This quarter, LEGO has made significant strides by prioritizing Security and Decentralization, underscoring our dedication to these key areas. Additionally, we've bolstered support for Analytical Tools and various innovative initiatives, resulting in a substantial investment of $156.8K. Through this report, the LEGO committee aims to provide you with a clear understanding of the progress and vitality within our ecosystem during Q2 of 2024. We hope you find the advancements we've made inspiring!
- Issued grants structure
- 1. Decentralization Support
- 1.a Request for Proposal | CSM integrations
- 1.b D.U.C.K.
- 2. Analytical Tools Development and Support
- 3. Community Support
- 3.a Dencun lamps
- 3.b Other community support grants:
- 4. Protocol Development
- 5. Security Assessments (incl. bug bounties)
- 6. Integrations
- 7. Various notable grants
- LEGO Q2 2024 Results
- Community Lifeguards Initiative
Issued grants structure
To ensure maximum transparency, the LEGO committee has produced a regular report highlighting the accomplishments of the second quarter of 2024. You can always check financial transactions database for a complete history of disbursed grants.
In this quarter, Decentralization support grants led with a total of $112.5K. Following were allocations for Analytical tools ($13.3K), Community support ($10.6K), Protocol development ($7K), Security assessments and bug bounties ($6.6) and Integrations ($5K), alongside other grants, distributing funds across a wide spectrum of initiatives to enhance and expand the ecosystem's capabilities and reach.
Overall, the disbursed grants for Q2 2024 amounted to $156.8K.
Please refer to the following radar chart for a visual representation of grants by categories:
On the next chart you may find grant amounts by initiators.
And the most productive grantor is… 🥁 Izzy! with $39.8K 🥇, congratulations! Followed by Alex🥈 with $20.3K and Tim🥉 with $5.8K.
1. Decentralization Support
1.a Request for Proposal | CSM integrations
Lido DAO Community Staking team contributors made an RFP calling out software providers specializing in node/validator setup to enhance their existing tools by incorporating a user-friendly pathway for community stakers to engage with the Lido Community Staking Module (CSM) and Lido Simple DVT Module (SDVTM) as Node Operators (NO). Thank you all who reacted to this request! LEGO council teamed up with CS contributors to carefully review all applications and came up with the shortlist of most promising ones in terms of community staking solution popularity, overall expected budget, level of integration and the time frame appropriateness. Now it was CSM integrations time and here are 3 picked projects:
- Integrating Nethermind Sedge with Lido CSM (first part = $32,500).
- Dappnode Proposal for CSM integration (first part = $31,750);
- Stereum CSM Integration Grant Proposal (first part = $9,495);
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1.b D.U.C.K.
The D.U.C.K. (Distributed Utilization of Configurations and Knowledge) initiative aims to enhance the operations and reduce risks for Lido node operators by providing open-source resources. These resources include a Risk Framework, Mitigations & Controls Library, and a Communications Toolkit, tailored to the unique setups and operations of different node operators. The initiative focuses on community engagement, encouraging contributions and self-regulation in using these resources. This effort seeks to empower node operators with knowledge and tools for effective risk management, control measures, and operational best practices, thereby strengthening the overall staking landscape.
The Delivery team and Lido contributors pulled out an enormous amount of work to put together D.U.C.K. knowledge base! It provides extensive insights into node operation relevant risks, mitigations & controls as well as communication best practices. With 77 identified risks, 27 mitigation dimensions, 36 controls dimensions, references to industry-proven IT standards ISO27k and SOC2 and much more, the team hopes to provide strong support for the broader node operator community. The references to deliverables are following:
Node Operations Risk Framework
- Risk identification & categorization (LINK)
- Risk assessment & communication procedures (LINK)
- Risk record-keeping templates (LINK)
- Review & audit procedures (LINK)
Mitigation & Controls Library
- Mitigation strategies & Best Practices (LINK)
- Controls catalog (LINK)
- Implementation Guides library for selected controls (LINK)
- Ready-to-use tools, scripts, and templates (LINK)
Communication Toolkit
- Stakeholder strategy (LINK)
- Incident Communication Protocols (LINK)
- Ready-to-use templates & toolkits (LINK)
- Ecosystem Collaboration Blueprint (LINK)
The total funding request was $77,600, payable in DAI, for the Alpha Release, first 50% of which were disbursed upfront back in Q4 2023. Lido DAO NOM workstream assessed the results and confirmed the excellent work made, so the remaining 50% ($38,800) of the grant landed in April to the delivery team wallet.
