Stake DAO Contributors reallocate 4,000,000 SDT to launch the Stake DAO Foundation

2 min readMay 5, 2021

At Stake DAO, we are building products that democratise access to the cutting edge of decentralised finance, allowing everyone to enjoy the benefits of a better financial system.

To expedite our progress towards this goal, the Contributors have allocated 4,000,000 SDT from their vested allocation to bootstrap the launch of the Stake DAO Foundation. The Foundation will enhance research, development, and initiatives that drive the adoption of the Stake DAO platform.

Funding

100% of Foundation funding will come from Contributor donations, reallocated from vested team tokens.

Implementation

SDT from the Foundation will be locked in a vault on a third-party lending protocol such as Aave or Unit. The Foundation will borrow capital against these SDT to finance research and development and initiatives that bolster the progress of the Stake DAO ecosystem.

The Foundation will benefit the entire Stake DAO ecosystem, helping to drive the adoption of industry best practices, attract top talent and safeguard Stake DAO’s future development.

The Foundation directly benefits SDT holders by realigning incentives across all contributors and creating a strategic reserve to advance Stake DAO as the undisputed home of DeFi.

Examples

To help clarify how the Foundation will appropriate funds, here are some hypothetical use cases:

Incentives for new contributors

Stake DAO needs to be able to scale its contributor headcount and attract the top talent. Stake DAO needs to be able to compete with compensation packages offered in the current market, which are becoming increasingly competitive.

Talent retention

The Foundation enables the team to provide competitive compensation packages to retain the industry’s top talent and avoid the poaching of contributors by other projects.

Bootstrapping Adoption

The Foundation will be a vehicle for the development of the Stake DAO ecosystem, funding community-directed initiatives that spur the platform’s adoption and, at times, incentivising relevant internal and external products (such as on third-party lending platforms like AAVE).

Strategic initiatives

The Foundation may direct funds towards strategic mergers and acquisitions of third-party protocols to expand the product suite, improve existing products, and expedite the progress of our mission.

Marketing Campaigns

The success of Stake DAO largely depends on its ability to retain and grow its user base and liquidity reserves — marketing plays an essential role in this function. SDT held in the Foundation can be allocated to marketing initiatives that promote awareness about the Stake DAO platform and its mission.