Round 14 - GMC Call for Grant Applications - Deadline is July 7

[ShfRyn]

This thread is for applications for Rocket Pool’s June 7, 2024 - July 7, 2024 grants. Please only post grant applications in this thread. If you would like to discuss and/or ask questions about any applications you see in this thread, we ask that you do so in this separate forum thread (link) which has been established for all community discussions related to this round of applications. Only those grant applications that are posted in this thread and timestamped by July 7, 2024 at 23:59 (11:59 PM) UTC will be considered. Any grants posted after that deadline will be carried over to the next award period.

This is the expected schedule for round 14:

• Application Period (June 7 - July 7)
• Negotiation Period (July 8 - July 22)
• Scoring Deadline (July 23)
• Final Voting Amendments, Discussion and Finalization (July 24 - July 27)
• Award Announcement (July 28)

Differences Between Grants and Bounties

Grants are intended to be applied for by those who are wishing to carry out the work themselves. Bounties are open-ended goals that could be met by anyone, including those other than the proposing party. In other words, if I believed that Rocket Pool needed a fifty-foot paper mache orange rocket for publicity purposes and I wanted to be the one to built it, I would apply for a grant. If I instead thought Rocket Pool needed a fifty-foot paper mache orange rocket for publicity purposes but I wanted it to be open to whoever built it first to claim the reward (similar to a prize), then I’d apply for a bounty.

To guide you in your application, the GMC has established the following goals and the following scoring rubric:

GMC Goals

Grants, bounties, and retrospective awards should make it easier and/or more attractive to do one or more of the following:

• become a node operator

• operate a node, mint rETH

• hold or use rETH

• improve the quality of life for the protocol and its community.

Grants Rubric

When evaluating grant applications, the GMC takes into account the following goals:

• If the application is successful, to what extent does it further the GMC goals?

• To what extent can the application be feasibly carried out by the person(s) proposed to complete it?

• If the application is successful, how large is the benefit to the protocol relative to the size of the proposed costs

Grant Application Template

Please copy paste the template below into a reply. Answer the questions there, feel free to remove or add sections based on relevance.

## Name of Grant

### What is the work being proposed?

### Is there any related work this builds off of?

### Will the results of this project be entirely open source ([MIT](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT), [GPL](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html), [Apache](https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0), [CC BY](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) license or similar)? If not, which parts will not be, why, and under what license will they be published?



## Benefit

<please enter N/A where appropriate>

| Group | Benefits |
|---|---|
| Potential rETH holders | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help people looking to stake ETH for rETH? |
| rETH holders | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help rETH holders? |
| Potential NOs |  If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help people looking to run a Rocket Pool node for the first time? |
| NOs | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help people already running a Rocket Pool node? |
| Community |  If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help the Rocket Pool community? |
| RPL holders |  If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help RPL holders? |

### Which other non-RPL protocols, DAOs, projects, or individuals, would stand to benefit from this grant?



## Work

### Who is doing the work?

### What is the background of the person(s) doing the work? What experience do they have with such projects in the past?

### What is the breakdown of the proposed work, in terms of milestones and/or deadlines?

### How is the work being tested? Is testing included in the schedule?

### How will the work be maintained after delivery?



## Costs

### What is the acceptance criteria?

### What is the proposed payment schedule for the grant? How much USD $ and over what period of time is the applicant requesting?

### Is the applicant requesting RPL or LUSD?

### How will the GMC verify that the work delivered matches the proposed cadence?

### What alternatives or options have been considered in order to save costs for the proposed project?



## Conflict of Interest

### Does the person or persons proposing the grant have any conflicts of interest to disclose? (Please disclose here if you are a member of the GMC or if any member of the GMC would benefit directly financially from the grant).

### Will the recipient of the grant, or any protocol or project in which the recipient has a vested interest (other than Rocket Pool), benefit financially if the grant is successful?

[afrosatoshi]

Name of Grant

Nordahub

What is the work being proposed?

Create and host tasks and quizzes on a Learn & Earn dApp

Is there any related work this builds off of?

Our platform is already done - www.nordahub.com

Will the results of this project be entirely open source ([MIT]

The platform is not open source

Benefit

We will be able to cover the entire Rocket Pool Eco system through education using quizzes and tasks as a mechanism to create incentivized engagement.

