Dec 22, 2022
DXdao’s 2022 Year in Review
The Holiday Recap
Coming off the boom of 2021, 2022 started strong and looked like it was going to be another record-breaker. “Not quite” is probably a bit of an understatement, but let’s not delve too deep into the dark depths of despair now (lol). Especially on the eve of the end-of-year holidays, and let’s instead take the “glass is half full” approach to ring in 2023!
At the beginning of 2022, participating as a sponsor, DXdao headed off to ETHDenver. With COVID-19 travel restrictions easing, it was a full house with contributors coming from around the globe. DXdao was strongly represented on stage, with Sky Minert discussing Future Proofing DAOs while Chris Powers Rocked the Boat to Better Governance. It was clear that DXdao’s soulbound-based governance still offers one of the best alternatives to regular liquid ERC20 token governance. Our stance on decentralization was rock solid then but undisputable now at the end of the year. ETHDenver was a momentous occasion with a robust DXdao presence, albeit a frosty February in Colorado.
DXdao again acted as a sponsor at DAOist’s GGG22 in ETHAmsterdam and descended on the cycling capital of the world, determined to continue its efforts in DAO education. Punting privacy and shilling decentralized sovereignty Chris Powers highlighted the sovereignty that DXdao has and employs over its products. He specifically focused on the powerful usage of our ENS domain names which are the “face” (front ends) of DXdao products — reiterating how we actively contribute to the ethos of privacy, decentralization and sovereignty in the web3 space by developing, maintaining and governing permissionless dapps while also being censorship and attack-resistant.
The protection these front ends afford our users is enormous and has been very clear to see over the past few months with all the happenings in the cryptoverse. Most users of our dapps are likely unaware of the level of security and safety they enjoy when using Swapr, Carrot and the soon-to-be Project DAVI. However, the myth of a “decentralized, censorship and attack-protected dapp” is real when you access one of DXdao’s products. We cannot say enough about them without dragging this post out, so we will end it here.
In the meantime, the rest of us were diving into cheese, fries and cheesy fries. Only kidding; it was all about the Carrots 🥕, more precisely, DXdao’s KPI-based, community incentive tool, Carrot. We played around with the Twitter Activation Campaign, and boy, was it a lot of fun! Talking to people about Carrot, how it works, and the Twitter campaign was a terrific way to start a conversation and was well received. On a campaign level, it gave us unique insights and tweaks we could make next time; on a social level, it was a bang-out success.
Play around with the depreciate page here!
Sky laid out the details of how DAOs can use KPI-based community incentive tools. The power of a KPI incentive tool was immediately apparent to the audience. It also showed the eagerness in the space of participants to get their hands on tools that can help them direct more action and more effective action. Make that KPI based, permissionless and decentralized, and you can have your carrot and eat it.
Finishing off, at ETHAmsterdam, a core team of contributors hacked ETH Global, where we saw the Birth of Nimi. Nimi is an amazing web3 bio-linking dapp. However, before we get to the meat and potatoes of what Nimi is and what it can do, let us veer slightly off course for a minute to the world of ENS domains. They are special to us in the web3 space. Almost like those golden name tags that the VIPs have at a conference (just so much cooler) when the rest of the people have to make do with sharpie written names on cardboard in a plastic cover.
Back to Nimi and how it takes your ENS to the next level! Nimi turns your ENS domain into a literal golden name badge (almost). It allows you to connect all your contacts, socials, portfolios, wallet addresses and POAPs to your ENS domain name and hosts it for you for public access. Now when you attend a conference, all you have to have is an NFC tag with your ENS domain for your own personal web3 profile “business card”.
In Paris, DXdao co-hosted an amazing rooftop event with Gnosis Chain, GitPOAP and Gnosis SAFE. Decentralized maxis mingled to smooth beats while a hot sun set over Paris. The location was fabulous, with excellent food, killer swag, and we could comfortably argue that there was no better place to be. Now I know we are biased, but let me say this. When the time arrives to pack things up, and you have to “kick” (ok, not kick — just politely and consistently ask) people out of the venue, you know you just hosted a winner. Paris also saw DXdao swag move into the major leagues.
Unfortunately, 2022 has been far from a bed of roses. After Paris, with the crypto winter well set in, conversations in the DAO slowly turned to sustainability, longevity and relevance.
After many conversations and meetings, the DAO settled on the Restructuring and Refocus proposal by Keenan that was set in motion with the passing of Phase 1 just as Devcon Bogatá kicked off. More on the Restructuring and Refocus initiative in a bit, but first, we have to detour here a little to focus on all the happenings that occurred in and around Devcon.
