Grants Council - Cycle 22 Preliminary Review Roundup

Mission Grants 🏹 Grants Updates
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The Cycle 22 Preliminary Review has concluded.

We received a total of 234 applications during this round. Of these, 37 applications were declined upon intake, leaving 197 to be scored by two randomly selected reviewers, based on the respective subcommittee handling the mission request.

During this cycle, the Developer Advisory Board (DAB) expressed a desire for increased involvement. Consequently, the Grants Council (GC) prioritized all intent 1 preliminary scores and provided the final list to them on April 17th. This allowed a week for the DAB to offer feedback, if deemed necessary, and provided the GC with a better understanding of the applications for final scoring.

I would like to extend my congratulations to the entire Grants Council for meeting this deadline.

The Growth Subcommittee, consisting of @katie @GFXlabs @Matt @MoneyManDoug, and @Michael scored approximately 50 applications each.

The Builders Subcommittee, comprising @jackanorak @kaereste @Joxes @mastermojo scored around 70 applications each.

The Milestones and Metrics Subcommittee, represented by @Juanbug_PGov @v3naru_Curia and @mmurthy has now been assigned all finalists to verify milestones and provide approval.

(Tagging everyone because some said they don’t know who the grants council members are)

You can find Preliminary feedback on this link

The Grants Council is voting to include the Polynomial Referral & Optimistic Indexer proposal in the preliminary review round, due to improper guidance provided during the submission period.

The finalists will be selected and announced by the end of this round on May 8th.

Cycle 22 Preliminary Roundup List (with budget details here):

Alternative CL/EL Client

Decentralized rollup-as-a-service

  1. Open RaaS - Open Sourced Rollup-as-a-Service

Fraud Proof CTF

  1. The OP Fault Proof CTF

Implement a prototype of an OP stack chain with mempool encryption.

  1. Generalized mempool encryption interface for OP Stack chains and deployment of a mempool encrypted OP Stack testnet using threshold encryption.

OP Stack Research and Implementation

  1. Research on using YubiHSM and AWS KMS hardware signer on OP Stack
  2. Batcher Gas Fee Optimization Research and Implementation
  3. Extend the Availability of EIP-4844 Blobs by Integrating OP Stack with EthStorage
  4. Velodrome Finance - OP Stack Research
  5. OPcity stack

Open Source OP Stack Developer Tooling

  1. blob-archiver-rs - a robust blob-archiver service in rust
  2. PlasmaDA Translation Hub
  3. 🏗️ Scaffold-ETH-2
  4. Node Guardians x OP Stack
  5. Amphitheatre Developing Platform
  6. Developer Tool - Reclaim Protocol
  7. Optimism sdk in rust
  8. Veldrome Finance - OS Developer Tooling

Builders grants program mission request

  1. (Migrate) Inverter Network
  2. A Multichain Modular Privacy Framework with a decentralized compliance network
  3. aDeal network
  4. Ame Network - Composable Social Network
  5. BlockPI Account Abstraction Service
  6. Bloom Metrics: The Optimism Impact Garden
  7. Bonadocs
  8. Building an On-Chain Review System with EAS
  9. DackieSwap request for Builders Grant Program
  10. dAppBooster: Frontend Starter Kit
  11. DappyKit - Superchain
  12. Dark Forest ARES
  13. Donate3
  14. Ethernaut CLI
  15. Executable: An intent-oriented Multi-Tx Tool
  16. Fractal Visions
  17. Godot engine gdscript sdk for connect optimism
  18. Grateful - building our v2
  19. growthepie 🥧📏 Application-Level Analytics for the Superchain
  20. In-depth fee tracker for OP chains on fees.growthepie.xyz
  21. Lighthouse Governance
  22. Mississippi Game Hackathon
  23. Namespace
  24. NFTScan Leading NFT data infrastructure for Superchain
  25. OP Hacker House
  26. OP Passport
  27. Optimistic Crowdstaking: Funding more Builders on Optimism
  28. Polynomial Optimistic Indexer
  29. Practical Private Voting
  30. Rantom - Open Source DeFi Activities Feed for Optimism Ecosystem
  31. Redprint : toolkit an interactive code generator and a dev framework to modify & deploy OPStack ’s contracts
  32. Spyre: The Casual-Competitive Gaming Platform
  33. Strands’ Optimism Integration Acceleration
  34. Superchain Trading Tools
  35. The Ikigai Game - Builder Grant
  36. Tribuni: Forum & Proposal Alerts/Summary System
  37. Unifra- Open Infrastructure for everyone
  38. Vain - An open marketplace for mining vanity ETH addresses
  39. Web3bridge Optimism proposal