Group	Benefits
Potential rETH holders	If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help people looking to stake ETH for rETH?
We can create quizzes and tasks that shows the benefits of staking ETH on Rocketpool.

| rETH holders | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help rETH holders? |
We can keep users updated and informed about how the staking procedure works by directing stakers directly to channels provided by Rocketpool that keeps them up to date.

| Potential NOs | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help people looking to run a Rocket Pool node for the first time? |
Being a beginner at something usually means being uneducated. Through educational information, quizzes and task we can make sure beginners understand how thing works and reward them for understanding.

| NOs | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help people already running a Rocket Pool node? |
Same answer as above.

| Community | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help the Rocket Pool community? |
Same answer

| RPL holders | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help RPL holders? |
Same answer

Which other non-RPL protocols, DAOs, projects, or individuals, would stand to benefit from this grant?

Every aspect of the ecosystem would benefit from this grant, since our main focus is education and education covers everything.

Work

Who is doing the work?

The Nordahub Team

What is the background of the person(s) doing the work? What experience do they have with such projects in the past?

We are a team of developers who have built several dApps. Nordahub is one of many apps that the team are involved with.

What is the breakdown of the proposed work, in terms of milestones and/or deadlines?

We host tasks or/and quizzes for 2000USD per task/quiz. We would like to host several tasks and quizzes on our platform eventually. But we are open to start with just 1 task and quiz before scaling up.

How is the work being tested? Is testing included in the schedule?

We can have presentation for you to showcase the app. The tasks and quiz can also be sent to you for trial before we run the marketing campign.

How will the work be maintained after delivery?

Our job as hosts is to make sure that everything is maintained and kept. That is what you pay the hosting fee is for.

Costs

2000USD per Task/Quiz

What is the acceptance criteria?

N/A

What is the proposed payment schedule for the grant? How much USD $ and over what period of time is the applicant requesting?

Pay per quiz and task. Pay for each demand you have, we could create several quizzes and tasks for you every month. It all depends on how much you want.

Is the applicant requesting RPL or LUSD?

LUSD

How will the GMC verify that the work delivered matches the proposed cadence?

We could schedule regular meetings and send you reports on work that has been done.

What alternatives or options have been considered in order to save costs for the proposed project?

N/A

Conflict of Interest

N/A

Does the person or persons proposing the grant have any conflicts of interest to disclose? (Please disclose here if you are a member of the GMC or if any member of the GMC would benefit directly financially from the grant).

N/A

Will the recipient of the grant, or any protocol or project in which the recipient has a vested interest (other than Rocket Pool), benefit financially if the grant is successful?

No

[Patches]

What grant is being renewed?

Rocket Rescue Node - Link to previous renewal

What work from the previous proposal was completed?

Essentially feature complete.

What work from the previous proposal is ongoing or pending?

A few dangling issues are still being worked on- namely, the ability to view how much quota you’ve consumed, and when quota will be restored.

We’ve also received requests to allow solo stakers with 0x01 credentials that are smart contract wallets to connect- something we can support with additional development work. We haven’t prioritized it.

What work was not originally planned, but completed, if any?

N/A

What work is newly slated since the previous proposal?

Some minor code changes as we look to improve code reusability.

Are the results of this project entirely open source (MIT, GPL, Apache, CC BY license or similar)? If not, which parts are not, and why not?

• AGPLv3
  • rescue-proxy
  • guarded-beacon-proxy
  • rescue-api
• MIT
  • rescue-ui
• Closed Source
  • infrastructure
  • secrets

As a reminder, the infrastructure and secrets libraries are closed source, the former out of an abundance of caution, and the latter as a requirement. We don’t believe either of these to be a hindrance to a third party wishing to modify or run the service themselves.

Benefits - enter N/A where appropriate

What metrics can you share on the success of the project?

The dashboard remains viewable at https://stats.rescuenode.com/

At the time of writing, about 19 node operators with 120 validators are using the rescue node. One solo staker with 6 validators is connected.

Access has been requested 2413 times, 2305 times by Rocket Pool NOs and 108 times by solo stakers.

This corresponds to 94 solo stakers and 1071 node operators.

In less specific terms, how has this project improved the Rocket Pool ecosystem or benefited the Ethereum ecosystem?

We continue to believe the project offers a safety net which helps differentiate Rocket Pool from other staking protocols and attract node operators.

Team

Who has done the work, and have there been any changes to the team?

The team is unchanged (see previous application for exact breakdown)

How have the individual constituents of the team been compensated?

Development and other contributions have been paid ad-hoc by retroactive grant.

The proactive grant only pays for the hardware costs of the rescue node.

Maintenance work is provided pro-bono.

