Introduction

Welcome to another edition of Polkadot Referendum Roundup.

This week we've seen some heartening progress - the community rallying together to find common ground on content creation funding. With so many media proposals flooding in lately, there's been robust debate around sensible evaluation criteria like metrics, reach, impact, etc.

A prominent whale has facilitated greater discussion by creating a group chat where creators can directly engage with token holders to get aligned on standards and expectations. Though votes carry on, it's encouraging to see genuine discourse transpiring between fund seekers and funders. Through respectful collaboration, our ecosystem grows ever stronger!

Treasury Update

• The current treasury balance of 44.00M DOT represents a decrease of approximately 2.29% from last week's balance of 45.03M DOT.​

Executed proposals

• Referenda #202: The operating cost for the research organization Polkadot Ecology Research Institute for 2023/10-2024/3 | 28,010 DOT | Approved recently.

• Referenda #200: Polkadot Relayers 2023 Milestone 2 | 26.28K DOT | Approved recently.

• Referenda #187: EncodeClub's latest tranche request | 12.09K DOT | Executed 4 days ago.

Rejected Proposals

• Referenda #180: Beyond Raw Data: How Polkascan Transforms Subsquid Aggregates into a User-Friendly Polkadot Experience | 16,955 DOT | Rejected 2 days ago.

Current Proposals

Root Queue

• Referenda #231: Polkadot Treasury USDT Acquisition | OTAR | Root | Submitted 13hrs 6mins ago | Status: Deciding.

Medium Spender Queue

• Referenda #237: Retroactive Funding - Polkasafe Revised Proposal | 33.12K DOT | Deciding 1 day ago.

• Referenda #228: Non-custodial DOT payments integration for major eCommerce platforms | 59.75K DOT | Deciding 5 days ago.

• Referenda #224: Funding for the Brazilian Portuguese Language Content Producers Group | 17,000 DOT | Deciding 6 days ago.

• Referenda #223: Polkadot Pulse 1.0 & Polkadot Networking Night @ IBW, ETHIndia Week | 24,701 DOT | Deciding 6 days ago.

• Referenda #219: BlockchainBrad Educational & Journalist Content - 6 Months funding | 14,165 DOT | Deciding 10 days ago.

• Referenda #216: Milestone 3 Proposal: Polkadot x EasyA Hackathons at Harvard and in London | 54.75K DOT | Deciding 8 days ago.

• Referenda #215: Smoldot development financing Q4/2023 | 18.98K DOT | Deciding 11 days ago.

• Referenda #213: KryptosChain Media (The Next Level!) - 6 Months of funding | 22,687 DOT | Deciding 7 days ago.

• Referenda #209: [Retroactive Funding] Dotinsights - A Research Hub & Data Platform | 42,650 DOT | Deciding 14 days ago.

• Referenda #207: Go-Substrate-Rpc-Client - Retroactive Maintenance Grant | 24,474 DOT | Deciding 12 days ago.

• Referenda #188: ELLIPAL Self-custody Cold Wallet 1 Proposal | 33,943 DOT | Deciding 25 days ago.

Big Spender Queue

• Referenda #234: Polkadot @CoindeskConsensus 2023, April 26-28, 2023 in Austin, Texas | 137.77K DOT | Deciding 1 day ago.

• Referenda #229: Activation and retention of developers in Turkey and India for the Polkadot Ecosystem | 138.71K DOT | Deciding 4 days ago.

• Referenda #205: Treasury Proposal: Parachain Loan Financing (PLF) Kapex Parachain | 592.57K DOT | Deciding 16 days ago.

• Referenda #201: KAGOME – the C++ implementation of Polkadot Host milestone 2 | 168.43K DOT | Deciding 18 days ago.

• Referenda #192: (Removed) | 425.66K DOT | Deciding 24 days ago.

Big Spender Proposals in Preparation

• Referenda #236: Events Bounty V2 Curator Candidacy | Proposal by zoemc | Preparing 2 days ago.

• Referenda #235: Invalid: Events Bounty V2 Curator Candidacy | 1M DOT | Preparing 2 days ago.

AAG Spotlight

• DOT Payment Plugin for Web2 Markets - Kalatori - Fish Market: Aiming to bridge the gap between DOT payments and e-commerce, a new initiative proposes the development of plugins for major eCommerce platforms to process DOT transactions seamlessly. This could significantly enhance the utility of DOT in everyday commerce. Check the AAG presentation: Kalatori Presentation.

• LV reveals BlockDAO: BlockDAO is set to underscore the key players and communities making waves in the Web3 space. With a focus on creating SEO-optimized content that's easy to grasp, BlockDAO will be a resource for understanding Polkadot's technology and its practical applications, while also offering marketing and PR support for creators and Web3 communities. Check the AAG presentation: BlockDAO Introduction.

• Polkadot Treasury USDT Acquisition: The proposal for the Polkadot Treasury to acquire USDT is gaining attention. The goal is to establish a stable and predictable financial foundation for the Polkadot Technical Fellowship, ensuring consistent salary distributions. The strategy involves using DCA orders to convert DOT to USDT via the HydraDX Omnipool. This could provide a more reliable fiscal structure for the network's ongoing development and maintenance. Check the AAG presentation: USDT Acquisition Strategy.

Governance in Action

• A community prediction market gives Referendum #213, which seeks to fund 6 months of Polkadot videos by YouTuber @KryptosChain, a 57% chance of passing. The proposal has sparked much debate, highlighting the community's engagement in forecasting outcomes of funding requests. Check out the community's pulse: Community Prediction on Referendum #213.

• Treasury Payment for Tweets: A tongue-in-cheek proposal by @PAMauric suggests the Polkadot treasury should pay for tweets promoting the ecosystem. A temperature check on the proposal shows a split opinion, with 41.8% in favor and 58.2% against. This reflects the ongoing discussions about the value of social media promotion within the community. See the discussion: Proposal for Tweet Payments.

• Voting Dynamics in Referendum #213: Referendum #213 has seen significant activity, with 413 accounts participating in the vote. Despite a majority of Nay votes in terms of count, the Aye side leads with a substantial DOT weight due to two large accounts. This highlights the complexities and influence of token-weighted voting systems. Dive deeper into the voting details: Voting on Referendum #213.

• 🎓 Educational Empowerment in OpenGov The Polkadot Referendum Roundup is not just about updates; it's also empowering the community with knowledge. Our OpenGov Education Series is designed to demystify governance processes, making it easier for everyone to level up their knowledge and engage effectively. Dive into their educational content and become a more informed member of the ecosystem. 🔗 Learn and Participate

Closing Thoughts

As the stream of content proposals continues gushing in, it's imperative we keep exploring frameworks acceptable to all for assessing value and allocating funds prudently. This week's creation of a discussion channel represents a step forward - lowering barriers between creators and community. By upholding principles of transparency, accountability, and demonstrated impact, we can build on this momentum. Our shared commitment to respectful dialogue, empirical data, and community alignment will illuminate the path ahead.

As 16DG recently commented, it may be time to start defining standards for new proposals and renewals. They explained that while whales have been generously voting yes up to now to attract proposals, approvals will likely become more selective as volume increases. One suggested objective metric is the quality of interviewees the creator can secure, since top guests will choose to appear on the best channels. For renewals, whales may only fund creators who consistently land high-caliber interviews.

16DG’s perspective provides food for thought as we collectively work to establish frameworks that discourage low-effort content flooding and instead empower top-tier creators. Our governance processes grow stronger through continuous improvement driven by constructive community discourse.

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