Round 8 - GMC Call for Grant Applications - Deadline is January 14

[ShfRyn]

This thread is for applications for Rocket Pool’s December 10, 2023 - January 28, 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 January 14, 2024 at 23:59 (11:59 PM) UTC will be considered. Any grants posted after that deadline will be carried over to the next grant period.

This is the expected schedule for round 8:

• Application Period (December 10th - January 14th)
• Application Discussion Meetings - one for each subcommittee (January 18th - January 19th)
• Negotiation Period (January 18th - January 23rd)
• Scoring Deadline (January 23rd)
• Final Voting Amendments, Discussion and Finalization (January 24th - January 26th)
• Award Announcement (January 28th)

Please note the following 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

Grants Application

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 Project

### 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?

## Benefits - 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? |

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

## Team

### 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?

## Payment and Verification

### 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?

[HashQuark]

Name of Project

Asian Market Staking User Education and Onboarding with HashQuark

What is the work being proposed?

HashQuark proposes to utilize its expertise in branding, marketing, and user education towards stakers to support RocketPool in the Asian market. The proposed work includes:

• Branding: Developing a comprehensive branding strategy for RocketPool in the Asian market, including brand positioning and messaging tailored to the target audience. HashQuark will take the responsibility of educating professional investors and organizations in the Asia market to understand RocketPool’s tokenomics and design.
• Marketing: Implementing targeted marketing campaigns to raise awareness of RocketPool among professional investors and financial organizations in Asia. This includes sponsoring events for panels and speeches, VIP client events, social media posts, and blog research articles. HashQuark will leverage HashKey‘s connections with renowned projects, professional investors, and strong partnerships with leading fintech companies, academic institutions, and industry associations to attract stakers to the liquid staking offered by RocketPool.
• User Education: Creating educational materials and organizing workshops or webinars to educate potential stakeholders on the benefits and process of staking ETH for rETH through RocketPool. HashQuark will actively plan and conduct strategic marketing campaigns to increase understanding and adoption of RocketPool’s services.
• Cooperation with HashKey Division: RocketPool could form more collaboration with HashKey ecosystem products. For example, to on-boarding professional investors as rETH holders, HashQuark would help to involve Xpert, a licensed custody platform, to act as custodian for rETH holds to fulfill the client’s compliance requirement.

Is there any related work this builds off of?

N/A

Will the results of this project be entirely open source? If not, which parts will not be, why, and under what license will they be published?

N/A

Benefits - enter N/A where appropriate

Group	Benefits
Potential rETH holders	Wider Range of Resources: The completion of the grant can result in the creation of educational materials and resources for individuals, especially professional investors, and organizations looking to stake ETH for rETH. These resources can provide clear instructions, guidelines, and support to help users understand the process, risks, and benefits of staking. This knowledge empowers users to make informed decisions and participate confidently in the staking ecosystem. Further, through potential collaboration with Xpert, the licensed custodian platform, the professional investor and organization are able to hold rETH tokens in a way that fulfills the compliance requirements.
rETH holders	Growing Network and Liquidity: A successful grant completion can attract more users to the Rocket Pool platform, expanding the network of rETH holders. This increased network participation from professional investors and organizations can lead to greater liquidity for rETH, making it easier for users to enter or exit their staked positions. Improved liquidity enhances flexibility and accessibility for individuals looking to stake their ETH.
Potential NOs	There is potentially less time to wait before the node is activated when starting a new minipool and, therefore, less opportunity cost of the ETH that is used to fund the minipool.
Community	The successful completion of the grant will benefit the RocketPool community by enhancing branding, providing education, improving user experience, expanding the user base, and fostering community growth and engagement.
RPL holders	The successful completion of the grant can benefit RPL token holders through increased adoption and demand, network security and stability, ecosystem expansion and partnerships, community growth and governance participation, and enhanced value proposition.

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

The branding, marketing campaigns, and educational initiatives targeted at the Asian market could benefit various participants in the region, including individual investors, institutional players, and blockchain startups. By promoting awareness and understanding of staking ETH for rETH through RocketPool, these participants may gain access to new opportunities and avenues for participation in the crypto ecosystem.

Team

Who is doing the work?

The proposed work will be carried out by HashQuark’s experienced team, consisting of professionals with a deep understanding of blockchain technology, marketing strategies, and user education. The team has successfully executed similar projects in the past and has a track record of delivering high-quality results.

HashQuark is a world-leading blockchain staking service provider. As a core member of Hashkey group, we support most mainstream public chains with native staking services and liquid staking services. HashQuark is committed to providing safe and reliable services for global blockchain users and developers to promote the development and application of blockchain technology.

HashKey Group is a licensed digital asset management and financial business group based in Asia. Our business covers a wide range of digital assets and blockchain ecosystems, providing innovative investment opportunities and technology solutions for large enterprise institutions, family offices, funds, and qualified investors. The HashKey Group is headquartered in Hong Kong and has operations in Singapore and Japan.

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

The team at HashQuark has a strong background in blockchain technology, marketing, and user education. They possess the necessary expertise and experience to successfully execute the proposed work. Here is an overview of their background and relevant experience:

1. Blockchain Technology: The team members have deep knowledge and understanding of blockchain networks, including Ethereum and other blockchain protocols. As a core member of the HashKey group, HashQuark is a world-leading blockchain staking service provider. The team members support over 40 mainstream public chains with enterprise-grade staking services.
2. Marketing: The team includes marketing professionals who have extensive experience in promoting blockchain projects and services. They have successfully executed marketing campaigns for various blockchain networks and have a comprehensive understanding of the Asian market dynamics, building upon a number of successes in the Asian market with the centerpiece of these events being the Hong Kong Web3 Festival.
3. User Education: HashQuark has a dedicated team of experts in user education. They have developed educational materials, conducted workshops, and organized webinars to educate users about blockchain technology, staking, and related concepts. They have experience in simplifying complex processes and conveying information effectively to different target audiences.
4. Past Projects: The team members at HashQuark have worked on similar projects in the past, collaborating with blockchain projects and organizations to drive adoption and awareness. For example, HashKey Group hosted the Web3 Festival in April every year and participated in a number of events actively in the Asian market. Hong Kong Web3 Festival is organized by Wanxiang Blockchain Lab and HashKey Group jointly. The Hong Kong Web3 Festival 2023 lasted for four days; the site area of nearly 9000 square meters, surrounding activities had more than 150 events, the offline cumulative number of participants of more than 50,000, more than 300 extremely influential speakers, and more than 100 popular projects participated.

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

Milestone 1: Development of RocketPool Branding Strategy and Campaign Plan in Asian Market

• Deadline: Within 2 weeks of grant approval
• Deliverables: Comprehensive branding strategy and campaign plans with at least 3 marketing events, including brand positioning, and messaging tailored to the Asian market.