Since the last renewal, the following payments have been made to @Patches to reimburse him for bills:

• 01/01/24 $518.67 - 17.578458618586
• 02/01/24 $634.64 - 22.8814537063744
• 03/01/24 $508.90 - 14.4282838593
• 04/01/24 $508.90 - 16.6225706353095
• 05/01/24 $508.90 - 26.610541727672
• 06/01/24 $508.90 - 18.5445667225

The January bill is lower to reflect a rebate (mentioned in the last grant application) and the February bill is higher due to maintenance costs incurred while migrating to minority clients (without downtime).

The multisig carries a balance of 122 RPL and 1524 USDC: multisig

At today’s ratio this is $4,243 which is enough to fund the project through Q4 2024 and into Q1 2025.

How has maintenance been performed since the delivery of the project?

Sysadmin tasks continue to be performed pro bono.

Development work since the last renewal has been minor and hasn’t compelled a grant application for compensation.

Payment and Verification

Have the acceptance criteria been met?

We believe so.

What is the proposed payment schedule for the grant? How much RPL and over what period of time is the applicant requesting? Does this differ from the original approved amount?

Our previous grant paid 23.33 RPL per cycle, which is $516, or slightly over our costs.

Since our runway is at 8 months now, I’d be comfortable decreasing payments to 20 RPL, which at today’s ratio will be $443 dollars. This should reduce the runway to 7 months after the term of the grant, but also leave room for RPL price volatility.

Is there a measurable Return on Investment for the project?

Please see previous applications for the cost/benefit analyses, which have not materially changed since the start of the project. I have still never observed the rescue node operating at a loss to the protocol.

What is the breakdown of spending on development for the original grant vs. maintenance?

100% of ongoing funds continue to be put towards reimbursing costs.

Conflict of Interest

Does the person or persons proposing the grant have any conflicts of interest to disclose? (Please disclose here if you are a member of the GMC or if any member of the GMC would benefit directly financially from the grant).

Ken serves on the GMC. Ken does not stand to benefit financially from this grant, and has never been paid for his work with us.

Will the recipient of the grant, or any protocol or project in which the recipient has a vested interest (other than Rocket Pool), benefit financially if the grant is successful?

No, aside from solo stakers who can now use the rescue node.

[Patches]

Name of Grant

Patches Discretionary Development Budget

What is the work being proposed?

I’d like a fund to draw on to pay contributors for their work on smartnode and other core repositories. (Non-core repos such as rocketwatch, rescue node, etc are explicitly disallowed for the purposes of this grant).

Essentially mimicking my own grant, which I can use to be reimbursed for hours, but with the understanding that I am not the payee, I am merely coordinating contributions from other people who want to tackle small tasks but may not want to go through the application process.

I.e., certain tasks logged on github are pretty bite-sized, and not high priority for me. This fix is a decent example. While I will eventually get to it, I have higher priority work. My current relationship with the GMC doesn’t allow for “subcontracting”, but it would be nice to be able to pay someone for the handful of hours that this task will take.

Is there any related work this builds off of?

This grant is related: Round 11 - Call For Grant Applications - Deadline is April 7 - #6 by ShfRyn

Relatedly, @Invis recently paid @haloooloolo directly for Rocket Watch contributions. The process from start to finish for @haloooloolo was much simpler than if he had had to go through a retroactive grant or a bounty.

Will the results of this project be entirely open source (MIT, GPL, Apache, CC BY license or similar)? If not, which parts will not be, why, and under what license will they be published?

Yes, under the licenses of the respective repositories.

Benefit

Group	Benefits
Potential rETH holders	N/A
rETH holders	N/A
Potential NOs	Improved smart node
NOs	Improved smart node
Community	A lower-friction route to be paid for contributions
RPL holders	N/A

In addition to the above benefits, this smaller format for payable work should help onboard contributors who may go on to tackle larger bounties.

Which other non-RPL protocols, DAOs, projects, or individuals, would stand to benefit from this grant?

N/A

Work

Who is doing the work?

Anyone who wants to contribute can do work, and I will coordinate the inclusion of their contributions.

What is the background of the person(s) doing the work? What experience do they have with such projects in the past?

N/A

What is the breakdown of the proposed work, in terms of milestones and/or deadlines?

N/A

How is the work being tested? Is testing included in the schedule?

By the person completing the tasks, and supplementally by the smart node maintainers as part of their continuous testing.

How will the work be maintained after delivery?

N/A

Costs

What is the acceptance criteria?

