Updates on Arbitrum Foundation's Funding Vote

Multiple Projects Secure Funding from Arbitrum Foundation Amidst Ongoing Voting

Criteria from Arbitrum Foundation

As previously reported by Coin68, the project selection process organized by Arbitrum DAO runs from October 6 to October 13 on Snapshot. On the morning of October 6, Arbitrum's official X account announced the criteria for a project to be eligible for funding.

To qualify, a project must meet the quorum of 71.51 million ARB and receive more than 50% approval votes. Projects meeting these criteria will receive a funding plan from the Arbitrum Foundation and STIP-ARB multisig. The funding disbursement is contingent upon the completion of KYC and signing of a grant agreement with the Arbitrum Foundation.

Additionally, the ARB funding will be distributed based on individual proposals until the 50 million ARB budget is exhausted. If there are remaining funds after the first round, they will be used for a second voting round.

Voting Results

Although there are still two days left before the voting ends, the results of several successful projects have already emerged.

According to data compiled by Inspex as of noon on October 11, a blockchain and smart contract security auditing firm, 31 out of 97 projects have met the standards set by the Arbitrum Foundation. Notable names such as GMX, Camelot, Pendle, and KyberSwap are among those set to receive funding in the first round.

Most projects have received over 90% approval votes, and the total ARB requested by these 31 projects amounts to 47.38 million tokens (about 95% of the budget). This leaves approximately 2.6 million ARB available for projects still under consideration.

Projects that have met the voting criteria for Arbitrum funding as of noon on October 11, 2023. Source: Inspex

Controversy Surrounding Lido's Funding Proposal

When the Arbitrum Short-term Incentive Program was announced, the list of participating projects included Lido, the leading liquid staking protocol, which requested 4 million ARB. Lido was considered a promising candidate for funding.

However, after five days of voting, Lido's proposal has only garnered 47.45% approval. Opponents argue that the funding is unnecessary for Lido due to its high TVL.

Voting status for Lido on Snapshot as of the afternoon of October 11, 2023

The primary concern among those opposing Lido's funding is the protocol's control over approximately 32% of all staked ETH, which could lead to an over-concentration of power and benefits for Lido within the Arbitrum ecosystem.

Conclusion

As the voting period continues, the final list of projects securing Arbitrum Foundation funding will soon be confirmed. While many projects have successfully met the criteria, the debate around larger, well-funded protocols like Lido highlights ongoing concerns about decentralization and resource allocation within the DeFi community.