Milestone 2: Creation of Educational Materials and Workshops/Webinars

• Deadline: Within 4 weeks of grant approval
• Deliverables: Development of educational materials, including guides, brochures, and presentation decks to educate potential stakeholders in the Asian market about staking ETH for rETH through RocketPool.

Milestone 3: Implementation of Targeted Marketing Campaigns

• Deadline: Ongoing throughout 2024
• Deliverables: Execution of targeted marketing campaigns to raise awareness and promote RocketPool in the Asian market. This includes off-line events, panels, speeches, social media posts, and blog research articles. The marketing campaigns will be strategically planned and executed to maximize reach and engagement.

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

• Branding Strategy: The developed branding strategy and visual identity will be evaluated by assigned RocketPool member for alignment with RocketPool’s goals and the Asian market.
• Educational Materials: The educational materials, including guides, brochures, and presentations deck, will undergo testing to ensure clarity, accuracy, and comprehensibility.
• Targeted Marketing Campaigns: Key performance indicators (KPIs) will be established to measure the campaign’s reach, engagement, and conversion rates.

How will the work be maintained after delivery?

• Ongoing Support:
  • HashQuark will allocate dedicated resources to provide ongoing support and assistance related to the implemented strategies and initiatives.
  • They will be available to address any questions, concerns, or issues that arise from RocketPool regarding the branding, marketing campaigns, educational materials, or the staking portal.
• Monitoring and Evaluation:
  • HashQuark will continuously monitor and evaluate the performance and impact of the implemented initiatives.
  • Key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics will be tracked to assess the effectiveness of the branding, marketing campaigns, and educational efforts.
  • Regular reports will be provided to RocketPool to analyze the outcomes and identify areas for further improvement or optimization.
• Collaboration and Collaboration with RocketPool:
  • HashQuark will maintain a close working relationship and collaborate with RocketPool to ensure that the delivered work remains aligned with their goals and objectives.
  • Regular meetings and communication channels will be established to facilitate ongoing collaboration, feedback exchange, and strategic discussions.

Payment and Verification

What is the acceptance criteria?

Milestone 1: Development of RocketPool Branding Strategy and Visual Identity - Acceptance Criteria:

• The branding strategy aligns with RocketPool’s goals and values.
• The messaging tailored to the Asian market effectively communicates the value proposition of RocketPool.

Milestone 2: Creation of Educational Materials and Workshops/Webinars - Acceptance Criteria:

• The educational materials are accurate, well-structured, and tailored to the target audience in the Asian market.

Milestone 3: Implementation of Targeted Marketing Campaigns-Acceptance Criteria:

• The targeted marketing campaigns reach the intended audience effectively in the Asian market.
• Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as attendance, reach, engagement, and conversion rates meet or exceed predefined targets.
• Feedback and data analysis indicate that the marketing efforts have positively impacted RocketPod’s visibility and brand recognition in the target market.

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

• Milestone 1: Development of RocketPool Branding Strategy and Visual Identity
  • Payment: $2,000 USD (9% of the total grant amount)
  • Payment time: Upon successful completion and acceptance of Milestone 1 deliverables within 4 weeks of grant approval.
• Milestone 2: Creation of Educational Materials and Workshops/Webinars
  • Payment: $5,000 USD (17% of the total grant amount)
  • Payment time: Upon successful completion and acceptance of Milestone 2 deliverables within 8 weeks of grant approval.
• Milestone 3: Implementation of at least 3 Targeted Marketing Campaigns
  • Payment: $23,000 USD (74% of the total grant amount)
  • Payment time: Ongoing payments distributed throughout the grant period based on the progress and milestones achieved in the marketing campaigns.

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

• Milestone Deliverables: The GMC will review the deliverables for each milestone as outlined in the grant proposal. They will assess whether the deliverables meet the specified requirements and align with the proposed cadence.
• Documentation and Reports: The grant recipient may be required to submit regular progress reports, documentation, or updates on the project’s status. These reports can serve as evidence of work completed and help the GMC track progress against the proposed cadence.
• Milestone Reviews: The GMC may conduct milestone reviews or checkpoints at specific intervals to evaluate the work completed up to that point. This can involve meetings, presentations, or demonstrations where the grant recipient showcases their progress and addresses any questions or concerns from the GMC.
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): The grant proposal may include defined KPIs or metrics to measure the project’s success and progress. The GMC can assess whether the actual results align with the proposed cadence by monitoring these KPIs and evaluating the achieved outcomes.
• Communication and Collaboration: Regular communication between the grant recipient and the GMC is essential. This allows for continuous updates, discussions, and clarification of any questions or concerns regarding the project’s progress and adherence to the proposed cadence.

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

• In-house Resources: Evaluating the existing resources and expertise within HashQuark and RocketPool to determine if any tasks or components of the project can be handled internally. This can help reduce external service costs.
• Collaboration and Partnerships: Seeking collaborations or partnerships within HashKey Group and other organizations or projects in the industry that share similar goals or target audiences. This can help share costs, resources, and expertise, reducing the financial burden for both parties.
• Resource Optimization: Carefully managing and optimizing resources such as time, personnel, and infrastructure to minimize wastage and maximize productivity. This can involve efficient resource allocation, avoiding unnecessary expenses, and leveraging existing assets effectively.
• Cost-Benefit Analysis: Conducting a thorough cost-benefit analysis for each aspect of the project to identify areas where costs can be reduced without significantly compromising the desired outcomes. This analysis can help prioritize cost-saving measures.

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 person proposing this grant has any conflicts of interest.

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?

According to the information provided, the recipient of the grant (HashQuark) and any other protocol or project in which the recipient has a vested interest, other than RocketPool, will not benefit financially if the grant is successful.

[Patches]

What grant is being renewed?

Rocket Rescue Node - Link to previous renewal

What work from the previous proposal was completed?

Since the previous renewal, the work outlined by the Solo Validator Tech Spec (link) has been completed.

This grant doesn’t cover the development work that went into that. A different, retroactive grant will.

What work from the previous proposal is ongoing or pending?

In the last renewal, this section deprecated two work items and promoted solo validator support, which was completed.

Nothing is ongoing - we are entering a maintenance phase.

We may, in short order, decide to add 0x01 SC wallet support.

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

tl;dr - nothing relevant to this application.

@dmccartney rebuilt our website from the ground up and we added a tighter integration into smartnode. Both of these will be handled in separate applications,

What work is newly slated since the previous proposal?

No new work, outside of ongoing maintenance.

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?

As always, our public dashboard is at https://stats.rescuenode.com.

Anecdotally, it seems like the number of operators using the rescue node has grown slightly.