Essentially, I will keep a backlog of small tasks that need to be completed, and budget money to them. These are tasks I reckon are too small to warrant a bounty.

Anyone can complete them, and I’ll try to act as a sempahore to prevent duplicate work.

Once completed to my satisfaction, I’ll inform the GMC Admin that they were completed and that the funds should be paid out (and to whom).

What is the proposed payment schedule for the grant? How much USD $ and over what period of time is the applicant requesting?

In addition to my 40 hour weekly cap of billable hours, I’d like the ability to request the GMC direct up to $1000 per week towards these tasks, the equivalent of 10 patches-hours.

Is the applicant requesting RPL or LUSD?

Ideally I’d let the payee choose, but RPL if that’s not workable for the GMC.

How will the GMC verify that the work delivered matches the proposed cadence?

I expect the drawdown on this budget to be sporadic…

What alternatives or options have been considered in order to save costs for the proposed project?

N/A

Conflict of Interest

Does the person or persons proposing the grant have any conflicts of interest to disclose? (Please disclose here if you are a member of the GMC or if any member of the GMC would benefit directly financially from the grant).

No

Will the recipient of the grant, or any protocol or project in which the recipient has a vested interest (other than Rocket Pool), benefit financially if the grant is successful?

No

[Snapcrackle]

Name of Grant

Ethereum Protocol Security Attackathon Sponsorship

What is the work being proposed?

The proposal is to sponsor the reward pool for the Ethereum Attackathon, a comprehensive security audit competition aimed at augmenting the security of the Ethereum protocol. The event includes education programs, a bug-hunting contest, and the compilation of results in an official report.

Is there any related work this builds off of?

Some of the protocols have been heavily looked at, although some parts are not enough, and we hope this is the largest-ever crowdsourced bug bounty challenge to secure Ethereum.

Will the results of this project be entirely open source?

Yes, the results, including the compiled reports and educational content, will be available to the public.

Benefits

• Enhanced security for the Ethereum protocol.

• Increased awareness and education about Ethereum’s technical underpinnings.

• Promotion and recognition for sponsors through NFTs / Logo and leaderboard placements.

Which other non-RPL protocols, DAOs, projects, or individuals, would stand to benefit from this grant?

• Any project utilizing the Ethereum protocol will benefit from the improved security.

• Security researchers and participants will gain recognition and rewards.

• The broader blockchain community will benefit from increased security awareness and education.

Work

Who is doing the work?

The work will be conducted by independent security researchers/teams - anyone who wants to join in.

What is the background of the person(s) doing the work? What experience do they have with such projects in the past?

Immunefi is hosting the challenge and has extensive experienceThey have a community of over 1,000 researchers who have protected $190 billion in user funds.

What is the breakdown of the proposed work, in terms of milestones and/or deadlines?

8th - 11th July: EthCC Program Announcement, Immunefi Homepage takeover, Sponsor Landing page with Leaderboard goes live.

1st Week August: Attackathon details announced, Education Program kicks off, second press release with final sponsors.

3rd Week August: Attackathon Hunting begins.

4th Week September: Attackathon concludes, and results compilation begins.

9- 17 November: Attackathon results were announced at Devcon, and summary results and key winners were published.

How is the work being tested? Is testing included in the schedule?

Testing is integral to the Attackathon, with security researchers actively hunting for bugs and Immunefi evaluating and compiling the results to ensure accuracy and impact.

How will the work be maintained after delivery?

Post-competition, Immunefi will publish a comprehensive report and maintain the leaderboard, ensuring continued engagement and recognition for contributions.

Costs

Successful completion of the Attackathon with impactful bug reports compiled into an official report, recognition of top researchers, and distribution of NFTs to sponsors.

What is the proposed payment schedule for the grant? How much USD $ and over what period of time is the applicant requesting?

The proposal seeks to raise $2 million, with specific sponsorship levels such as $250,000 (75 ETH) for Unicorn Partners and $100,000 (30 ETH) for Panda Partners, with payments structured based on commitment tiers and milestone achievements. A project can support with any figure though.

Is the applicant requesting RPL or LUSD?

The sponsorship amounts are specified in ETH (Ethereum) although I believe both are potential options.

How will the GMC verify that the work delivered matches the proposed cadence?

The GMC can verify the work through scheduled updates, public announcements, and the publication of the official Attackathon report, along with real-time leaderboard and sponsor recognition updates.

What alternatives or options have been considered in order to save costs for the proposed project?