Growth and experiments grants program

  1. [OmniBTC] $100K Growth Grant Request
  2. [Pike] Unlocking the Multichain Utility of OP
  3. [Polynomial Referral Optimism Grant] 90K Growth Grant Request
  4. Ajna permissionless lending protocol optimism expansion
  5. AlienSwap, leading NFT trading layer
  6. Angle Protocol - A USD-yield bearing asset on Optimism to create network effects
  7. Boosting Novel dApps on the Superchain
  8. Broaden & Deepen Governance Token User Base
  9. Buffer Finance - Zero Gas Price Prediction Markets
  10. Cobo Argus: Optimism DeFi Automation Platform for Institutions
  11. Compound Finance
  12. Contango.xyz
  13. Covenant - Tradeable Debt Markets Backed By Any Asset
  14. Curve Lending Proposal
  15. deBridge
  16. dForce - Lending & Stablecoin & LSD
  17. Exa App Aplication
  18. ExtraFi X - A Leverage 2.0 Protocol
  19. Gamma Strategies - Growth Experiments
  20. Gyroscope growth on Optimism
  21. Hype
  22. LOGX: Aggregated Orderbook Perp DEX
  23. Mountain Protocol
  24. Nectar a game changing order book DEX on Optimism
  25. NerveNetwork:cross-chain infrastructure
  26. Poolside
  27. Proposal: Silo Finance
  28. Rage Trade Perp Aggregator
  29. Spongly Sports Markets Growth Proposal
  30. Supercharge OP Mainnet
  31. The Showdown
  32. Timeswap
  33. TLX - Leveraged Tokens Protocol
  34. Toros Finance
  35. Tradao - Onchain Derivatives Data & Toolset Platform
  36. vfat.io - A Multichain Portfolio Management and Yield Generation Application

Layerwide new project support

  1. GrowLab - Grow on Optimism
  2. bleu - tech partner of OP native projects
  3. Powerhouse Layerwide Operations Support
  4. Liquify RPC services and infrastructure support for new projects
  5. Velodrome Finance Layer Wide New Project support

Additional Revenue Sources to Fund RetroPGF Rounds

  1. Conjure - Revenue Sources for RetroPGF
  2. EntityDAO
  3. Glo Dollar - upgrade to funding RetroPGF
  4. Opti.domains RetroPGF Revenue Sharing
  5. Velodrome Finance - Revenue Sources for RPGF

ZK Toolkit for ZK Application Developers

  1. Electronic Passport Transactions
  2. zk Toolkit by Reclaim Protocol
  3. zkPassport tooling - PinSave

Advancing Optimism Anonymous Community and Governance Tooling

  1. Shutter: Onchain Shielded Voting implementations in Optimism.
  2. Anonymous Voting PoC

Deliver a Best-in-Class Perp Dex Mission Request

  1. LOGX: Orderbook Perp DEX
  2. Incentivize Projects to Integrate the Farcaster Social Graph
  3. Interested.fyi: Building new Social Graphs on Farcaster
  4. Daimo
  5. Implement Farcaster social graph data into CoLinks and CoSoul onchain reputation
  6. AlfaFrens
  7. Ponder surveys for superchain builders
  8. GridExplore
  9. Speedtracer
  10. Castpay: P2P Transaction and Yield Earning Tool on Warpcast
  11. Bytexplorers (ByteLight Experiment)
  12. Farcaster Toolkit
  13. HyperArc - Make Social Graphs Great Again
  14. Noun PCs - Zynga for Farcaster
  15. Unitap: Enabling Farcaster incentive programs and featuring the Join Farcaster mission

Making Optimism a primary home of liquid staked eth

  1. Wormhole Foundation - wstETH Bridge
  2. PoolTogether Rocket Pool Prize Vaults
  3. Public Goods Staking Widget
  4. Aspida-saETH on OP
  5. Sommelier Real Yield ETH (LST Vault) on OP
  6. Balancer LST and LRT Hub
  7. Boost LST Bridging to the OP Stack
  8. ETHx on OP
  9. Extra Finance - Unleash L2 LST Efficiency
  10. LSTs with leverage by Compound.Finance
  11. Stake Together L2 Staking Products on Optimism

