[Social] [EP2.2.5] Selection of an ENS endowment fund manager

[Coinbase]

Delegate’s View - Coinbase.eth

After reviewing the finalists’ proposals, we believe that none of the above would be the best immediate route forward. As such, we’re voting:

1. None of the above
2. Llama
3. Avantgarde
4. Karpatkey

Reasoning

@nick.eth

I want to emphasise that the goal of the endowment is not to secure a short to medium term runway for ENS - we already have that, and registration revenue continues to exceed our expenses.

The point of the endowment is to ensure ENS’s long term sustainability, even in the face of an extended recession and reduced registration/renewal revenue.

As Nick reminds us in the replies above, the DAO’s goal with this RFP is to establish long-term funding for protocol development and to insulate the DAO from economic fluctuations (with ETH exposure being the main source of any fluctuations).

We don’t think any of the proposals adequately solve for this specific mission. In fact, as discussed by other delegates on this forum, active management of funds might not be the most immediate step that the DAO can take to insulate its long-term runway against ETH price movements.

To avoid going too far out on the risk curve, long-term funding of $4M per year likely requires a more sizable endowment than what the DAO is currently starting with. In the meantime, a 5% yield on the current treasury likely only nets the DAO an additional $1-2M annually (at best). This risk / reward doesn’t seem reasonable, and we’d prefer to wait for the treasury management space to mature further.

It’s nice to start working on an endowment process now, but any rushed decision that risks funds with limited upside seems unnecessary.