Introduction

Welcome to another action-packed edition of Polkadot Referendum Roundup! This week saw no shortage of developments, with cancellations, major shifts, and plenty of controversy around incoming proposals.

As the flood of content funding requests continues unabated, we're witnessing intense community debate around assessing value and establishing standards. But constructive discord is a necessity for growth, and the engaged discourse gives hope.

There's much unpack, including surprising twists, so grab your favorite beverage and let's dive in!

Treasury Update

The current treasury balance of 43.91M DOT represents a decrease of approximately 0.69M DOT, or approximately 1.52%, from last week's balance of 44.60M DOT.

Executed proposals

• Referendum #247: PR, Content Marketing, Social Amplifications Proposal | 21,400 DOT | MarketAcross-BB | Approved.

• Referendum #245: Milestone 4: Polkadot Hackathon Global Series 2023 APAC Edition | 10.89K DOT | Tribe/AngelHack | Approved.

• Referendum #237: Retroactive Funding - Polkasafe Revised Proposal | 33.12K DOT | Polkasafe | Executed.

• Referendum #265: A Pink Proposal for $PINK | 1000K DOT | PINK | Cancelled

• Referendum #266: Cancel Referendum 265 - Funding 999,999 DOT for meme coin in the name of Polkadot Marketing | Cancel | Paradox | Referendum Canceller | Executed.

Rejected Proposals

• Referendum #213: KryptosChain Media (The Next Level!) - 6 Months of funding | 22,687 DOT | KRYPTOSCHAIN | Medium Spender | Rejected.

Current Proposals

Medium Spender Queue

• Referendum #306: Bounty 27 Curator Committee Proposal | Zhixi Interlay | 2d 2hrs ago.

• Referendum #305: Marketing Proposal - Content Creation by Healthy Pockets | 11,877 DOT | Nagazi | 2d 15hrs ago.

• Referendum #304: Supercharge Polkadot's Brand: Collaborative Partnership with IBC Ventures | 47,837 DOT | IBC Group | 2d 8hrs ago.

• Referendum #301: Easybuild Bounty — Fast Path for Future Polkadot Builders | MOTIF.NETWORK | 2d 20hrs ago.

• Referendum #299: Polkadot's Educational Campaign India: A Wise Advice Initiative | 28,489 DOT | Wiseadvice | 2d 23hrs ago.

• Referendum #298: Holder-targeted Audience Growth with Addressable.io & The Kusamarian | 32,000 DOT | The Kusamarian | 3d ago.

• Referendum #295: Polkadot Brand Awareness Partnership with Real Vision | 53,723 DOT | RealVision | 2d 6hrs ago.

• Referendum #294: Wrong Preimage, please vote Nay | 0 DOT | RealVision | 3d ago.

• Referendum #293: The HGA Marketing Proposal | The HGA | 2d 23hrs ago.

• Referendum #279: dApp Marvels 💎 - Ink! Ecosystem growth tool | 25.36K DOT | Tokenguard | 2d 20hrs ago.

• Referendum #260: 6 months Educational Campaign in India - Crypto India | 21,849 DOT | Being Satoshi | 2d 21hrs ago.

• Referendum #255: Altcoin Daily - High impact Polkadot media promotion | 21.22K DOT | ALTCOINDAILY | 2d 21hrs ago.

• Referendum #251: VOTE NAY IN THIS PROPOSAL 251 | 17,765 DOT | TuPrimerBitcoin | 14d ago.

• Referendum #250: Bounty Proposal: Business Prospects for Polkadot in Brazil | LUI5DOT | 1d 23hrs ago.

• Referendum #248: substrate-etl Retroactive funding: Q3+Q4 2022-Q1+Q2 2023 | 99,025 DOT | Sourabh Niyogi | 16d ago.

• Referendum #242: Retroactive & Ongoing Funding Rationale: Republik Rupiah - Turning Indonesia into Polkadot Island's With Education and Community | 16,182 DOT | Michael_Republik | 1d 21hrs ago.

• Referendum #228: Non-custodial DOT payments integration for major eCommerce platforms | 59.75K DOT | Alzymologist | 26d ago.

• Referendum #224: Proposal: Funding for the Brazilian Portuguese Language Content Producers Group | 17,000 DOT | Panegali | 2d 22hrs ago.

Big Spender Queue

• Referendum #302: Nova Wallet 5th Proposal: Cloud backups, Push Notifications, Proxies, Deeplinks, OpenGov improvements, Network management, Reimbursement | 125.48K DOT | ✨👍✨ Day7 ✨👍✨ | Deciding.

• Referendum #238: IBC x Largest Polkadot Developer Outreach Proposal | 82.14K DOT | IBC Media | Deciding.

• Referendum #236: Events Bounty V2 Curator Candidacy | Propose Curator | zoemc | Deciding.

• Referendum #229: [VOTE NAY - RESUBMISSION IN PROCESS] Activation and retention of developers in Turkey and India for the Polkadot Ecosystem | 138.71K DOT | Patika inc | Deciding.

AAG Spotlight

• The $PINK proposal was a playful idea to create a community meme coin for Polkadot, focused on fun and memes. It was more about bringing smiles and a light-hearted spirit to the community, rather than a serious crypto endeavor. For more details, check out the conversation on AAG.

• The Events Bounty V2 team recently returned to the spotlight, providing updates and news about their latest activities. They also gave a brief presentation, highlighting what the community can expect from them moving forward. For more details, you can visit The Kusamarian for the full scoop.

• Nova Wallet is making headlines again with a new proposal, accompanied by updates and comprehensive reports on their previous deliveries. Stay informed about their latest developments by watching the clip.

Governance in Action

• Bill Laboon from Web3Foundation shared his thoughts on the types of "content proposals" for Polkadot or Kusama Treasuries that he'd support. His thread presents ten innovative ideas, ranging from engaging with Reddit communities to hosting podcasts, giving talks at non-Polkadot conferences, and even exploring outreach to enterprises. He emphasizes the need for academic research, tutorial creation, and unique approaches to promoting Polkadot and Kusama, including hackathons with university blockchain clubs and media engagement. Laboon's call is for proposals that stand out and showcase individual strengths. Check out his full thread for detailed insights at Bill Laboon's Twitter.

• Dolpha.com's analysis of Polkadot governance highlights the significant impact of whale voters, particularly focusing on 16DGiP and 1649c4, who often vote in sync. Their influence was evident in Referendum 213, where they formed a substantial part of the 'Aye' votes. In scenarios like Referendum 304, the combined voting power of these major players, including 'Giotto' and 'ShadowGav,' can dramatically sway outcomes, underscoring the pivotal role of large stakeholders in Polkadot's decision-making process.

• Filippo Franchini from the Web3Foundation highlighted Claudio (@KryptosChain)'s adherence to his promise by refunding 1958.93 DOT to the Polkadot treasury. This refund, which follows the conclusion of OpenGov referendum 218, showcases a notable example of accountability and responsible governance within the Polkadot community.

Closing Thoughts

And that concludes another intense-filled week in Polkadot OpenGov! While divisive issues can be trying, the vibrant discussion highlights how invested the community is in seeing the ecosystem thrive.

As creators and token holders increasingly collaborate to find common ground on questions of transparency, impact metrics and more - progress becomes possible. But the path ahead requires empathy, wisdom and understanding from all.

The Polkadot experiment advances one proposal at a time. Through respect and rational discourse, we edge forward. Thanks, as always, for joining the ride!

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.