Abstract
The ssv.network mainnet is on the horizon, and we are leading the charge! DVT is earmarked as the next big step in Ethereum’s evolution. As we gear up for this momentous occasion, we’re doubling down on our efforts to maintain and accelerate existing development efforts. To this end, funding will be needed.
Blox’s Core Development Team is proposing a grant of 2,000,000 USDC and 2,000,000 US$ worth of SSV tokens from the DAO treasury to Blox. The aim is to support ongoing development operations to benefit the DAO and the ssv.network protocol.
This proposal, with adaptations due to changes in costs and re-evaluation of required growth and personnel, relies on the DAO’s expected budget for 2023, as published on the SSV Forum on February 14, 2023 (not voted): SSV DAO’s Expected Budget for 2023
Development of ssv.network
Core Dev activity refers to the necessary and crucial protocol development costs for advancing the protocol and the SSV project.
To this end, the ssv.network DAO should strive for total financial independence, enabling ever-growing decentralization and a successful community-driven project. An independent DAO should be able to finance its own decisions fully to meet goals and objectives.
At the heart of the above is the development of the protocol, a cornerstone in promoting Etheuem’s decentralization and dominating the DVT landscape.
The SSV proof-of-concept, later renamed DVT, has been practically built from the ground up by Blox. This means Blox has been bearing a substantial part of the ssv.network’s Dev-related costs for almost two years. This proposal establishes a DAO grant to Blox. It will serve as compensation for part of the development services and continued Core Dev activity of the protocol.
Benefits of the Proposal:
- Allow the DAO / Community to keep continuous control over the project
- Provide oversight over any contributing member (including the Core Dev)
- Enable the community to take the above actions independently through the dGC committee
For clarity, in return for the said grant, the Core Dev shall perform the following services for the DAO in the fields of Development and Product. Some of which have already been completed.
Areas of Focus
Two main phases in 2023
- Mainnet launch
-
Launch of V3 testnet, including:
- Node implementation:
- P2P Networking
- Spec alignment
- All beacon duty support
- 4,7,10,13 cluster sizes
-
New V3 contracts
- Registration and removal of validators and operators.
- Fees and payments mechanism, including liquidations.
- Gas optimization.
- Security optimization.
- V3 web-app design and functionality
- V3 explorer support
- V3 documentation
- Node implementation:
- Audits
- SSV Implementation
- SSV Spec
- Contracts
- Integrations team (responsible for SSV integrations into other protocols/ services)
- Other required mainnet preparations
-
Launch of V3 testnet, including:
- Post Mainnet
- Advanced DKG
- Multi-remote signer support
- Scale research and spec
- Multi-blockchain support research
- Advanced consensus research
- Fee abstraction research
- Dynamic network fee research
- Multi-client facilitation
- Miscellaneous node & spec maintenance and development
KPIs
The development and product teams shall measure their success by the following parameters:
- Stable and robust SSV spec (test coverage for spec functionality and supporting a third party implementing a second client)
- Stable node implementation (benchmarked against testnet/mainnet beaconchains), easy to set up and maintain
- Smooth mainnet launch
- Support for partners building on SSV
- Great developer experience for anyone starting and building on SSV
Suggested Grant for the Core Dev for these Services
We estimate that these development efforts shall require a team of about 32 employees, including developers (specializing in GoLang, Full Stack, Solidity, and QA), Product Managers, and designers.
It will further require Cloud services for hosting, testing and production environments, DevOps services, and audits of the smart contracts by a reliable third party.
This is far from a comprehensive list of expected costs that Blox bears. Still, the Core Dev is willing to bear a substantial part of the costs for the benefit of the project and the community, as done by other members of the SSV community.
For all the services, the requested grant is 2,000,000 USDC and 2,000,000 US$ worth of SSV tokens to be paid in three (3) equal installments, each divided equally between USDC and SSV, on the following milestones: 1. Upon approval of this proposal. 2. Upon the launch of the public mainnet. ”Public Mainnet’’ shall be defined as having third parties using the protocol both as Operators and Validators. 3. The later of the end of the year (December 31, 2023) or together with the launch of the public mainnet. SSV price shall be based on a 7-day trailing average to be calculated on the day of transfer.
If passed, the grants shall be transferred to the following wallet address, controlled and owned by Blox: 0x935Cea9196a22E59934Aa036143dEDA0e482f3E4
, thank you for your questions. They’ve been addressed during the AMA, and you can read them on discord. Check out the various threads below the 
