CoW Protocol GrantsDAO: Grants Wave 1

TL;DR

• CoW DAO introduced its grants DAO in June 2022 to propel the growth of the CoW Protocol ecosystem
• The CoW Grants Council, consisting of team and community members, reviews grant proposals that align with the ecosystem’s needs
• CoW DAO’s grants committee has approved various technical grants, including Milkman, a sophisticated but easy-to-use method for routing trades through CoW Protocol for Multi-Sig users
• Grants Committee has approved Willy Ogorzaly’s proposed grant: integrating CoW Swap into ShapeShift DAO’s in order to enhance liquidity, provide MEV protection, and improve trade execution
• The Grants Committee has enabled core contributors to work with the protocol, with two core contributors joining on a full-time basis

The CoW DAO introduced its grants DAO in June 2022 as a strategic effort aimed at enhancing operations within the DAO framework. The primary objective of this initiative is to harness and deploy crucial resources to propel the growth trajectory of the CoW Protocol ecosystem.

The grants DAO is comprised of both team and community members and undertakes the task of reviewing grant proposals. These proposals, open for discussion in a dedicated forum, are carefully scrutinized by the council to ensure that potential grants align with the ecosystem’s needs and objectives.

The grants initiative is not just about facilitating growth; it also focuses on creating public goods and developing products specifically for the DAO. Doing so broadens the reach and impact of CoW Protocol. Through public discourse and applications, the community can identify and respond to the ecosystem’s most pressing needs, and support innovative projects that further expand CoW Swap’s capabilities.

Let’s take a detailed look at the grants we funded in the first half of the period. The second half is covered in part 2.

Milkman: Streamlining Smart Contract Routing

Charles N. Dalton, a contributor to Yearn Finance, proposed an innovative solution for improving the routing of smart contracts through CoW Protocol. The proposal revolved around ‘Milkman’, a smart contract system uniquely devised to optimize this process. The goal was to alleviate the inefficiencies encountered when swapping tokens via Gnosis Safe.

Milkman was conceived as a trustless, user-friendly layer within CoW Protocol, with its primary function being to simplify the routing of order flows for DAOs. Dalton requested a grant of $45,000 to fund the development of Milkman.

After approval of the proposal and allocating the necessary funds, Milkman underwent a successful audit. Subsequently, the ‘price checkers’ and testing suite were developed and integrated. Since the launch, the Milkman bot has proven stable and operational in production, handling swaps without issues. The Python SDK was successfully deployed to PyPi under the name ‘milkman_py 0.1.1’.

These accomplishments led to the full payout of the grant, marking the successful execution of this pioneering initiative within CoW Protocol.

Privacy-Preserving CoW Swap Trader Leaderboard

Software developer alon.cow proposed the creation of a Privacy-Preserving CoW Swap Trader Leaderboard, an initiative based on Sismo Badges. Recognizing the significant privacy concerns of CoW Protocol’s traders, this proposal aimed to facilitate the generation of a Zero-Knowledge (ZK) cryptographic “Proof of Volume”. This solution allowed traders to mint a badge to an unassociated account, thereby demonstrating their aggregate trading activity without disclosing the details of their actual wallets. In addition to its primary function, the badge is designed to feature in a “CoW Trader Leaderboard” and a dedicated snapshot space is known as the “CoW Trader Union”.

Following this proposal, the grants committee and the broader community conducted testing of the initiative. It proved its value and efficacy, and the grant was fully funded. This initiative now stands as a valuable asset to the community, providing a unique solution while encouraging active trading within the CoW Protocol ecosystem.

ShapeShift DAO’s Integration with CowSwap

Willy Ogorzaly, a member of the ShapeShift DAO community, initiated a grant proposal focusing on the integration of CoW Swap into ShapeShift’s operations. This strategic move was aligned with ShapeShift’s aim of becoming a leading interface within the decentralized finance ecosystem, offering users unparalleled liquidity, protection from MEV, and efficient trade execution.

