Overview
This report provides transparency into the Season 8 operating budget distribution. The Token House approved 4,440,000 OP for Season 8/9, with funds transferred from the Governor Fund to Safe 0x27426F2bd5120Df4ea6570546474b7313ea0c0AB.
The Budget Board implemented proportional reductions totaling 17,840 OP across all councils to stay within the approved ceiling. These adjustments were calculated based on inverse voting weights to ensure fair distribution while maintaining the 4.44M OP limit, as detailed in the Budget Board’s advisory proposal.
Council Allocations
Each council receives funding for both Seasons 8 and 9, with streaming payments distributed continuously through December 24, 2025. The Budget Board made the following adjustments to the original proposals:
Grants Council originally requested 980,000 OP for both seasons. After a 4,494.44 OP reduction, Season 8 allocation stands at 485,505 OP. The council maintains full decision-making authority over Mission applications and general grants through optimistic approval processes. Members and leads receive payments via Superfluid streaming.
Developer Advisory Board (DAB) originally requested 974,000 OP for both seasons. After a 4,455.91 OP reduction, Season 8 allocation is 484,772 OP. The DAB transformed this season from advisory to decision-making authority, now requiring 5/7 approval votes for all protocol upgrades as outlined in their charter amendment.
Milestones and Metrics Council originally requested 984,700 OP for both seasons. After a 4,699.54 OP reduction, Season 8 allocation is 492,350 OP. The council validates grant milestones and manages fund disbursement through weekly transactions using a 5/7 multisig structure, as specified in their Season 8 charter.
Security Council originally requested 1,514,440 OP. After a 4,190.11 OP reduction, the allocation is 1,510,250 OP. Unlike other councils, the Security Council member payments process is private rather than through public Superfluid streams due to security considerations.
Streaming and Payment Tracking
Optimism uses Superfluid to stream payments continuously rather than in lump sums. This approach ensures consistent compensation throughout the season. The system operates through OPx, a wrapped version of OP tokens that enables streaming functionality at a 1:1 ratio.
Payment rates vary by role and council. Recipients can unwrap OPx back to regular OP tokens at any time while maintaining full governance rights through delegation.
Track real-time payment flows through our Operating Budget Dashboard, which displays total OP distributed, OPx conversion metrics, and transfer counts. Individual stream transactions are visible at this detailed query.
Budget Context and Governance Evolution
The 4.44M OP operating budget represents approximately 25.8% of trailing twelve-month Collective Revenue, demonstrating fiscal discipline while supporting growth initiatives. An additional 80,000 OP was allocated separately for Budget Board infrastructure development, bringing the total approved spending to 4.52M OP.
Monitoring and Next Steps
All streaming payments are complete on December 24, 2025, when the Season 8 budget expenditure finalizes. We’re developing an enhanced tracker to capture exact stream values per member across all councils and boards, which will complement existing dashboards with more granular detail.
Season 9 budgets are already approved alongside Season 8, providing operational stability through May 2026. The Budget Board may propose any midpoint adjustments based on performance metrics from current operations and projected Collective Revenue, following the process outlined in the Operating Manual.
For questions about specific allocations or streaming mechanics, comment below or contact the govNERDs team. The Budget Board’s complete analysis and methodology are available in their advisory proposal.
govNERDs Budget and Transparency Role
The govNERDs program receives 65,000 OP total for Season 8, as outlined in their Foundation Mission Request. This team maintains a transparency infrastructure for the ecosystem.
govNERDs, along with Council and Board Leads, serve as signers on community-owned multisigs for budget distribution, verifying every transaction prepared by council leads before execution. They maintain the Community Budget Tracker, which documents all financial movements, and create voting cycle documentation that requires minimal Foundation editing. This operational transfer from Foundation to community members demonstrates successful decentralization of governance operations. Learn more about the govNERDs program on the governance documentation.