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

We continue to deliver on improving the node operator experience and protecting the rETH downside.

Additionally, now that the Rescue Node is available to Solo Stakers, we believe we’ve broadened our impact to the larger ecosystem.

Team

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

Original team:

1. @ken is our general manager, and a ‘maintainer’
2. @poupas is a ‘developer’ and ‘maintainer’
3. @Patches is a ‘developer’ and ‘maintainer’
4. @hanniabu is a ‘developer’
5. @sleety still tolerates our antics, and has contributed to marketing materials pertaining to the rescue node since the original grant.

Additionally,
@dmccartney is a now ‘developer’ and we’re lucky to have him.

• ‘developer’ here means someone who contributed code
• ‘maintainer’ here means someone who has SSH access to the rescue nodes (i.e. a trusted party with regards to mev theft).

How have the individual constituents of the team been compensated?

The retroactive payments and ongoing payments in the previous application are unchanged, but additional payments for bills have gone to @Patches:

• 2023-08-01 $418.90 - 14.14 RPL*
• 2023-09-01 $508.90 - 22.97 RPL
• 2023-10-01 $554.04 - 25.44 RPL
• 2023-11-01 $463.76 - 19.89 RPL*
• 2023-12-01 $ 508.90 - 18.76 RPL

The asterisked values represent months where OVH gave us a credit after overbilling us. They’ve had a couple of software bugs that resulted in double-charging for certain services or applying taxes where they oughtn’t. They always correct their error.

Our monthly cost is $508.90 on the nose, and hasn’t gone up or down over the interval of the last grant, as our leases haven’t changed since the last application.

The balance in our multisig (0x685bD857797306D030d53920C321d4d117aE3137) is 62.14 RPL and 1,524.45 USDC, or $3,282.41 at today’s pricing. This gives us 6 months of runway.

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

Sysadmin tasks continue to be performed pro bono. In my last application I said we’d avoid RAs, but I probably lied- I expect to file one on behalf of the people who made solo staker support a reality (which includes myself). It was, I think, more work than originally anticipated.

Payment and Verification

Have the acceptance criteria been met?

The criterion provided by the GMC was “Evidence of upkeep of rescue node”, and we believe we have been extremely transparent. See @rescue_node on twitter for historical insights.

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?

Since we’ve built up a healthy runway we can reduce payments (previously $900 RPL a month at $30 RPL).

I’d be comfortable with $700 (25 RPL) a month without recalculating based on price, and stepping down closer to our actual costs in the future, if our multisig balance continues to grow.

Is there a measurable Return on Investment for the project?

Please see the previous grant from some back-of-the-envelope math. We continue to see tens, and at times, hundreds of validators connected, putting the cost savings of the Rescue Node well beyond its liabilities.

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. Development originally cost 250.83 RPL, and maintenance (retroactive and ongoing) has now cost 147.1 RPL (previous application value was 72).

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. He does not stand to benefit financially from this grant, and has not benefited financially from the rescue node at any point.

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?

The only other protocol currently benefiting is Ethereum itself

[invitedtea]

Name of Project

Smart Contract Optimization and Monitoring for Rocket Pool by Keybox.AI

What is the work being proposed?

Keybox.AI is proposing to develop and implement an advanced smart contract optimization and monitoring system for Rocket Pool. This project aims to enhance the efficiency, security, and scalability of Rocket Pool’s smart contracts, with a focus on those governing rETH staking and node operations.

Is there any related work this builds off of?

The project leverages existing smart contract technologies and monitoring tools. It combines Keybox.AI’s advancements in blockchain analytics, AI-driven monitoring, and security protocols, drawing on best practices from the DeFi sector and traditional finance security systems.

Will the results of this project be entirely open source?

The core components, such as smart contract optimization algorithms and basic monitoring tools, will be open source under the MIT License. However, specific AI-driven analytics models, proprietary to Keybox.AI, will remain private but available under a licensing agreement.

Benefits

Group	Benefits
Potential rETH holders	Enhanced security and efficiency of rETH contracts, boosting confidence in staking ETH.
rETH holders	Improved contract performance and reliability, potentially leading to better staking rewards and reduced risks.
Potential NOs	Easier entry and operation due to optimized and more intuitive smart contracts.
NOs	Advanced monitoring tools for improved management and reduced operational risks.
Community	Increased trustworthiness and performance of the platform, benefiting all users.
RPL holders	Strengthening of the Rocket Pool ecosystem, potentially increasing the valuation of RPL tokens.

What other non-RPL protocols, DAOs, projects, or individuals, would stand to benefit?

The broader Ethereum staking community, DeFi platforms focusing on staking protocols, and blockchain security researchers stand to benefit from this project’s advancements.

Team

Who is doing the work?

The specialized blockchain development team at Keybox.AI.

Background of the Team

The team comprises individuals with extensive experience in blockchain technology, AI, and cybersecurity. They have a history of successful projects in DeFi and smart contract optimization.

Breakdown of Proposed Work

1. Development of Optimization Algorithms (1 month)
2. Implementation of Monitoring Dashboard (1 month)
3. Testing and Refinement (1 month)
4. Final Deployment and Training (1 month)

Testing and Maintenance

Testing, including unit, integration, and user acceptance testing, is included in each phase. Keybox.AI will provide ongoing maintenance and updates for 12 months post-delivery, with options for extended support.

Payment and Verification

Acceptance Criteria

Successful integration of the system, meeting all performance and security benchmarks without disrupting Rocket Pool’s operations.

Proposed Payment Schedule

Requesting $30,000, distributed as follows: $10,000 upfront, $10,000 after each milestone, and $10,000 upon project completion.

Payment Request

Payment is requested in RPL.

Verification by GMC

The GMC will verify the work through regular updates, milestone demonstrations, and a final review.

Cost-Saving Alternatives

Utilization of existing open-source tools and engagement with the Rocket Pool community for beta testing to reduce costs.

Conflict of Interest

Disclosure

No conflicts of interest to disclose.

Financial Benefit

No direct financial benefit to any other protocols or projects is expected from this grant. The primary focus is on enhancing Rocket Pool’s ecosystem.

[waqwaqattack]

What grant is being renewed?

Rocket Fuel - Waq

What work from the previous proposal was completed?

Since applying for my current grant on July 12th, I have produced 103 episodes of Rocket Fuel. The 6-month date would be Jan 12th by which time I will have made 12 episodes more.

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?

Additional work completed includes four episodes of Launch Pad and one Take Off Into DeFi episode.

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 EthDenver this year, the Houston update, NodeSet’s launch 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 am willing to share content with the community in a no-questions-asked way.

Benefits - enter N/A where appropriate

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

The Rocket Fuel channel has amassed 825 subscribers on YouTube, 1450 followers on Twitter, and 113 followers on Spotify alone (other podcast platform information is not available).