The integration proceeded in several stages and successfully achieve the first volume bounty. This stage included the integration of CoW Swap as the default DEX protocol for Ethereum mainnet trades and the modification of the user interface to accommodate the differences between CoW Swap and 0x’s user experience. Moreover, ShapeShift’s Swapper library added CoW Protocol, thus broadening its roster of supported DEX protocols and aggregators.

The next stage, currently ongoing, is committed to refining the CoW Protocol integration, resolving issues identified by the CoW Protocol team, and extending the functionality offered by the protocol. This includes adding custom recipient addresses and promoting the CoW Protocol integration.

Future stages envision further developments, such as routing trades from unwrapped ETH to CoW Protocol, making CoW Protocol the default DEX protocol for Gnosis Chain, and compensating users who generate COW tokens for the DAO’s Treasury with FOX Tokens.

The grant proposal called for a two-step funding arrangement. The DAO paid out the first bounty of 5k xDAI and 50k COW. The same amount is slated for disbursement upon completion of the second bounty. Moreover, the DAO established volume-based bounties, offering rewards from 50k to 200k COW for achieving specific trade volumes by December 31, 2023.

The community accepted the grant proposal, and the DAO distributed the funds as planned. The integration of CoW Swap into ShapeShift’s operations should significantly boost the volume of trades routed through CoW Swap, further bolstering the growth and prominence of CoW Protocol.

UI/UX Designer Core Contributor Grant Proposal

Fairlighteth, an experienced UI/UX designer and front-end developer, previously submitted a grant proposal to continue his integral role as a core contributor for CoW Protocol. Since the project’s inception, Fairlighteth has played a significant role in its development, being responsible for the creation of the entire CoW Swap and CoW Protocol branding. His work also involved contributing to the design and front-end development of various CoW pages. To support his ongoing contributions for the period of May to October 2022, Fairlighteth requested a grant of 42,499.96 EURO, denominated in wXDAI token. The payment structure was divided into an initial upfront payment where the Grants DAO has paid out on a monthly basis.

Following approval, the DAO funded the grant, enabling Fairlighteth to continue providing high-quality graphic design services to the DAO. His subsequent contributions include significant additions such as a completely revamped grant website and the introduction of new features to the CoW Swap page.

Core Contributor — Business Development Grant Proposal

Max (zEniTH), who has over three years of experience in Business Development & Sales and an 18-month tenure in the web3 space, previously applied for a grant to enhance the business development and user base growth of CoW Protocol. His proposed role involved establishing foundational frameworks for DAO collaboration, coordinating with potential prospects, and handling inbound inquiries.

A grant split between 1000 xDAI and 6700 COW was awarded to facilitate this three-month trial grant. The program’s success was measured based on the degree of successful integration, as evidenced by an increase in volume and community growth. The GrantDAO committee has approved the grant, enabling Max to contribute to CoW Protocol through his BD work.

Max has impressively surpassed many significant benchmarks during his tenure. He has been instrumental in broadening the influence of CoW Protocol and fostering strategic collaborations with other protocols and teams, most notably with Cryptotesters, where he remains an active participant. His contributions extend beyond just business development; he is a reliable resource for the community, addressing various queries related to CoW Protocol. Moreover, Max played a pivotal role in the recent launch of the MEV Blocker, demonstrating his commitment to the continuous growth of the CoW Protocol ecosystem.

The Accomplishments of CoW DAO’s First Grant Cycle

The first wave of the CoW DAO’s Grant Initiative has been a resounding success. Each project, from the innovative Milkman system to the integration with ShapeShift DAO has contributed to the growth of Cow Protocol. The diverse range of funded proposals illustrates the community’s ability to identify and respond to the ecosystem’s needs, thus enhancing CoW Swap’s capabilities and user experience.

The contributions of individuals like Fairlighteth in UI/UX design and Max (zEniTH) in business development have been particularly notable, demonstrating the value of the grants program in attracting and nurturing talent.

Overall, the success of this initial wave underscores the potential of CoW DAO’s grant initiative, setting a strong foundation for future innovation and growth within the CoW Protocol ecosystem.