October 2, 2024
The following post contains a recap of news, projects, and important updates from the Spartan Council, Core Contributors, and Ambassador Council from last week.
👉TLDR
New data dashboards have been released — links here and here.
Orderbook perps project: Functionality has been added for canceling off-chain orders; CCs are currently reviewing this design with Kwenta.
Flashloan tool: On track for its Kwenta launch; audit remediations are being worked on.
The base upgrade to multi-collateral PR is also in review.
LP app: Finalized flow for stataUSDC on Base Mainnet is in testing.
ICYMI, last week Fenway proposed a referendum to overhaul Synthetix governance. He first discussed this proposal with the Spartan Council at their weekly sync, then brought it to the community at last week’s Town Hall.
SNXweave wrote a review of the Town Hall, including the Q&A session with the community at the end. Be sure to check out the article DeFi Daily News. Read below for a summary.
Spartan Council and SIP updates
Present at the September 25, 2024 Spartan Council Weekly Project Sync:
Spartan Council: Cavalier, cyberduck, Fenway, fifa, ml_sudo, Ray Zhu, SynthaMan
Core Contributors: Ana, Bex, Kaleb, Marcus, Matt, Mithrandir, moss, Mr.X, Nikita, Peiman, pie, pixelperfect, Samuel, Steve, Tim, troy, wasp in bush
Starting off with a quick work in progress update, new data dashboards have been released — links to these can be found here and here. Next, the orderbook perps project has seen functionality added for canceling off-chain orders, and the CCs are currently reviewing this design with Kwenta, who is already mocking up designs.
As for multi-collateral upgrades, the Flashloan tool is on track for its Kwenta launch, there are just a couple of audit remediations being worked on. The base upgrade to multi-collateral PR is also in review. The goal is for this to be ready for a release tomorrow, assuming the flashloan audit feedback doesn’t require major remediation. And lastly, the finalized flow for stataUSDC on Base Mainnet in the LP app is in testing.
In other news, in case you missed it, last week Fenway proposed a referendum to overhaul Synthetix governance. He first discussed this proposal with the Spartan Council at their weekly sync, then brought it to the community at last week’s Town Hall. SNXweave wrote an in-depth review of the Town Hall, including the Q&A session with the community at the end. Be sure to check out the article DeFi Daily News. In summary:
The referendum proposal was based on broad feedback from the community that there are about 7 core issues that have caused the protocol to fade from the spotlight in the past year. Fenway therefore felt that if this new proposal were to pass in a community vote, Synthetix could return to the forefront of DeFi. He believes a big part of the problem is a lack of accountability in governance, and therefore has designed an overhaul where the current councils will be reduced into one 7 seat council (with 4 elected seats and 3 CC seats hired by the elected councilors). Fenway believes that the CC placement on this council will ensure “vision continuity.”
And speaking of vision, another key aspect of this first referendum will be a refreshed roadmap. He used the 2024 roadmap as an example — this was scheduled to be released this coming month, but a roadmap this late in the year would not be particularly useful. The referendum would therefore shift priority towards hammering out the details of a 2025 roadmap as soon as possible to give a clear line of sight to protocol stakeholders and boost accountability. Fenway has already written up a draft vision for 2025 that you can read here.
This referendum would also seek to provide more organizational structure to the Core Contributors. Currently, the CCs operate in a mostly flat organizational structure, which makes it very difficult to prioritize work. Fenway believes that geographically-aligned working groups would make it easier to work through problems in real time.
Next, he plans to form a Synthetix foundation, which would provide a layer of protection for CCs who have had to engage with vendors on behalf of Synthetix (potentially exposing them to regulatory risk). This would also make some grant funding, which has historically been out of reach for the protocol, more attainable.
The last key element of the referendum is to bring the focus of the protocol back to the SNX token. Fenway emphasized that the purpose of the SNX token has come into question in recent months and believes it is in the token holders’ interest to change that. Now that SnaxChain is online, there is an opportunity to use it to the benefit of the protocol.
Fenway’s overarching goal with this proposal is to send a strong message to the community that Synthetix is back, and to bring some energy back to the protocol. The vote for the referendum is still live, and will close on October 4th, so be sure to cast your vote if you haven’t already! A link to the snapshot vote can be found here.
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Conclusion:
With all these exciting updates and developments within the Spartan Council, Core Contributors, and Ambassador Council, the future of Synthetix looks promising. The proposed referendum by Fenway has sparked a wave of enthusiasm and a renewed sense of purpose within the community. It’s inspiring to see the dedication and innovation behind the scenes that drive the protocol forward.
As we look ahead to the closing of the voting period for the referendum on October 4th, it’s a crucial time for all stakeholders to have their say and shape the direction of Synthetix’s governance. Let’s continue to support and engage with these initiatives to ensure a vibrant and sustainable future for the protocol.
