Dear Bankless Nation 🏴,

We've journeyed a considerable distance since the start of this season, and it's always exciting to share our progress. It's been another week marked by unwavering dedication and fruitful deliberations bringing us closer to our goal. As always, your active participation and opinion remain crucial as we navigate ongoing discussions. Governance is our responsibility, so let's head to Forum to air our views and make our voices heard.

While deliberations regarding funding continue, commendations are due to projects like Crypto Sapiens and bCard for their relentless pursuit of our shared vision. From Crypto Sapiens, we have exciting opportunities for standard subscribers of Hypersub. Stand a chance to get NFT airdrops through Hypersub subscriptions and free merch if you are present at FarCon. Meanwhile, bCard will be launching in the United States. They also have an ongoing Gitcoin round so let's show support by donating in the round.

This week's roundtable discussion bordered on funding, answered questions, and clarified some confusion contributors had about the new funding method. tlBANK-gated retrospective funding seems to be the way and today’s editorial sheds more light on this.

Amidst diverse opinions, we keep pressing on, learning in the process and having fun all the way. It's the weekend, so take some time off, pause, and reflect on how far we've come. You are here and you make the magic happen.

Contributors: Angelspeaks, Vi-Fi, Tonytad, Warrior, Paulito, Boluwatife, Kornekt, WinVerse

This is an official newsletter of BanklessDAO. Please subscribe and share to help us grow our audience as we fulfill our mission to build user-friendly crypto onramps.

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🪙 Donate and support bCard, Bankless Academy at the Gitcoin grant rounds.

🏃‍♀️ Catch up: Listen to this week's Community Call recording.

Proposals in Discussion

📢 Announcement: Multisig to Unpause Retro Funding

On February 14, 2024, the BanklessDAO Multisig decided to halt all funding activities across the DAO. This decision stemmed from concerns about the long-term sustainability of the DAO, prompting the need for a period of reflection to assess past decisions and plan for the future. As part of this process, the multisig announced the reopening of retroactive funding requests specifically for current tlBANK holders who had minted before November 26, 2023. These requests are aimed at addressing key aspects crucial to the DAO's future:

• Define the purpose/vision of the DAO.

• Define the membership structure for the DAO.

• Create a new brand for the DAO, if needed.

This proposal is open to feedback and contributions, so please share any concerns or suggestions you may have regarding it on the Forum.

A Path Forward: Retro Funding and Revitalization

Author: Boluwatife

On February 14, 2024, the BanklessDAO multisig made the tough call to pause DAO-wide funding. This decision wasn't made lightly; the multisig believed that the long-term viability of the DAO was at risk, and it was necessary to create some breathing room for the community to reflect on its past and chart a new course forward.

During the two-month pause, various DAO activities continued. The Governance Department kept holding weekly calls and retrospectives, the Community Call remained a gathering space for discussions, and the Writers Guild reported on the DAO's state through the Weekly Rollup. Additionally, many other groups and contributors posted proposals and discussions on our governance Forum, shaping the conversation about BanklessDAO's future.

The Rationale Behind the Pause

The Multisig team recognized several key points that led to their decision to pause funding and initiate a retrospective process:

1. Energized Contributors: Despite the challenges, there remained a strong appetite and energy among DAO contributors to move forward.

2. Collective Decision-making: The multisig acknowledged that it alone was too small a group to decide the direction of the entire DAO, and reaching consensus within a large, permissionless group was proving difficult.

3. BanklessDAO's Social Nature: The core of the DAO is its people. Human-controlled multisigs are used to distribute funding, which will properly align funding with the DAO's social aspect.

4. Facilitating Bottom-up Initiative: The multisig's role is to create an environment that encourages members to take initiative, ensuring the DAO's perpetuity through a bottom-up approach.

5. Iterative and Experimental Approach: Recognizing the flexible and uncertain nature of DAO contributors, the multisig emphasizes iteration, learning, and experimentation over "getting big things done."

The Experiment: tlBANK-gated Retrospective Funding

Based on these insights, the multisig has defined a forward-looking experiment — to open up retrospective funding for a smaller, value-aligned group of contributors to accomplish three specific tasks which are:

1. Redefining the purpose and vision of the DAO.

2. Redefining the membership structure for the DAO.

3. Creating a new brand for the DAO, if needed.

This group of contributors will be identified by wallets that hold tlBANK (time-locked BANK tokens) minted before November 26, 2023, when brand clarity issues with BanklessHQ began. This is because these contributors have proven long-term value alignment with the DAO by time-locking their tokens with no expectation for future rewards.

The Funding Process

To facilitate this funding initiative, a new Snapshot space will be created, with access restricted to the group of tlBANK holders. Any funding proposal made by these contributors that aligns with the three tasks mentioned above will be considered.

When proposals pass the Snapshot thresholds (simple majority, minimum seven-day voting duration, and public voting), the multisig will vote and disburse approved funding as required.

It's important to note that this funding process deviates from the BanklessDAO Constitution, where all funding typically goes through the Grants Committee. However, the multisig believes these actions are necessary for the perpetuity of the DAO, and they plan to amend or update the Constitution once the DAO's future is more certain.

Metrics of Success

To measure the success of this experiment, the Multisig will track:

1. The number of problems solved (out of the three tasks listed above).

2. The number of proposals passed on the Snapshot space.

3. The number of members involved in the process (discussions, voting, etc.).

Next Steps

This experiment is a temporary step aimed at giving our members the initiative to shape BanklessDAO's future. After running this experiment, the multisig hopes to have a better understanding of the DAO's next steps, which could include:

1. Updating the Constitution.

2. Running another experiment with a different group of wallets or tasks.

3. Continuing to execute the tasks listed in the current experiment.

BanklessDAO's path forward is being paved with introspection and experimentation. Through the retrospective funding initiative, the multisig aims to tap into the collective wisdom of its value-aligned contributors, redefining the DAO's purpose, membership structure, and brand, if necessary.

This experiment represents a crucial step in reviving the DAO's spirit and ensuring its perpetuity. As the DAO navigates this critical phase, the community's engagement, innovative ideas, and collaborative efforts will be instrumental in charting a course towards a thriving and sustainable future. We would love to have you in the conversation. Do check out the Forum post and express your thoughts.

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