With the announcement of Devcon VI after such a long Covid induced hiatus, it quickly became apparent that it would be an extraordinary event. In light of this, DXdao had planned some huge initiatives in and around Devcon. The first was a three-day hackathon the weekend prior to Devcon, and then a 5-day DXdao retreat after Devcon where contributors could congregate, mingle, and hash out some of the details of the Restructuring and Refocus for the upcoming year and beyond.
First up was Infinite Hackathon, Genesis Edition Bogotá. This was a first-of-its-kind hackathon that did not center around the sponsors but rather the experience of the hackers themselves. The main idea behind Infinite was to drown out the noise and concentrate on helping hackers learn, innovate and have fun. The hackathon was held at a beautiful modern venue with every amenity needed, the Hilton DoubleTree Conference Salitre in Bogotá. Hackers had direct access to mentors from the different co-organizers, food and amenities 24 hours a day for the entire hackathon. There were massages, a ping pong table, places to sleep, tech talks and for those that felt they needed it, there was even a punching bag. Lol.
The hackathon was an ambitious experiment that was a fantastic success for both the hackers and the organizers. Hackers raved about how it was the best hackathon they had ever attended and noted how they had never had such easy and unfettered access to mentors and founders. They confirmed that this access to mentors raised their game and was the reason they could deliver better projects. On the other hand, founders enjoyed the opportunity to share some of their wisdom and knowledge and, as the saying goes, “get their hands dirty” by being directly involved with the hackers. It was an excellent opportunity for everyone to learn, buidl and have fun, and that is precisely what they did, producing a marvellous collection of submissions. You can see all the projects here 👉 Devpost.
After Infinite came Devcon, and it was nothing short of tremendous. Granted, there were some issues with the WiFi and specific presentations, but it was a Devcon to remember. With a very high bar to present at Devcon, our very own Melanie and the other members of the People Ops Guild had her “Buidl the Buidlers” workshop accepted, and they ended up hosting a packed house. They covered “Education, Peer Review and Professional Development” and with some prominent founders from projects like Coordinape in the audience, it was clear that contributor engagement is a high-priority item for many organizations and continues to grow in importance as well the stakes rise in the cryptoverse. Devcon VI was a whirlwind week of pointed presentations and workshops during the day with mingle-till-morning mixers at night.
The end of Devcon did not signal the end for DXdao, who then headed to Cartagena. The retreat took place on a small island, Tierra Bomba, off the coast of Cartagena, at the beautiful resort, Namasté Beach Club. Here DXdao ate and drank together, but most importantly, set to work on assessing current weaknesses and laying the foundation for the first steps forward in Restructuring and Refocus. It was amazing to see all the discussion and the willingness to collaborate. In the end, the retreat proved to be precisely what was needed. DXdao emerged with some key insights, first and foremost being a new vision, “Enable Community Freedom.” Then, a more cross-collaborative, accountable environment aimed to achieve DAO-designed objectives was determined to be the best way forward to ensure both the DAO’s relevance and longevity.
Headed back after nearly a month in Colombia, the team was wiped out. However, that did not slow their role, and almost immediately upon return, they got stuck in. Now naturally, a lot has happened, but we do not want to bore you. So instead, we will point out the amazing things that have happened over November and are coming to a head as we come to the end of this post (and year!).
First to conclude was the DXD Token Working Group, which produced a framework combining four very innovative tools into what is now the new and, even if we have to say so ourselves, the fantastic DXD Token Model.
Next up was the passing of Phase 2 of the Restructuring and Refocus process, has set the DAO on course to execute the following items:
- Implement a six-month squad-based budgetary cycle
- Explore “accountability councils.”
- Implement a “priorities board” and a democratic process of determining said priorities
- Establish its direction as a “Decentralized Pipeline for Communities” and look to prioritize a “flagship” product
- Establish “Enable Community Freedom” as the official DXdao vision.
Implementing a six-month squad-based budgetary cycle was first on the list to tackle. Making this shift from “individual proposals” to “a six-month squad-based budgetary cycle” was evident as it would help free up the time and attention needed from contributors to address the other four items on the list in a calmer and more logical manner.
The new Guild budgets have either already passed DAO governance or are in the process of doing so. The final few months of activity here in the heart of the crypto winter have been taxing on all of our contributors. So in closing, we want to wish you all the very best for you and your families during this holiday season and wish you all a Happy New Year. Stay Safe and have fun. See you all in 2023!
About DXdao: DXdao is a decentralized collective that builds, owns, and governs DeFi and governance products. Reputation (REP) is voting power in DXdao, and DXD is the financial token with a claim on profit from DXdao products.
DXdao products include Omen (prediction markets), Carrot (programmable incentives), DXgov (governance framework), and Swapr (governance-enabled AMM). DXdao believes in governance and decentralization.
Connect with DXdao: Discord | Twitter | Telegram | Keybase | DAOtalk Forum