Engaging multiple sponsors and offering tiered sponsorship levels ensures a diversified funding approach, reducing the financial burden on any single entity.

Conflict of Interest

Does the person or persons proposing the grant have any conflicts of interest to disclose? (Please disclose here if you are a member of the GMC or if any member of the GMC would benefit directly financially from the grant).

No conflicts of interest (fwiw I am a member of the EF)

Will the recipient of the grant, or any protocol or project in which the recipient has a vested interest (other than Rocket Pool), benefit financially if the grant is successful?

No, I don’t think so.

[waqwaqattack]

What grant is being renewed?

Rocket Fuel - Waq

What work from the previous proposal was completed?

Since applying for my current grant on Dec 24th, I have produced 113 episodes of Rocket Fuel (up to episode 429).

What work from the previous proposal is ongoing or pending?

Work continues for Rocket Fuel daily. This is an open-ended ongoing project.

What work was not originally planned, but completed, if any?

I have also produced four Launch Pad episodes, one Take Off into DeFi episode, and two special tokenomics episodes. This totals 120 content pieces I have produced in the last 6 months.

What work is newly slated since the previous proposal?

There is currently no planned new work outside of the daily Rocket Fuel episodes. Launch Pad and Take Off Into DeFi episodes will continue as and when the situation arises along with any other special episodes - such as those around the Saturn update, tokenomics work, etc.

Are the results of this project entirely open source (MIT, GPL, Apache, CC BY license or similar)? If not, which parts are not, and why not?

N/A.However, I made a list of all my episode links available to the community. I am in the process of creating a Rocket Fuel website and repository of previous episodes.

Benefits - enter N/A where appropriate

What metrics can you share on the success of the project?

The Rocket Fuel channel has amassed 966 (+17%) subscribers on YouTube, 1737 (+20%) followers on Twitter, and 152 (+35%) followers on Spotify alone (other podcast platform information is not available). All of these numbers show significant growth compared to 6 months ago.

(screenshot of YouTube subscribers)

(previous 6 months of views and impressions on YouTube)

(screenshot of Twitter info)

(screenshot of Spotify dashboard - not counting other podcast platforms)

This makes Rocket Fuel the largest Rocket Pool-specific YouTube channel, the largest Rocket Pool Podcast, and one of the largest Rocket Pool dedicated Twitter accounts that does not belong to the team or team members.

Rocket Fuel is the most widely consumed regular Rocket Pool-related media. The average Rocket Fuel episode has around 160 views views on YouTube and 55 listens on Spotify alone. The average viewer count is up compared to the previous grant.

Rocket Fuel grew over the last six months, but the disappointing growth of Rocket Pool, the poor price action for RPL, and generally low sentiment in crypto has brought fewer viewers than I expected. This phenomenon is not isolated to Rocket Fuel. Major crypto podcasts and news channels are also suffering in this current market. Once interest in crypto comes back from wider audiences, Rocket Fuel should grow in accordance with that.

The red line shows interest in crypto related YouTube content - it currently at historically low levels (x.com)

Rocket Fuel has gained significant respectability in the wider crypto community. When Anthony Sassano stopped producing The Daily Gwei during a break, he pointed his audience towards Rocket Fuel.

In less specific terms, how has this project improved the Rocket Pool ecosystem or benefited the Ethereum ecosystem?

Rocket Fuel has become an invaluable tool for the Rocket Pool protocol and community. There is a thriving Rocket Fuel community with dozens of people contributing content to the show monthly. On top of that, other protocols have noticed my passion and high-quality content for Rocket Pool and have reached out for their content in partnership to be covered on the show. All such content happens without any payment and the strictest selection criteria is used.

Rocket Fuel is often the first media newcomers to Rocket Pool come across. Rocket Fuel’s lack of advertisements and focus on the news in a matter-of-fact manner without hype, embellishment, or clickbait tactics is a welcoming and informative introduction to Rocket Pool. In this way, Rocket Fuel significantly contributes to Rocket Pool’s credibility. No comparable DeFI project, or even many alt layer-1s, have a similar dedicated media outlet, nor do they have media and community-building programs that are this cost-effective to produce for the pDAO.

Rocket Fuel’s value is recognised by many prominent members of the Rocket Pool community. Some have provided testimonials for Rocket Fuel’s worth for them. Below is a sample of some of these testimonials:

superphiz:

Rocket Fuel has positioned itself as a critical information distribution tool in the super fast paced Rocket Pool community. We all acknowledge that there’s simply too much information for anyone to keep up with and Rocket Fuel is the glue that lets our community sync up and push forward. The information provided by Rocket Fuel translates into added value for new users and old trolls by giving high quality free access to the cutting edge of information without having to wade through thousands of comments.