(screenshot of YouTube subscribers)

(previous 6 months of views and impressions)

(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 over 100 views on YouTube and 50 listens on Spotify alone.

Sadly, the growth of Rocket Fuel stagnated in the last six months. The previous six months included the period around all time high prices and the attention from the Shanghai and Atlas upgrades to Ethereum and Rocket Pool. I have maintained a strong audience base even as the RPL price and interest in Rocket Pool have dropped.

During an upcoming bull run, I expect Rocket Fuel to grow astronomically and awareness of Rocket Pool with it. The foundations laid now will pay tremendous dividends later in addition to all of the benefits Rocket Fuel currently provides to the community. Catalysts in the next six months that will bring back interest in Rocket Fuel include the launch of NodeSet, the Houston upgrade, and the build-up to the first part of the Saturn upgrade.

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.

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.

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 impressions and awareness.

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 using the framework presented in grants round 3 - July 2023. I am requesting $6,000 (216 RPL at $27.77) a month for Rocket Fuel. The previous caveats for vacation and sickness will continue to apply.

In the next renewal of this grant, I will seek an increase in payment from the GMC of $500 a month.

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. 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 iterated that Rocket Pool, Rocket Fuel, and Ethereum will come first for me. These tokens will almost definitely be sold.

[Unhosted]

Name of Project

Unhosted Wallet

Simple, secure and smart self-custody wallet with a one of a kind marketplace of 1-click automations. Modular architecture of Unhosted Smart Accounts can perform even the most sophisticated strategies, providing a programmability level absent in EOAs.

Our Permissionless on-Chain Factory ensures the immutability of developer fees allowing anyone to deploy their strategy/module and add it to their wallet.

Bounty

Deploying a permissionless Account Abstraction Module Factory and developing dozens of AA 1-click modules to simplify the user onboarding in to rocketpool.

What is the nature of the proposed bounty?

Unhosted will deploy its permissionless module factory on majority of the prominent EVM Chains, (Binance, Polygon, Arb, Eth are already integrated), develop dozens of aa wallet modules for RocketPool that will work with any Safe and Biconomy wallets, integrating Kernel is on the roadmap as well. Some of the module examples include but are not limited to automation on deposit, withdrawal automation, recurring deposit with a batched multiswap, many more.

We will also provide a complementary marketplace of AA modules & strategies inside our wallet where users are able to execute them in one click, driving more volume to the ecosystem as a whole.

Deploying this factory on all major evm chains is like creating a pandora box, AA modules facilitate secure automated interaction with any smart contract on behalf of the user, unlocking 1000’s of custom automations & solutions.

To motivate the additional community contribution, the Module deployers using the factory will earn 10% of the gas spent in perpetuity as long as their module stays in demand.

Unhosted and the team of community developers will pave the way to a smoother and a more convenient way to use crypto. Curating simplicity and abstracting the complex

Must the results of this project be entirely open source

Our project is fully open source.

If the bounty is successfully completed, how does this help people looking to stake ETH for rETH?

The unique aspect of our platform is its ability to condense complex trading strategies into one-click modules. This feature not only streamlines the user experience for Rocketpool user base but also significantly enhances security and efficiency.

Ability to offer batched transactions simplifies the user journey and makes Rocket pools easily accessible. Users wont have to leave the comfort of their wallet thus streamlining the staking proccess. Swap in to a needed assets and stake all in the same transaction.

By automating intricate strategies into 1-click modules we empower users to execute advanced trading maneuvers effortlessly, ensuring a seamless and optimized trading experience.

The immutable fee structure motivates further community development, leading to new innovations being built on your protocol.

1. Expand Rocketpool Ecosystem

1. Dozen and in the future hundreds of aa wallet modules for Rocketpool that works with safe and biconomy wallets.

This will allow majority of AA wallets to easily integrate and provide 1 click functionality for their users hence contributing to the growth of the overall ecosystem.

2. Simplifying user experience across all aa wallets with simple 1 click modules leads to more volume inside the Rocketpool protocol.

3. Hackathon and immutable fee motivates onboarding and encourages developers to build AA modules specifically designed for Rocketpool.

2. Create internal growth/value

We are providing developers with a ready made library of handlers for Rocketpool which can be easily copied and implemented within their strategy. We are working on making our documentation as straightforward as possible.

If the bounty is successfully completed, how does this help rETH holders?

Not only the holders will enjoy higher liquidity levels but also have an ability to automate their deposits and withdrawls.

If the bounty is successfully completed, how does this help people looking to run a Rocket Pool node for the first time?

N/A

If the bounty is successfully completed, how does this help people already running a Rocket Pool node?

N/A

If the bounty is successfully completed, how does this help the Rocket Pool community?

Our wallets can be used as operator address for receiveing rewards. Our deposit and withdrawal module would provide a way for users to abstract the complex and automate these actions. The marketplace of modules would allow anyone to easily add and execute the module of their choice inside their SA .

If the bounty is successfully completed, how does this help RPL holders?

The space is closing on 2 million user accounts created using account abstraction with over 8million successful operations. This niche is growing exponentially with more and more wallets joining the race. Providing all those wallets and their users with a simple way to interact with Rocketpool protocol is destined to significantly impact the TVL.

While directly predicting the impact on RPL value is challenging due to market volatility, a significant increase in TVL and enhanced user experience through simplified modules could logically lead to increased demand for RPL, as seen with other tokens in similar ecosystems.

What other non-RPL protocols, DAOs, projects, or individuals, would stand to benefit from the bounty being successfully completed?

Apart from Unhosted wallet, the deployed modules would work with any other AA wallet that is built on top of safe or biconomy. Adding Zero Dev would get us close to 100% coverage.

Since the modules are permissionless and work with any AA wallets, those merchants would be able to easily integrate rocketpools functionality for their users.

Will the results of the completed bounty be open source?

Yes, the library of handlers and the AA modules would be readily available for anyone to access.

Work and Verification

What steps would be entailed in completing the bounty? Do successful examples of such work exist elsewhere?

There is no successful implementations of this idea as of yet. No wallet out there offers an easily accessible 1-click module to interact with Rocketpool.

Amount requested (in $) -

Option 1) Development Total cost - $8,000

Option 2) Dev + Hackathon and Audit Total cost - $20,000

Option 1) Development (8,000 USD, ETA 4 weeks) : Provision of a library of handlers for the rocketpool protocol, with several example strategies and a sleek marketplace to easily add and execute any strategy of your choice…

Module Registry Deployment:

• We are already live on Polygon, binance and Eth but more chains will be added as we move along the development process.
• Ensuring compatibility and integration with the existing ecosystem.

