[Temp check] Convert 20% of ENS DAO's USDC Holdings to Glo Dollar (USDGLO) to fund Web3 Public Goods at no cost

DAO-Wide Temp Check
20

@lanadingwall.eth recently participated in 2 Public Goods Working Group calls, where the request was made to include a TLDR on the proposal and discussion. Here it is:

Glo Dollar (USDGLO) is the stablecoin that funds public goods. Stablecoin companies generate $7.4 billion in profits/yield annually from their stablecoin reserves. Our approach is different—we funnel 100% of our profits to public goods. Organizations like Polygon Labs, The Mento Reserve, and Gitcoin are holding Glo Dollars in their treasuries.

Our Proposal

  1. ENS DAO holds ~$920K of treasury in USDGLO,
  2. which generates up to $37K per year in recurring funding for ENS public goods (at no cost).

ENS DAO decides which public goods receive this ~$37,000 per year

  1. Newly announced ‘Think BIG - Build in Good’ ENS grants program, or
  2. Public goods chosen by ENS Public Goods working group, or
  3. Our existing Web3 Public Goods Cause Area (Gitcoin, Giveth, Protocol Guild, Artizen).

Comments & Discussion

  1. $920K is steep / short track record. The money in ENS DAO’s treasury is currently held in USDC. Glo Dollar is similar in many ways: it’s fiat-backed, US regulated, US issued. Reducing the proposed figure is possible (e.g. to $500K), but would also decrease its public goods funding impact substantially.
  2. Proof of Reserves. The reserves backing Glo Dollar receive monthly attestations from an independent accounting firm (sept ‘24 report), providing assurance that the value of stablecoin reserves are equal to the amount in circulation.
  3. Proof of Impact. We carefully select our Funding Recipients—with ‘Proof of Impact’ being one of our selection criteria. For the ENS holding, ENS could nominate the Funding Recipient (e.g. ENS grants program). All our monthly donations are made on-chain and reported on our website.
  4. Liquidity. As a fully-backed stablecoin, Glo Dollar has “infinite” liquidity—any amount can be minted/redeemed directly against USD. You can get USDGLO through Brale’s centralized minting portal, or through several OTC desks. In addition, there are DEX liquidity pools against USDC on 7 chains which automatically rebalance to ensure continuous availability to buy and sell.
  5. Smart Contract Risk. The yield that we earn, which we then donate, is earned off-chain through a mix of US Treasuries and cash. All onchain funds are backed 1:1 offchain and therefore aren’t at risk of a smart contract exploit.
  6. Paying contributors in USDGLO. Users can offramp USDGLO globally, in most countries at near-zero fees (inc EU, US, CA).
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