Marceau:

Rocket Pool is lucky to have such a vibrant and active community, to the point that staying on top of all the discussion is onerous. Waq and Rocket Fuel provide a huge amount of value by aggregating the key points into a video format with timestamps. Thanks!

Mambosan:

To me, Rocket Fuel is vital because it disseminates information and news regarding the protocol and happenings within the community; many of us aren’t on discord all the time, so it is difficult to keep up with on our own. Rocket Fuel keeps me more connected and up-to-date to the protocol and the community, and I’m sure many others feel the same.

Shfryn:

I have been an avid viewer of Rocket Fuel since its inception, and I must say that it has become an indispensable resource for staying up to date with the ever-evolving Rocket Pool ecosystem. Our protocol needs a reliable source of information on a daily basis.

Beyond being an outstanding source of information, Rocket Fuel serves to legitimize our protocol to potential new node operators. I would imagine there are a ton of potential node operators that would not stop to give the product a chance if it were not for the information Rocket Fuel provides.

Beyond bringing legitimacy, Rocket Fuel has personally played a pivotal role in my journey. It served as the bridge that connected me to the community and fueled my motivation to contribute more. Unlike aimlessly reading random conversations in a Discord server, Rocket Fuel provided me with a tangible connection to others who share my passion.

In essence, Rocket Fuel not only delivers invaluable news and updates but also lends credibility to the Rocket Pool product. Furthermore, it fosters a sense of engagement and connection within the community, enhancing the overall experience for all participants. It is a beacon of inspiration, propelling individuals like me to actively participate and contribute towards the shared vision.

Woofa

Waq is well informed and passionate about varying projects in the crypto space. He is a mentor for the community while providing unbiased information through Rocket Fuel.

As a node operator, Rocket Fuel helps me stay updated on current events I would otherwise have missed.

This has helped me become more involved in the community through events that affect the rocket pool and ethereum ecosystem in a positive and organic way.

Sneaky

With all the constant madness in the Rocket Pool discord, Rocket Fuel is sort of a home base that brings everything together in an easy to watch show. It embodies a community that I have grown to love and brings about a natural camaraderie amongst Rocket Poolers! This is what I love and appreciate about Rocket Fuel…that it brings us all a bit closer.

Dave Marley

Rocket Fuel is an incredibly important resource to me as a node operator. Even though I run an Avado (which should auto-update regularly) I’ve come to rely on Waq’s daily report to notify me about all the recent and upcoming upgrades to the smart node stack and the protocol in general. To take a small example, post-Atlas, Avado’s RP package did not automatically update the minipool delegate to allow for distributions from the minipool contract to the withdrawal address. I was aware of the “delegate update” issue from Rocket Fuel and, as a result, didn’t freak out when the Avado package didn’t automatically send withdrawals post-Atlas.

I also find it incredible that Waq regularly packs in 30 minutes of daily coverage, equivalent to the amount of daily content that Anthony Sassano produces on the entire Ethereum ecosystem. Rocket Fuel’s coverage of RP is extensive and I feel like I don’t need to go to any other resources to keep up with both the technical and the social sides of RP. I’m not aware of any other project that has such a dedicated and consistent content producer - it’s a testament to Waq and the Rocket Pool community itself.

Langers

In order for DAOs to thrive, its participants have to stay in the loop and be well-informed. Within the vibrant Rocket Pool community, there are many simultaneous conversations, decision-making processes, and initiatives happening. To ensure everyone can easily access and digest important information, we’ve got Rocket Fuel—an awesome resource that delivers timely updates in a friendly and approachable manner. And let’s not forget about Waq, who brings a touch of personality and warmth to our inclusive community culture.

Patches

Rocket Fuel provides an invaluable service to those of us who work to build for the Rocket Pool ecosystem. In the fast paced Ethereum world, it is impossible to stay up to date on everything transpiring on twitter and discord and be a productive builder at the same time- that is, without the help of Rocket Fuel. Waq’s YouTube videos, and especially their content timestamping, drastically improve the signal-to-noise ratio from social media, and help me stay focused, productive, and engaged with the community.

jagansignup

The ‘Rocket Fuel’ YouTube channel has been an invaluable resource for me as a new member of the Rocket Pool community. The videos provide comprehensive, up-to-date information on all events related to Rocket Pool, making it an exceptional tool for staying abreast of developments. The ‘Launch Pad’ episodes are an insightful look into the community, offering a unique learning experience about the workings and interactions within Rocket Pool. Furthermore, I truly appreciate how the channel encourages community engagement - allowing content submissions means that pertinent and interesting subjects are brought to the forefront by members themselves. This inclusive approach enhances my participation in the community and makes ‘Rocket Fuel’ all the more important to my experience with Rocket Pool.