Library of Rocketpool protocol Handlers:

• Developing a comprehensive set of handlers for trading strategies.
• Testing and optimizing for efficiency and user-friendliness.

Example Strategies:

• Creating and documenting several key strategies as templates.
• Providing educational resources to guide users in utilizing these strategies.

User Friendly Frontend (Ironing out some final bugs):

• Marketplace of modules for for both users and developers
• Quick and easy way for anyone to deploy or execute any module of their choice.

Option 2) Includes and additional hackathon with auditing and growth budget.

Hackathon (5,000 USD): Organizing a hackathon to encourage the development of innovative modules. All of the capital will be allocated to prizes, and an additional budget of $5k USDT will be provided by the team at Unhosted.

Engaging Developers:

• Reaching out to developers and enthusiasts within the Rocketpool and broader DeFi community.
• Providing resources and support for participants to encourage innovation.

Prizes and Incentives:

• Allocating funds for prizes to incentivize high-quality module development.
  • $5,000 from Metis and and $5,000 from Unhosted
• Offering additional rewards or opportunities for outstanding contributions.

Auditing (5,000 USD): Although the module strategy factory is permissionless, allowing anyone to deploy their automation and add it to their wallet. Nonetheless, Unhosted comes with its own approval mechanism, ensuring that only modules that have undergone security checks are displayed audited part of the marketplace. This precaution is in place to prevent the addition of malicious code to users’ wallets.

In light of that, on top of getting their prizes, winners of the hackathon will also be audited. We have a security deal with @vn_martinez_ who is willing to assist with the audits however we are also open to your recommendations.

Community Engagement (5,000 USD): engaging the community to foster higher volume and protocol growth. These funds will also be matched by the unhosted budget to increase the participation.

• Promoting the hackathon through social media, community forums, and ads.
• Ad pay will be taken from internal sources since we are already paying for Brave PPc ads and job board banners. In addition to the grant allowance we will also redirect 50% of our monthly (aprox 6k) budget to this event.

How long is the proposed bounty available for? Is it awarded to the first team to successfully claim it, or is it in some way divided among all such successful claims in the proposed availability period?

To achieve our project milestones, we have established a clear and feasible plan that will take a month and a half to deliver (4 weeks if we are talking only about handlers and example strategies).

Development Rocketpool Handlers & example strategies (4 weeks)

• Talent Utilization: Our team of experienced Solidity developers and blockchain engineers will lead the development. They possess the required expertise in smart contract development and blockchain architecture.
• Resource Allocation: Allocating 10,000 USD ensures sufficient funding for the development phase, covering everything from coding to testing.
• Timeline Management: Setting strict deadlines within the 2-week timeframe to deliver handlers and another 2 for strategy creation ensure timely delivery.
• Quality Assurance: Implementing rigorous testing protocols to ensure the reliability and security of the developed modules.

Organizing the Hackathon (3 weeks):

• Event Planning: Leveraging our team’s experience in community engagement to plan and execute a successful hackathon.
• Resource Investment: The 10,000 USD budget will be used for providing prizes, and supporting the participants.
• Community Involvement: Utilizing social media and community forums to attract talented developers and enthusiasts from the Rocketpool and Arbitrum communities.

Module Auditing 2 weeks.

• Expert Collaboration: Partnering with @vn_martinez_ for auditing ensures that the top 10 hackathon modules are secure and reliable.
• Security Focus: The auditing process will focus on identifying vulnerabilities and optimizing the security of the modules.

Community Engagement:

• Continuous Interaction: Hosting regular webinars, AMAs, and feedback sessions to keep the community involved and informed.
• Budgeting for Engagement: The allocated budget will be used for activities that drive community participation and awareness, fostering protocol growth.

Overall Project Feasibility:

• Experienced Team: Our team’s experience in blockchain development and community management forms the backbone of the project’s feasibility.
• Realistic Timeline: The milestones are set with achievable timelines, considering the complexity and scope of each phase.
• Budget Allocation: The budget is carefully planned to cover all aspects of the project, from development to community engagement

Who will test any products submitted for claiming the bounty?

Internal team of blockchain Engineers with a complementary audit for the winners of the hackathon.

What is the acceptance criteria for awarding of the bounty?

Payment

How much RPL is the applicant requesting for successful completion of the bounty?

Option 1) 256 RPL - 8,000 USD, Option 2) 640 RPL - 20,000 USD

Conflict of Interest

N/A

Does the person or persons proposing the bounty 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 successful completion of the bounty).

N/A

Will the applicant, or any protocol or project in which the applicant has a vested interest (other than Rocket Pool), benefit financially if the bounty is successfully completed?

All the funds will be spent on payroll, hackathon prizes and an audit. Deployers of the modules will get 10% of all the fees going through their strategy.

Additional Information.

The factory is audited already and deployed on the test network for developers to play around. We are also proponents of open source so all the code is available on our githib.

Twitter - https://twitter.com/unh0sted
Docs - https://docs.unhosted.com/

[LIBlockchain]

Name of Project: Audit of Rocket Split

What is the work being proposed: Rocket Split has completed development as was designed in the July 2023 grant request (July 2023 GMC Call for Grant Applications - Deadline is July 15th - #4 by LIBlockchain). Sigma Prime has close involvement with the Rocket Pool protocol and was suggested as an audit partner. Sigma Prime will do a Manual code review (Vyper v0.3.0), a development of test framework to support manual review, and report preparation and quality assurance review. It is estimated to be completed in a 2 week timeframe.

Is there any related work this builds off of? Rocket Split

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? Rocket Split is open source. The results of the audit will be shared on the Rocket Split site.

Benefits - enter N/A where appropriate: Audit is necessary to launch Rocket Split as was approved in July GMC period

What is the proposed payment schedule for the grant? How much USD $ and over what period of time is the applicant requesting? Requesting $24,750 up front to cover the Sigma Prime costs.

Is the applicant requesting RPL or LUSD? LUSD

[Anthias.xyz]

Name of Project

rETH Restaking Analytics Platform by Anthias Labs

Brief mockup here–full description of platform below

What is the work being proposed?

The advent of EigenLayer opens up exciting possibilities for rETH’s continual growth and usage within the DeFi ecosystem. However, tracking its utilization and identifying safe yield opportunities within the complex restaking ecosystem will become a challenge as Eigenlayer goes live with Phase 3 later this year.

Once Phase 3 goes live, the Rocket Pool community will be faced with a number of challenges:

• Rocket Pool ecosystem contributors want to assess the usage of rETH on EigenLayer
• rETH restakers want to inform investment decisions when delegating their rETH to a restaking operator

To address these challenges, we want to build the go-to analytics platform for rETH restaking. We expand in detail on our vision in the next section titled “Solution.”

