SSV DAO Revamps Grants Strategy to Drive Innovation and Strategic Growth

The
ssv.network
DAO
(SSV
DAO)
has
announced
a
significant
update
to
its
grants
strategy,
aiming
to
better
align
with
the
evolving
needs
of
the
ecosystem.
This
revamped
approach
emphasizes
fostering
innovation
and
forming
strategic
partnerships
to
ensure
the
continued
growth
and
success
of
the
ssv.network
ecosystem,
according
to

SSV
network.

Current
Grants
Program:
A
Snapshot

The
existing
grants
program,
known
as
DIP-5,
has
been
pivotal
in
supporting
the
development
of
decentralized
staking
applications
and
services
on
the
SSV
network.
With
over
23,000
validators
and
745,000





ETH
staked
just
months
after
the
mainnet
launch,
the
program
has
awarded
more
than
$3
million
in
grants
across
60+
projects.
These
efforts
have
fostered
a
robust
ecosystem
featuring
various
staking
use
cases
and
tooling.

Current
grants
fall
into
categories
such
as
Staking
Pool
Development
and
Staking
Service
Development.
However,
with
the
ecosystem’s
maturation,
certain
milestones
have
become
less
relevant,
necessitating
a
strategic
shift.

Why
the
Change?

As
the
SSV
network
has
evolved,
the
integration
and
development
processes
have
become
simpler,
requiring
less
engineering
effort.
This
has
made
some
grant
milestones,
such
as
seed
funding
for
early
stages
and
TVL
growth
incentives,
redundant.
The
incentivized
mainnet
program
already
effectively
drives
Total
Value
Locked
(TVL)
growth,
reducing
the
need
for
separate
TVL
milestones.
Consequently,
the
DAO
has
decided
to
refactor
the
grants
process
to
better
suit
the
network’s
continuous
evolution.

The
New
Grants
Strategy

The
revised
grants
strategy
focuses
on
fostering
innovation
through
open
grants
for
unique
use
cases
and
forming
strategic
partnerships
for
critical
ecosystem
components.
The
updated
approach
includes
the
following
key
changes:

• 
  New
  Application
  Process:
  Temporarily
  close
  grants
  and
  reopen
  with
  the
  new
  strategy.
• 
  Stop
  Seed
  Funding
  Grants:
  Discontinue
  seeding
  grants
  for
  staking
  services
  and
  pools.
• 
  Support
  Existing
  Grants:
  Guide
  currently
  approved
  grants
  to
  completion.
• 
  Discontinue
  TVL
  Grants:
  Avoid
  conflicts
  with
  the
  incentivized
  mainnet
  program.
• 
  Emphasize
  Open
  Grants:
  Focus
  on
  grants
  for
  unique
  and
  critical
  ecosystem
  components.
• 
  Maintain
  Bug
  Bounties
  and
  Micro-Grants:
  Continue
  these
  programs
  under
  current
  guidelines.

Instead
of
broad
grants,
SSV
DAO
may
form
strategic
partnerships
for
critical
ecosystem
components,
ensuring
dedicated
development
and
ownership
by
the
DAO
and
mitigating
dependency
risks.
Focus
areas
include
performance
and
metadata
data
providers,
alerting
and
monitoring
solutions,
alternative
SSV
client
implementations,
operator
solutions,
and
cluster
selection,
developer
tools,
major
player
integrations,
and
community
programs.

Next
Steps

1. 
   Consultation
   and
   Alignment:
   Finalize
   the
   new
   strategy
   in
   consultation
   with
   SSV
   Labs’
   teams
   and
   incorporate
   community
   feedback.
2. 
   Update
   Grants
   Portal:
   Reflect
   the
   new
   strategy
   on
   the
   grants
   website
   and
   update
   application
   terms
   and
   conditions,
   including
   KYC/KYB
   requirements.

Success
Story:
SSV
Scan

SSV
Scan,
a
network
explorer
developed
by
DragonStake
and
Polkastats,
exemplifies
the
success
of
the
grants
program.
This
explorer
has
significantly
enhanced
the
network’s
transparency
and
usability,
offering
a
comprehensive
suite
of
features
that
empower
users
to
evaluate
network
performance
over
time.

The
SSV
DAO
has
announced
an
extended
partnership
with
DragonStake
through
a
new
grant
aimed
at
scaling
SSV
Scan
to
support
over
100,000
validators
and
beyond.
This
initiative
highlights
the
new
strategy’s
focus
on
strategic
partnerships
for
critical
infrastructure.

DragonStake,
a
verified
operator
in
the
SSV
ecosystem,
has
been
running
highly
performant
nodes
since
the
testnet
phase,
making
them
an
integral
part
of
the
SSV
ecosystem.

Conclusion

These
changes
aim
to
streamline
the
grants
process,
better
align
incentives,
and
foster
innovative
development
within
the
SSV
network.
The
SSV
DAO
is
enthusiastic
about
seeing
more
success
stories
like
SSV
Scan
as
the
new
strategy
unfolds.

The
DAO
values
community
feedback
and
participation
during
this
transition
and
looks
forward
to
continued
support
and
commitment
from
its
members.

Image
source:
Shutterstock

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