Protocol Guild

This is a new public goods funding mechanism: a vested split contract which distributes assets to a weighted list of Ethereum protocol contributors, self-curated by its membership. The primary goal is to provide an autonomous incentive tool for the Public Goods, the protocol, and its maintainers.

The Protocol Guild was bootstrapped by Stateful Works and operated by over 110 core protocol contributors, including members from Besu, EF Devops, EF Protocol Support, EF Research, EF Testing, Erigon, Geth, Ipsilon, Lighthouse, Lodestar, Nethermind, Prysm, Quilt, Robust Incentives Group (RIG), Solidity, Status, Teku, and TX/RX.

“And, Ebling, there’s another, greater purpose. Hari Seldon founded two Foundations three centuries ago; one at each end of the Galaxy. You must find that Second Foundation.” Foundation, Isaac Asimov

Sponsor the Pilot

We’re running a 1 year Pilot (read more here) to test our assumptions about this mechanism and how to operate it.

Information about the smart contracts and how you can help fund Public Goods and their contributors here.

If you have additional questions about the project, please reach out to @StatefulWorks or any of the members.

Table of Contents

The Protocol Guild is mechanism that learns and adapts. Be aware that this documentation is regularly updated, including operating guidelines, membership, Public Goods funding context, and more.

• 1. Proposal Rationale
  • 1.1 Curation is difficult
  • 1.2 Incentives are Imbalanced
  • 1.3 Too much contributor turnover is negative
  • 1.4 Summary
• 2. Tradeoffs of Existing Mechanisms
  • 2.1 Grants
  • 2.3 Independent Non-Profits
  • 2.4 Salaries
• 3. Smart Contract Architecture
  • 3.1 0xSplits Contracts
  • 3.2 PG Multisig
• 4. Roles & Expectations
  • 4.1 Members
  • 4.2 Sponsors
  • 4.3 The Community
• 5. Initial Pilot - 2022
  • 5.1 Before Launch
  • 5.2 Pilot Characteristics
  • 5.3 Documenting Outcomes
• 6. Guidelines for Regular Operation
  • 6.1 Comms
  • 6.2 Parameter Setting
  • 6.3 Weighting
  • 6.4 Proposing and discussing new members
  • 6.5 Onboarding new members
  • 6.6 Guild Contact
• 7. Anticipated Concerns
  • 7.1 Related to Operation
  • 7.2 Related to the Broader Community
  • 7.3 Culture / Big Questions
• 8. Case studies
  • 8.1 Vested assets in DAO treasuries
  • 8.2 Donations at launch
• 9. Membership
  • Member List
  • Addresses and Weights
  • Quotes
• 10. Resources
  • Links
  • Media

Stateful Works

• join the Stateful Works Discord for discussion

We create cultural artifacts for Ethereum - read more at stateful.mirror.xyz.

• the Beacon Book

  • a digital & physical book with embedded NFTs, made in collaboration w/ 46 Beacon Chain contributors

  • over 110 ETH went to project contributors

  • Read and Mint

  • Graphics and Narratives

  • Crowdfunding 100 physical Beacon Books

• 1559 NFT Series

  • NFTs where proceeds went to EIP-1559 contributors, over 278 ETH

  • Launch Post

  • Wrap up post