Solution

Below, we outline the development of a comprehensive dashboard. We identify two sections for our dashboard:

• Understanding: Data points to help rETH users and ecosystem participants to better understand the state of rETH in the restaking ecosystem, including the data points below:

  1. Number of rETH restakers

  2. Largest rETH restakers

  3. Breakdown distribution of rETH restaking (unclear description) – where is rETH distributed across the staking ecosystem?

  4. Breakdown of rETH → AVS

  5. Major rETH node operators

• Alpha: Data to help rETH holders and potential rETH holders understand where they can achieve the highest yields (risk-adjusted) on their rETH. Data points featured here will included these listed here:

  1. Name of operator
  2. 30D Annualized Yield
  3. Number of rETH delegated
  4. Number of rETH restakers
  5. Risk Rating

Is there any related work this builds off of?

N/A

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–core components published under MIT license.

Benefits - enter N/A where appropriate

Group	Benefits
Potential rETH holders	Will show potential rETH holders where they can earn optimal risk-adjusted yields as well as provide an overview of restaked rETH as a whole
rETH holders	rETH holders (especially large rETH holders) will benefit immediately from this platform by having a one-stop Rocket Pool-native place to see exactly where all restaked rETH is and where the best opportunities/any potential risks lie
Potential NOs	Potential NOs will benefit from having access to visibility around rETH restaking data
NOs	Rocket Pool-native platform focused entirely on rETH restaking to help NOs (who likely also hold rETH) find the best yield opportunities
Community	New source of marketing material for community to share and increase Rocket Pool’s brand value in the emerging restaking ecosystem
RPL holders	Increase of value of Rocket Pool as a whole through providing easy to use, easy to understand platform that will bring more Rocket Pool users and adoption

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

N/A

Team

Who is doing the work?

Anthias Labs. See our previous work for Compound, Aave, and more here.

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

Anthias Labs is a boutique blockchain r&d firm focused on public good tooling and actionable research. Our team has been awarded grants from Aave Grants, Compound Grants, EulerDAO, Exactly Protocol, and UwU Lend for our public goods tools.

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

Milestone 1: Deliverance of fully designed mockups posted to this forum within 2 weeks after approval of this grant. This milestone will include the gathering of community feedback on the designs/data displayed, which will then be included in the implementation of Milestone 2.

Milestone 2: Deliverance of shipped dashboard with community feedback from Milestone 1 within 5 weeks after the completion of Milestone 2. This milestone will include one more round of community feedback and testing, which will be implemented in Milestone 3.

Milestone 3: Final implementation of all community feedback from Milestone 2 within 2 weeks after completion of Milestone 2.

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

Testing via community feedback is included in Milestones 1 and 2.

How will the work be maintained after delivery?

Our team at Anthias Labs will maintain the work. (If at a certain point the maintenance becomes too burdensome, we will hand the maintenance of the work to the DAO via open-sourcing and a forum post.)

Payment and Verification

What is the acceptance criteria?

Successful development of the Anthias x Rocket Pool rETH Eigen Layer Utilization Dashboard

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

Requesting $18,000, distributed as follows: $5,000 after Milestone 1, $6,000 after Milestone 2, $7,000 after Milestone 3.

Is the applicant requesting RPL or LUSD?

RPL (Unless LUSD is easier for the DAO–we are open to whatever is better for the DAO).

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

Our team will post regular updates here to the forum after the completion of each milestone. We will also share updates regularly on our Twitter @anthiasxyz

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

Our team has shipped similar grants for Aave, Compound, Euler, and more DAOs, so we have been able to refine our processes and tools to lower costs while keeping efficiency at its highest. Majority of the costs for this grant will cover our team members’ time developing the grant.

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?

N/A

[Anthias.xyz]

Hi everyone - our original post can no longer be updated, but here are two updated mockups after some community feedback.

Updated Mockup Post-Community Feedback:

And an additional mockup of the Visualizer in the Advanced Terminal:

[HashQuark]

Here are the answers to the questions mentioned in round 7:

• What examples do you have of your community following today?

  As an example, HashKey hosted Web3 Festival with Wanxiang Blockchain Labs, saw over 50,000 attendees, 300 speakers globally, 100 exhibitors and nearly 200 side events. It’s widely acknowledged as a breaking milestone for Hong Kong’s Web3 industry.

• What examples do you have of success working with other projects to do educational onboarding in Asia?

  We have collaborated with various projects in the blockchain space, such as Neo, Avalanche, and Flow, you have organized multiple brand promotion activities in recent years. These activities have focused on market-relevant topics and aimed to introduce public chains and encourage stakeholder engagement. As a result of these efforts, you have achieved significant outreach, reaching a diverse audience of over a hundred individuals. The effectiveness of these promotional campaigns has contributed to raising awareness about the public chains and fostering interest and participation in staking activities.

• How many new node operators, rETH investors, and/or projects do you expect to bring to the community with this grant?

  As the focus of the grant is primarily on brand promotion and expanding awareness, it is challenging to provide a specific guarantee regarding the number of new node operators, rETH investors, or projects that will be brought to the community. While the grant aims to increase visibility and generate interest, the exact number of new community members or participants cannot be accurately predicted.

• Have you seen the Bankless Academy Quest that was funded in Round 6? If not, can you please review and see how your grant can use measurable gamification and your grant reward to be given to new community members directly? (aka if your grant asks for RPL or LUSD, 50% of the reward goes to new community members who perform measurable tasks?

  We prioritize brand marketing over course production so we won’t develop such a course. New community members who attended the event can receive the HashKey Group ecosystem ERC-20 token HSK, and HashKey DID designed for RocketPool.

[ken]

Name of Project

Renewal for RP Community Call Hosting on Twitter Spaces - Host Ken Smith

What is the work being proposed?

The proposed work is to continue hosting bi-weekly Rocket Pool Community calls hosted on Twitter space. It is one of the largest and only regular forms of community engagement. The calls are typically 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.

Is there any related work this builds off of?

Yes. This is a renewal of GA032316. For almost two years, I have had the honor of co-hosting the weekly Rocket Pool Community calls.

What grant is being renewed?

GA032316.

What work from the previous proposal was completed?

In the last six months, I have hosted 13 community calls.

What work from the previous proposal is ongoing or pending?

The Community Calls increase knowledge among the RP NOs and increase awareness of rETH and what users can do with it. It’s a weekly (and sometimes multiple times a week) live Twitter 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.

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

None.

What work is newly slated since the previous proposal?

The format is not slated to change as this is an ongoing community call. Still, the content discussed and included in each call is unique. Each week, a specific agenda is prepared to address current and relevant topics.

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?

All Community Calls are left publicly accessible on the X platform. In addition, the audio files are re-uploaded on YouTube by @maverick and publicly accessible via the YT platform. No individual copyright is claimed by myself.