2. Analytical Tools Development and Support
Third quarterly grant of 5K LDO (approx. $13.3K at the moment of the tranche) was made to Glassmarkets for dashboard to monitor stETH liquidity at centralized exchages proposal, used by Liquidity Observation Lab committee.
3. Community Support
3.a Dencun lamps
The Dencun upgrade for Ethereum, a combination of two updates named Cancun and Deneb, represents a significant advancement in Ethereum's ongoing evolution. The primary focus of this upgrade is to enhance the scalability and efficiency of the Ethereum network while reducing transaction costs, particularly for L2 solutions.
One of the most notable features of Dencun is the introduction of Proto-Danksharding (EIP-4844), which involves the use of "data blobs." These blobs provide a new, lower-cost method for storing data on the Ethereum network, specifically benefiting L2 networks like Arbitrum, Optimism, and zkSync. By allowing these L2 solutions to store data more efficiently on Ethereum’s mainnet, the Dencun upgrade significantly reduces transaction fees for users, especially in high-volume applications like DeFi and NFTs.
To commemorate the Dencun upgrade, LEGO commissioned 100 custom Ethereum lamps for core devs (ty @SODAmerch).
3.b Other community support grants:
| Description | USD amount |
|---|---|
$1800 | |
$1650 | |
$1394 |
4. Protocol Development
Support and Maintenance of Holesky Safe deployed by Protofire ($7,000).
5. Security Assessments (incl. bug bounties)
Grant of $3.6K equivalent was disbursed to onthis.xyz for audit expense.
Onthis is a platform that provides no-code tools for creating and deploying on-chain smart contracts. It's designed for users who want to build dApps or deploy various types of contracts, such as tokens, bridges, and token bundles, without needing deep technical knowledge. The platform simplifies the process, allowing anyone to become a builder in the blockchain space with just a few clicks. This resource is particularly useful for those interested in exploring and contributing to the DeFi ecosystem.
In addition to that 3 small bug bounties ($1,000 each) were paid via Immunefi platform.
6. Integrations
The LEGO committee has supported a proposal with a $5,000 grant to integrate Lido's staking and unstaking services into the Brian AI platform. The project will create a Lido knowledge base within the platform and develop AI models to allow users to stake or unstake ETH on Lido using simple text prompts. This initiative aims to enhance user accessibility to Lido's services through Brian's API, making it easier for users to interact with Lido's staking mechanisms.
Check out the BrianknowsAI yourself - https://www.brianknows.org/app
7. Various notable grants
| Description | USD amount |
|---|---|
$998 | |
$500 | |
$199 |
LEGO Q2 2024 Results
Overall budget used during Q2 2024 was $156,761 using daily average prices of LDO where appropriate, which constitutes 31% of total $500K allocated per quarter.
Token budget split of 20% / 80% LDO / DAI set out previously looks to stay relevant. As we can see grants by tokens split for 12 months of 2023 was 91.3% stables and only 8.7% LDO, whereas Q2 2024 structure is 9.7% LDO and 90.3% USD stable tokens.
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Community Lifeguards Initiative
The Lido Community Lifeguards Initiative (CLI) pilot passed and considered successful by LEGO committee. Although Eridian has decided to step down from its position as CLI leader, Enti and Stakesaurus are eager to further develop this initiative. The Snapshot to establish CLI as a LEGO sub-committee started end of June and was approved by the DAO! LEGO successfully filled the gaps in CLI granting for Q2 2024:
| Description | USD amount |
|---|---|
$10,000 | |
$6,764 | |
$1,500 |
For more details about CLI achievements during this quarter please read CLI Q2 2024 report.
Stay tuned, stake safe!