Community Call DAO Status Update - March 17, 2023

This week's Status Update included short progress updates from Engineering and Operations, followed by discussion and debate regarding a new proposal by rhizobtc.

Rook branding with blue chess piece; recap by Starbased
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Rook DAO Status Updates are community calls held every other Friday and are intended to quickly bring our community up to speed on the latest developments, decisions, investments, and events that matter most to our community.

To participate in the calls and ask any questions you may have, join our Discord!

Engineering

  • Progress continues on full end-to-end testing for swaps and relay products. This work includes fine-tuning Ninja and the database logs of information on pricing, auctions, and transfers.
  • Engineering blockers include getting additional searchers integrated with the new product. Ninja can operate as a backstop, but the protocol benefits from healthy searcher competition. Documentation is in progress for potential partners making searcher integrations.

Operations [5:30]

  • A key priority is following up on biz-dev leads from EthDenver. The team had conversations with many users, searcher teams, and other partner protocols at the event.

Treasury [7:50]

Governance [9:00]

  • Nathan Worsley was voted in as the replacement Sophon for Doge. Please welcome him in Discord!
  • KIP-37, Discretionary Swapping of Like-Kind Assets, passed with unanimous support from voting wallets.
  • The following proposals are currently in Sophon review:
    KIP-36 - Expand Funding and Strategies of Testing Wallet
    KIP-38 - Replenish Discretionary Investment Limit Funds
    KIP-39 - Deployment of Additional ETH for Yield Generation

Open Floor [10:50]

  • Rhizobtc opened a discussion on a new proposal for the Rook DAO to acquire a sizable ROOK position. The proposal recommends that the DAO increase its holdings to 25% of the total ROOK supply. Rhizobtc suggested that this acquisition could be done over time based on strategic goals, and would allow Rook to have a mechanism for funding contributors, grants, partnerships, and capital raises.
  • The team pointed out the tax implications of paying contributors in a native token. The revised Compensation 3.1 plan introduced last year was designed to address this issue as one of the primary points.
  • Participants debated the question of the DAO having an explicit claim on the treasury by token holders, including the regulatory concerns.
  • Similar to the discussion with Iconium Blockchain Ventures, opinions differ on the subject of token buy-backs and whether governance tokens can have value.