Benefits - enter N/A where appropriate

What metrics can you share on the project’s success?

The successful hosting of a well-prepared Twitter Space of approximately 1-1.5 hrs length focusing on educating the community. In the last six months, I have hosted 13 community calls.

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

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?

All Twitter spaces 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, we have consistently hosted a 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 same remuneration as the previous grant awarded. 9 RPL every two weeks. Payments can continue to be routinely made in the periodic (~ monthly) reward cycles.

I would prefer to have the grant renewed for a minimum of 6 months to limit the frequency of grant renewals.

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

[sckuzzle]

Project: Name of Project

Rocketpool Mechanistic Modeling Research: Universal Variable Commission

What is the work being proposed?

We have a great number of suggestions for how to improve the Rocketpool protocol, but an immature way of analyzing the effect that these suggestions would have on the network. Arguments on LEB4 or RPIP30 tend to focus on the qualitative rather than the quantitative, and what quantitative analyses exist are few and far between as they require considerable work from a member of the community. This leads to uninformed choices by the community in which emotion is a large component. The community needs hard numbers to make informed choices.

Mechanistic modeling allows us to gain additional quantitative insights into expected results from a proposed change. It could find a loophole that we missed or it could give us additional confidence that the expected behavior is as predicted. Other use cases include testing the viability of attack strategies, optimizing settings, or comparing multiple implementations.

The proposed topic of this round of mechanistic modeling is for Universal Variable Commission. The deliverables would include:

1. The release and further development of an open-source mechanistic model (written in python) that can be used to gain insights into rocketpool dynamics
2. The usage of this tool to analyze up to four implementations of universal variable commission. The comparison will include both how well it is able to balance pETH and NOs as well as how much it would cost in gas. Implementions include:
   • UVC by commission changes voted for by pDAO
   • A PID implementation designed by sckuzzle
   • Up to two more ideas solicited from and put forward by the community
3. A report that summarizes the problem UVC aims to solve and what would be expected from various solutions
4. If desired, a call that explains the findings and answers any questions

The result of these will lead to a community that has more comprehensive information, making more informed choices and better guiding the direction of Rocketpool.

Alternate Topics

I view UVC as one of the more pressing needs of Rocketpool at present, which is why it is the proposed topic. If the GMC is interested in research on other topics, some other options include:

1. MEV Theft
2. RPL Tokenomics Changes (like RPL-as-rent / direct capture)
3. Any of the other ideas submitted in the options draft

Is there any related work this builds off of?

Not for UVC (other than the RP sim I’ve already built).

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. The simulation framework, analysis files, and the report will all be under GPL.

Benefits - enter N/A where appropriate

This work will help ensure a timely and efficient implementation of Universal Variable Commission. The following are the benefits of UVC:

Group	Benefits
Potential rETH holders	An efficient implementation of UVC will help to ensure that there is room in the deposit pool for new rETH to be minted.
rETH holders	When there are an excess of node operators, rETH APR will increase over time.
Potential NOs	UVC will encourage both that the deposit pool is not empty (new minipools can be spun up) and also that the commission for nodes is as high as it can be.
NOs	When there is excess demand for rETH, the commission for NOs will increase.
Community	The primary purpose of this work is to inform and guide the community on potential changes to the protocol. Information on what the optimal strategy is and making sure incentives are aligned helps ensure an efficient protocol. This includes the selection of both what changes to put into an RPIP as well as voting on RPIPs. Both the analysis of UVC implementations and simulations showing what will likely occur should help the community and dev team to more rapidly enact beneficial changes to the protocol.
RPL holders	As the rocketpool protocol grows, RPL will become more valuable.

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

None will directly benefit, but the algorithms and analysis may help to inform other protocols how to implement their features.

Team

Who is doing the work?

Primarily sckuzzle.

Community members (such as Valdorff) have been helpful in analyzing results and suggesting scenarios to look at. I am sure that community members will be instrumental in giving technical review / comments, and have suggested a monetary reward to be made available to those reviewing the report. Collaborators and requests for analysis are welcome. I most frequently talk about the status in the Modeling Thread which is open to anyone in the rocketpool discord.

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

I build simulations and models in biotech. While some domain knowledge (cell metabolism, reaction kinetics, etc.) is not useful here, how to build a simulation, what assumptions to make, and how to perform analyses is very transferable. Other knowledge such as control theory and algorithm design are useful when designing and modeling universal variable commission.

I have been involved with rocketpool for slightly over half a year. I am a node operator and have primarily been joining discussions in #research and how rocketpool should function.

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

Each scenario could be roughly divided into:

• Initial Modeling (2-3 weeks)
• Report Creation (1 week) – Rough draft report released to community members
• Technical Review from community (2 weeks)
• Edits / additions in response to community (1-3 weeks) – Final draft released on forum, discord

For a total of 6-9 weeks for UVC.

Time taken for other topics will vary heavily depending on the work to be done.

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

The simulation framework has already been created and was tested by comparing RPIP30 reward curves as well as topup strategies. It will be expanded to include proposed universal variable commission implementation and tested to match expected behavior.

How will the work be maintained after delivery?

Since the work is for an analysis, maintenance is not a priority. The simulation frame will be updated whenever there is additional modeling work funded. I’m also usually happy to answer questions and discuss implications the report doesn’t cover.

Backward compatibility in the framework (such as when RP mechanics get updated) is not included both to save cost and because it us unlikely to ever be used.

Payment and Verification

What is the acceptance criteria?

For the model:

• Model accurately predicts known outcomes
• Sckuzzle’s PID implementation demonstrates stability in all scenarios while maintaining responsiveness
• Model is able to track gas-consuming operations

For the work:

• A comparison of multiple UVC implementations with relevant metrics such as gas usage and responsiveness (how much time the DP spends full, max queue size for minipools, etc.)
• If found, a description of potential vulnerabilities to attackers or network conditions that would harm RP
• A final report that addresses reviewers feedback and requests for additional analysis (if in scope)

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

Item	Timeline	Amount
Use and release of existing model in open-source	Immediately on grant acceptance	$8k
Release of rough draft	~1 month after work starts	$14k
Release of final report	~2 months after work starts	$16k

I also think funding 3x $200 incentives for reviewers would ensure high-quality feedback and critical review.

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

There will be periodic modeling results in the modeling thread along with discussion. The rough draft will be made available to community members (which the GMC may include themselves in) and the final report will be released on discord and posted to the forum.

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

The report, what detail to include, and the target audience would affect the cost. My view is that the report should include additional background to be applicable to more of the community.

I also considered the effort that would be required to make the simulation framework ready for release as a package. The documentation, unit testing, and integration testing required for what would likely not see significant use was discarded to lower cost.

