Builder DAO

Summary

This proposal seeks to finalize the transfer of the Builder Protocol from Zora to BuilderDAO.

Context

Zora originally developed the Builder Protocol (“Protocol”), a set of smart contracts that allows users to create and deploy Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (“DAOs”) adopting technical, structural, and governance characteristics modeled after the NounsDAO. On November 15, 2022, Zora transferred governance control of the Protocol to BuilderDAO with the launch of the DAO, whereby the direction of the Protocol would be determined by vote of the DAO. To complete the full transfer of control of Builder Protocol to the DAO, Zora is now seeking to transfer control of Builder Protocol’s manager contract to BuilderDAO, so that BuilderDAO is solely responsible for ongoing control, maintenance, and improvement of Builder Protocol from both a governance and technical perspective.

Proposal

BuilderDAO to accept control of the Builder Protocol manager contract at 0xd310A3041dFcF14Def5ccBc508668974b5da7174 from zora.eth. Zora will transfer the contract to BuilderDAO manually.

Zora and a Builder admin (lilac.eth) to sign an Asset Transfer Agreement memorializing this transfer.

Alignment with mission/vision

Zora believes that BuilderDAO is the rightful steward of the Protocol. The Protocol is at the core of the DAO - proliferating the Protocol is central to BuilderDAO’s mission and BuilderDAO is best positioned to: 1) address the needs of the DAO developer community; 2) maintain, administer, and develop the Protocol; 3) advocate for the Protocol; and 4) drive more users to the Protocol. Zora also believes this transfer will economically benefit both itself (e.g. by driving more engagement with Zora’s core products and services and elevating Zora’s reputation) and the broader Builder and DAO developer communities by improving the Protocol and making it more usable.

Accountability

Following this transfer, BuilderDAO shall be responsible for taking all actions required to facilitate the operation and development of the Protocol. This means addressing errors, responding to community feedback, and implementing and deploying improvements. This responsibility is shared by the DAO membership, subject to appropriate delegation via the DAO’s governance processes.

Treasury & Tax Impact

Zora is not requesting any payment in exchange for this transfer. It is anticipated that this transaction will have a tax neutral impact on Zora.

The DAO is also working with tax advisors to minimize the tax impact of receiving the IP. However, there is some possibility that the DAO could incur some tax liability by accepting the IP.

Transparency

Zora

• Zora founded Builder DAO and holds 10% of the BuilderDAO governance tokens.
• Zora maintains veto power over any governance proposal of the DAO for the time being, but is committed to limiting usage of this power only to extreme cases and working with the community to determine an alternative framework for this power.

Additional Transfer Considerations

Issue: Protocol Update Timing - Once the transfer is complete, all changes to the Protocol must go through BuilderDAO’s proposal/governance process to take effect, including in emergency situations. For example, if the DAO approves an upgrade which inadvertently creates a compromise, another voting cycle will be required to fix the compromise. This could potentially result in harm from the compromise during the voting period.

Potential Solution: Multi-Admin - Public Assembly is working on a feature that would allow multiple parties to serve as the admin of a DAO Protocol contract (more info here). Additional admins can be added or removed at the DAO’s discretion. Once the feature is live, BuilderDAO can consider adding and delegating responsibility to a third party admin to execute emergency protocol changes to address potential security risks.

Author

zora.eth

About the author

Zora founded Builder DAO and maintains 10% of the BuilderDAO governance tokens. See more at zora.co.