method to calculate the ideal staking rate, setting it at 60%. The technical details can be found in the proposal documentation, but in essence, it's a simple alteration to the Polkadot runtime. This change will come into effect roughly two days prior to the crowdloan funds' release.

    • Such adjustments in governance exemplify the dynamic nature of decentralized ecosystems, where proactive measures are taken to maintain system stability and benefit.

Closing Thoughts

As we wrap up this week's governance roundup, Referendum 166's approval reinforces the adaptability of Polkadot's governance system to maintain stability amid changing dynamics like the upcoming crowdloan unlocking.

Discourse around Web3 Foundation's ecosystem fund also highlights the evolving interplay between treasury funding and external grants. Active community participation will be key to ensuring funding aligns with collective values as the ecosystem continues maturing.

We look forward to monitor these developments and discussions to keep you informed on Polkadot's unfolding path ahead.

Would you like to go deeper into Polkadot beyond just OpenGov? Check out We3kly Web3 R3cap to stay up to date on all things Polkadot.