Scale ENS to OP

  1. Opti.domains ENS L2 Development

Smart contract auditing services

  1. Nethermind Security - Smart Contract Audit Services
  2. Spearbit/Cantina for SC auditing and security services
  3. Trail of Bits Security Reviews
  4. Halborn - Smart Contract Auditing
  5. Sherlock - Smart Contract Audits Mission Request

AI Assistant for governance

  1. x23.ai - AI governance summariser + chatbot
  2. Bleu Assistant AI
  3. AwesomeQA AI: Governance support assistant
  4. GovGuide

Delegation Quest SDK Mission Request

  1. Boosting Delegation on Optimism

Governance Mentorship Program

  1. GovTalks: Unlocking Optimistic Potential

Incentivize and increase governance participation

  1. Velodrome Finance - Governance Participation

Integration of Optimism Gov and RPGF Modules into University Courses

  1. Optimism at Rio de Janeiro Federal Universities: a collaboration with the Blockchain Innovation Hub
  2. [CENFOTEC] Optimism in Costa Rica University
  3. Digital Payment Methods, Blockchain and Crypto Assets Unit of the Master’s Degree in Finance at the University of Buenos Aires
  4. Public Goods In Crypto Bootcamp
18 Likes
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Very excited to read through the projects and feedback.

I have forced my younger brother @DSPYT to apply, he is at the bottom of the list. He got really great experience.

From observing his thought process and the way he applied.
I think he had trouble finding the criterias and definitely with budget estimation.

Any chance there could be a follow sessions / workshops to improve the quality of the applications ?

1 Like
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Good to see great participation. Organized and Impact worth approach with multiple ppl involvement. Just a suggestion which I had was a transparency on the evaluation parameters broadly for participants to better represent themselves. Appreciate all the efforts by the team.

1 Like
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Not for this season but I’ll take this into account for the next round design.

1 Like
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The rubrics have been public since the start of the season. You can also see the rubric we implemented next to the applications when you fill out the form.

Maybe we should mention it in the form.

4 Likes
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Hey, looking for feedback on why the Toros application was rejected. Any reasoning for it?

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Do you have the link? it’s hard to look into 530 applications.

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Just want to say, @Gonna.eth, @jackanorak, and the rest of the grants council did a terrific job and made this an incredibly seamless process - thank you all for the collaboration!

2 Likes
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Hi. Here is the link to the application: CharmVerse - the all-in-one web3 space.

Just as context, Toros is the 12th highest rank by TVL on Optimism.

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This application did not score enough to make the cut and pass to final review. You can check your score and score comments here in row 16

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What was the cutoff? I see Compound made it with a score of 61, and Toros had a score of 60. Also, I see Curve scored 59, which is lower than Toros, and also made it to approval status.

Also, I don’t see many comments, but one is that the requested grant size was too large. We are willing to reduce the ask if that was an issue.

@Gonna.eth

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Sorry, @edson I made a mistake you did pass into the final review on Cycle 22 and your final score was 142. You guys applied for a growth grant that had a 1350000 OP budget. Ranked by score we used 1325750 OP of the budget and we were not able to bring more projects in. So in your case, it’s not about the score but a budget constraint.

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@Gonna.eth Where do I see the final scores? Because in the spreadsheet you gave me with scores, our score was higher than Curve, and Curve received a grant but we did not, while both were in the same grant category.

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Six projects received a score of 142 (Contango, Curve, Gamma Strategies, Time Swap, and Toros). Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, the Growth Subcommittee had to choose the finalists from those projects.

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@Gonna.eth So Toros is the only project in that score that didn’t get the grant. Out of that list of projects, Toros has higher TVL than all of those projects combined on Optimism, 6.2M TVL of them combined, vs Toros with 11.9M on Optimism. Could you please provide the reasoning from the Growth Subcommittee? Also, I’d like to know where I can see these scores. I’d like more transparency, as there’s been a lack of communication.

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Scores have been live here since the preliminary roundup (April 26th).

I want you to be assured that if we had the budget you would be in as the Growth Subcommittee considered Toros a fitting proposal. I remember this being one of the toughest calls they had to make. We requested a lot of the top score applications to lower their request to make more room and the subcommittee voted. As for why I can only give assumptions as I am not part of the subcommittee but the scope is to bring more users to Optimism Mainnet and they considered the others more fitting.

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Hi. That link only includes rejected applications. Can you direct me to where I can see the score of the approved applications?