Rhett (founder of Gravita)

Waq’s coverage of Gravita on Rocket Fuel as well as the launchpad has been extremely helpful for us in connecting with the rocketpool community and the ethereum community as a whole. He’s also been a pleasure to work with and a great interviewer. He’s the kind of content creator we need more of.

Team

Who has done the work, and have there been any changes to the team?

The content production work is all done by me, Waq. However, Rocket Fuel would not be possible without the content contributors who assist me with research for each episode. I pay a monthly amount of $1,000 for this help that is provided to me in the form of a raffle.

I have also recently hired a Rocket Fuel Intern who I am currently paying out of pocket to help promote the show and Rocket Pool culture on twitter and TikTok. I will be asking for a retro grant for the Intern in coming months.

How have the individual constituents of the team been compensated?

The payment has gone to me. I also use money that comes to me for Rocket Fuel to pay contributors $1,000 every month. I will also be paying the Rocket Fuel Intern.

How has maintenance been performed since the delivery of the project?

Maintenance is done by YouTube and podcast content hosting services and has required minimal effort from me.

Payment and Verification

Have the acceptance criteria been met?

The acceptance criteria have been met and significantly exceeded. I have produced more than the number of episodes indicated in the previous grant. On top of that, the reach of Rocket Fuel has grown massively in terms of viewership and awareness. However, I think there is still significant growth to come for Rocket Fuel as Rocket Pool starts to grow again, RPL starts to perform better, and the general sentiment in the crypto market improves.

What is the proposed payment schedule for the grant? How much RPL and over what period of time is the applicant requesting? Does this differ from the original approved amount?

This grant requests to maintain the status quo in terms of payment at $40,000 for 6 months. However, I will be asking to be paid in LUSD instead of RPL going forward.

Is there a measurable Return on Investment for the project?

As with all media and community engagement endeavors, Rocket Fuel return on investment is not easily quantified. Despite this, the return can be assessed qualitatively by observing the significant positive impact that Rocket Fuel has had on the community and newcomers to the community.

What is the breakdown of spending on development for the original grant vs. maintenance?

This is not applicable to Rocket Fuel.

Conflict of Interest

Does the person or persons proposing the grant have any conflicts of interest to disclose? (Please disclose here if you are a member of the GMC or if any member of the GMC would benefit directly financially from the grant).

I am a member of the GMC and the IMC. I also receive donations in the form of RPL from anonymous and non-anonymous members of the community. I received money from a gitcoin grants round the majority of which was distributed to the community. The gifts and donations have no impact on the content of Rocket Fuel as I have sole editorial control.

Will the recipient of the grant, or any protocol or project in which the recipient has a vested interest (other than Rocket Pool), benefit financially if the grant is successful?

No. I am not involved in any other protocols, so they would not directly benefit. However, I do cover news of other staking services such as Lido, Stader, Diva, Stakwise, and more when it is relevant. I was given a large “OG” airdrop (likely for my work on Rocket Fuel) of Diva tokens (100,000 tokens with other tokens airdropped similarly to other Rocket Pool node operators for a total of 130,000 tokens), but I have repeatedly stated that Rocket Pool, Rocket Fuel, and Ethereum will come first for me. These tokens will almost definitely be sold.

[ken]

_

What grant is being renewed?

GA032316. Renewal for RP Community Call Co-Hosting - Host Ken Smith

What work from the previous proposal was completed?

Here is a listing of the Community calls that I have hosted since the grant’s last renewal. Over the previous six months, 12 calls occurred, two as guests and 10 as a co-host.

• 11 Jan 2024
• 09 Feb 2024
• 03 Mar 2024 (Bankless Academy Channel)
• 15 Mar 2024
• 27 Mar 2024
• 03 Apr 2024
• 24 Apr 2024
• 02 May 2024
• 10 May 2024
• 30 May 2024
• 13 June 2024 (Heroglyphs channel)
• 25 June 2024

What work from the previous proposal is ongoing or pending?

