Introduction
We’re excited to introduce the Uniswap Foundation (UF) as we begin participating in Optimism governance. As we work to support builders and users to make Unichain into the home of DeFi on the Superchain, we look forward to also being active participants on the governance side.
About the Uniswap Foundation
The Uniswap Foundation was established in 2022 as a nonprofit dedicated to creating a more open and fair financial system by supporting innovation across the Uniswap community. Our mission is to support the growth, sustainability, and decentralization within the ecosystem, and we do so through three key areas:
- Protocol innovation & security
- Developer success & ecosystem growth
- Governance facilitation
Why We’re Here
With Unichain participating in the Superchain, our engagement with Optimism governance represents our commitment to collaborative development across the DeFi landscape. As one of the only foundations to be funded by governance, we bring a unique perspective and have built transparency, alignment, accountability into our DNA.
We are also excited to have been elected to the 2024 Cohort A of the Optimism Security Council.
Our Approach to Governance
The Uniswap Foundation was founded to support builders. Since last fall, we have worked to grow a flourishing developer ecosystem on Unichain. The most recent example of this is our announcement of the v4 Hook Design Lab, which will provide 360 support to v4 hook teams building on Unichain from the earliest stages through to longterm growth. We are eager to use these deep ties with our ecosystem to inform our participation in Optimism governance. Being a part of the Collective enables us to vote on behalf of our developer community.
We will also draw on our experience in Uniswap governance and tap our technical and strategic resources to help guide the Collective’s decision-making in ways that align with what we believe to be our shared purpose - to build credibly neutral infrastructure that is available to all and owned by none.
The UF aims to participate thoughtfully in Optimism governance by:
- Supporting proposals that enhance interoperability and composability
- Advocating for developer-friendly infrastructure improvements
- Facilitating collaboration between ecosystems
- Sharing insights from our experience supporting Uniswap’s evolution
We look forward to working alongside the Optimism community as we collectively build toward a more accessible and efficient future for DeFi.
Disclosure on Conflict of Interest
With the exception of a small number of non-material one-off grants or stipends (e.g. for our work on the Security Council), the UF is funded entirely by Uniswap governance. In the event that a particular proposal creates a conflict of interest to the UF or to UF leadership, that conflict will be disclosed and if it is material, the UF or the specific team member may abstain from any active participation in that particular proposal.