Other components of the research could be excluded, such as alternate implementations, attack testing,

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).

None

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

[ken]

Grant Application:

Name of Project

Denver Lift-Off: This is a pDAO funding request for financial underwriting (sponsorship) of Denver Lift-Off: a Rocket Pool Learning Forum

What is the work being proposed?

The Denver Lift-Off is a 1.5-day educational forum paralleling the ETH Denver Main Festival. It focuses on the Rocket Pool protocol and is aimed at both new and existing participants in the Rocket Pool ecosystem. The event includes workshops for new node operators, presentations by Rocket Pool specialists, and strategic planning sessions for community development.

Please read the complete Prospectus [ link here ] for a complete event description.

Is there any related work this builds off of?

This project builds off the existing community and educational initiatives within the Rocket Pool ecosystem, including previous events, online forums, and educational resources aimed at node operators and general participants.

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. CC BY. The content (presentations and course material/handouts) will be available.

Benefits - 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?
	The event provides education on ETH staking and using rETH, helping potential holders understand the benefits and processes involved.
rETH holders	If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help rETH holders?
	Current holders gain insights into the protocol’s advancements and community-led initiatives, enhancing their knowledge and confidence in rETH.
Potential NOs	If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help people looking to run a Rocket Pool node for the first time?
	Aspiring node operators receive hands-on training and knowledge, easing their entry into the Rocket Pool network.
NOs	If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help people already running a Rocket Pool node?
	Existing node operators can learn advanced techniques, network with peers, and contribute to strategic discussions.
Community	If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help the Rocket Pool community?
	The forum strengthens the community, fosters collaboration, and encourages shared learning and growth.
RPL holders	If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help RPL holders?
	Increased awareness and education about Rocket Pool can lead to more engagement and potentially enhance the value and utility of RPL.

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

The event’s discussions on decentralized, permissionless liquid staking protocols and Ethereum staking will be relevant to similar projects and DAOs in the DeFi space, especially those involved in staking, liquidity provision, and yield optimization.

The technical presentations and workshops on topics like Smart Node 2.0, Ethereum staking, and smart contract design will offer valuable insights and learning opportunities for developers, both within and outside the Rocket Pool ecosystem.

The event’s focus on community building, strategic planning, and ecosystem development can provide valuable case studies and learning opportunities for community leaders and educators looking to foster similar engagement in their projects or platforms.

Team

Who is doing the work?

Ken Smith is performing the role of the Event Coordinator. Various prominent
members of the RP community and the development team will be invited to speak at the forum. An open call for presenters and topics of interest will also be made.

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

Ken Smith, an engaged community member, Rocket Scientist, and GMC member, will coordinate the event. Ken’s extensive experience in the community and past roles in similar initiatives ensure the event’s success. Ken has organized several similar (non-crypto) large seminar attendance events in his career.

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

Jan 28th - Open and invited call for presenters and volunteers.
Feb 8 - Complete deposits and funding for venue and catering.
Feb 8 - Launch registration website with a preliminary lineup of presenters.
Feb 15 - Finalize speaker lineup and volunteer list.
Feb 26 - Complete headcount for catering.
Mar 2-3 - Event Date. On-site activities with volunteers, presenters, and attendees.
March 8 - Complete any post-production edits of videos.
March 15 - Submit to the GMC a post-event accounting of expenses.

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

We will hold 5 weekly planning calls in February for all interested persons (e.g., volunteers, moderators, etc.) to join. We will review current logistics on these planning calls and discuss any challenges encountered in coordinating the event.

How will the work be maintained after delivery?

Video recordings of the main auditorium presentations will be made available to the development team for uploading to the RP YouTube channel. We intended to livestream the presentations at the Learning Formun track for those in the RP Community who can not attend the event in person.

Payment and Verification

What is the acceptance criteria?

The successful hosting of the Denver Lift-off event on Mar 2-3, 2024.

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

$31,929

A detailed budget estimate is found here Denver Lift-Off Budget - Google Sheets

Options for the GMC consideration: If the GMC decides to approve the grant at a value less than the requested amount, we will augment the budget by increasing the attendee RSVP cost for both the Strategic Planning Sessions and the Learning Form attendees to make up any of the difference. This may make the event less accessible to everyone in the community who wants to attend.

Upon full or partial grant approval, we request a payment of 75% of the funded amount. The funds are needed to provide deposits for both the venue and catering. In addition, we would like to offer travel assistance (up to the amount specified in the detailed budget) to any invited presenter who needs financial sponsorship to attend.

Is the applicant requesting RPL or LUSD?

RPL

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

Payment for this grant is anticipated to be in two parts.

Initial payment: 75% of the requested amount so the award recipient can make payments and deposits for the events.

Final payment: The remainder, up to the approved award amount, would be made following submitting a “true-up” expense report asking for the balance due up to the actual costs incurred. A detailed cost account will be submitted to document the costs incurred for hosting the event. The final payment would cover only actual incurred expenses up to the awarded approved amount. We will not request payment for any unspent budgeted amount.

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

Options for the GMC consideration: If the GMC decides to approve the grant at a value less than the requested amount, we will augment the budget by increasing the attendee RSVP cost for both the Strategic Planning Sessions and the Learning Form attendees to make up any of the difference. This may make the event less accessible to everyone in the community who wants to attend.

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. The grant is partially a monetary remuneration (stipend) to Ken Smith, who is acting as the event coordinator. Ken serves 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?

No.

[jasperthegovghost]

What grant is being renewed?

Jasper’s Community Call grant.

What work from the previous proposal was completed?

I believe I maintained a biweekly cadence with occasional double-ups to fix missed weeks.

What work from the previous proposal is ongoing or pending?

I will still be hosting calls at the biweekly rate and may be available to Mav for bonus calls as needed.

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

NA

What work is newly slated since the previous proposal?

NA

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

Yes

(The MIT License – Open Source Initiative), GPL, Apache, CC BY license or similar)? If not, which parts are not, and why not?

Benefits - enter N/A where appropriate

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

Calls tend to have 15-20 listeners at a time, with one peaking at over a thousand (Lybra).

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

It is a primary advertising arm for the protocol to build partnership relations.

Team

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

This is for me, myself, and I.

How have the individual constituents of the team been compensated?

Subjected to the abuses of #trading.

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

Mav uploads recordings to YouTube.

Payment and Verification

Have the acceptance criteria been met?

Yes.

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 requesting 10 RPL, or an 11% raise from the previous 9 RPL every other week for 6 months. I believe this should be equal to Ken’s rate who also ought to receive a raise.

Is there a measurable Return on Investment for the project?

NA

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

NA

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

[ShfRyn]

Notice: This message marks the closing of the eighth round of Rocket Pool grant award 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 January 31st. 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.