The proposed work is to continue hosting bi-weekly Rocket Pool Community calls hosted on Twitter space. The Community calls are routine calls that typically feature members of the RP dev team. The calls usually are 1-1.5 hrs. in length. We regularly feature a business/marketing partner (“special guest”) and inform the community on significant news topics with weigh-ins from the core Rocket Pool team.

What work was not originally planned but completed, if any?

None.

What work is newly slated since the previous proposal?

This is a 6-month grant renewal to provide for on-going hosting of the RP Community Calls.

Are the results of this project entirely open source (MIT, GPL, Apache, CC BY license or similar)? If not, which parts are not, and why not?

Recordings of the live Community calls are recorded and posted on the Rocket Pool YouTube channel for asynchronous listening after the event.

Benefits:

What metrics can you share on the success of the project?

The following are the number of views from the YT recordings. I do not have any statistics for the number of attendees present in the space or channel during the live call.

• 11 Jan 2024 unk views
• 09 Feb 2024 275 views
• 03 Mar 2024 (Bankless Academy Channel) unk views
• 15 Mar 2024 19 views
• 27 Mar 2024 195 views
• 03 Apr 2024 144 views
• 24 Apr 2024 52 views
• 02 May 2024 46 views
• 10 May 2024 99 views
• 30 May 2024 60 views
• 13 June 2024 (Heroglyphs channel) unk views
• 25 June 2024 32 views

In less specific terms, how has this project improved the Rocket Pool ecosystem or benefited the Ethereum ecosystem?

The Community Calls increase the RP NOs’ knowledge and awareness of rETH and what users can do with it. It’s a weekly (and sometimes multiple times a week) live Twitter or Discord space that covers topics of interest to rETH holders and NOs alike. The Community Calls keep holders up to date with the protocol and ecosystem so that they can make informed decisions. Most guest protocols either incorporate or will incorporate Rocket Pool within their protocol or service. The Community Call continues to be a foundational communication platform between three key stakeholders. The development team, the RP Community (in particular the pDAO), and the DeFi Ecosystem that is incorporating Rocket Pool into their various protocols and services.

Team:

Who has done the work, and have there been any changes to the team?

Jasper and I have been doing these Twitter Spaces since Feb of 2022. Occasionally, one fills in when the other cannot host, but we’ve, by and large, been remarkably consistent. For qualifications, I have been a long-term community member of RP and serve as a Rocket Scientist.

How have the individual constituents of the team been compensated?

Both Jasper and have separate co-host grants previously approved by the GMC.

How has maintenance been performed since the delivery of the project?

Most community calls are re-uploaded on YouTube by @maverick and publicly accessible via the YT platform.

Payment and Verification:

Have the acceptance criteria been met?

Yes. Except for the primary holiday weeks and the weeks surrounding ETH Denver, I have consistently hosted a bi-weekly Rocket Pool Community call.

What is the proposed payment schedule for the grant? How much RPL and over what period of time is the applicant requesting? Does this differ from the original approved amount?

I am seeking the newly established standard remuneration for media production. Payments can continue to be routinely made in the periodic (~ monthly) reward cycles. (Payment in either RPL or LUSD is acceptable.)

Is there a measurable Return on Investment for the project?

n/a

What is the breakdown of spending on development for the original grant vs. maintenance?

n/a

Conflict of Interest:

Does the person or persons proposing the grant have any conflicts of interest to disclose? (Please disclose here if you are a member of the GMC or if any member of the GMC would benefit directly financially from the grant).

Yes. I serve as a member of the GMC, and per the current RPIP-18, I will have to recuse myself from deliberations on this application.

Will the recipient of the grant, or any protocol or project in which the recipient has a vested interest (other than Rocket Pool), benefit financially if the grant is successful?

Possibly. We routinely invite special guests from other DeFi and Ethereum-based protocols to the Community Calls. They are screened and selected by Mav or Gant and generally have a tie-in to the Rocket Pool ecosystem. Their DeFi protocol may benefit from being included on the call. I will disclose if I am an investor or hold any protocol tokens of the invited guests.

[ShfRyn]

Notice: This message marks the closing of the fourteenth (14) round of Rocket Pool grant applications. Any applications submitted after this will not be considered for this round. The GMC will announce the award recipients in a new thread here on the forums around July 28th. The community will then have two weeks to issue any challenges before funds are disbursed. Thank you to all who applied and thank you to everyone who has followed along. Anyone who would like to comment on existing applications is encouraged to do so in this thread.