Abstract

This proposal aims to establish the RARI Ecosystem Growth Fund. This Fund will drive innovative Rarible protocol’s adoption and strategic partnership to accelerate RARI ecosystem growth. This document proposes the Ecosystem Growth Fund to be administered and managed by the RARI Foundation with periodic detailed reporting to the community.

Motivation

Relying on the organic growth of the RARI ecosystem does not capture its full potential. The RARI DAO needs to attract innovative projects to build with the Rarible Protocol to shape the future of new NFT use cases powered by our tech stack and strengthen our position in the NFT space. Similarly, entering strategic partnerships that will drive exposure to the RARI ecosystem is crucial to raising awareness of the RARI DAO, its mission, and the value it brings to the ecosystem.

Rationale

The RARI DAO and the RARI Foundation work together to grow decentralized NFT infrastructure, power mass adoption of NFTs, and enable innovative NFT use cases. However, for the RARI Foundation to be most effective at accomplishing these goals, it requires funding with $RARI in order to support a grants program, strategic loans, and strategic partnerships. By tasking the RARI Foundation to administer and manage the Ecosystem Growth Fund, the RARI DAO will continue being the governing body and the decision-maker but will delegate the responsibility and day-to-day management to the RARI Foundation team.

Key Terms

Rarible Protocol - multichain indexer and order book with SDK

RARI Ecosystem - applications utilizing the Rarible Protocol

$RARI - ERC 20 token, used in the RARI DAO governance

Specification

The Ecosystem Growth Fund shall be composed of 3 parts:

1. Grants allocation
2. Strategic loans
3. Strategic partnerships

Grants Allocation

We propose a total of 250k RARI to fund early-stage projects that align with the mission of the RARI DAO: growing NFT ecosystem & innovative NFT use cases powered by the Rarible Protocol. The grants shall be allocated to existing projects that build with the protocol or that contribute to the protocol, not for marketing or promotional purposes. The individual grants should take the form of locked RARI that is revocable for a period of 6 months in the following tranches: 50% upon grant approval and 50% upon project delivery. This mechanic aims to ensure the grant recipients deliver their projects in full.

Strategic Loans

We propose a total of 800k RARI for strategic loans to partners who are committed to pursuing our ecosystem health and growth. The loans are to be returned in full at the end of each loan period to the Foundation (either in RARI or a stablecoin), and the loan period should not exceed 18 months. Activities of the loan recipients may include (but are not limited to) R&D, community-building initiatives, and marketing. Any loan recipient must pass the KYC process and sign a formal agreement with the RARI Foundation.

Strategic Partnerships

We propose a total of 350k RARI to encourage strategic partnerships that will contribute to our reach to new audiences and communities. These partnerships may include subsidizing strategic protocol integrations, marketing integrations (outside of smaller-scale marketing covered by the operational budget), and collaborating with partners to help foster ecosystem growth with pre-agreed, customized benchmarks of value provided to the RARI community.

In total, the Ecosystem Growth Fund would amount to 1.4M RARI, and the proportions of this fund are to be respected as stated above.

Notes:

1. The RARI Foundation will be responsible for publishing quarterly reports on the Ecosystem Growth Fund’s allocations and for involving the community in grant recipient selection by setting up a grants committee 3/4 multisig, where 2 members are appointed by the RARI Foundation and 2 by the community. This Fund will be under the RARI Foundation’s purview for a period of a minimum of 12 months, after which the community may request the return of unspent funds.
2. For projects to qualify for a grant, they must demonstrate:

• Mission alignment (growing the NFT space introducing innovative use cases)
• Proven track record of commitment to building (e.g sustained reputable public presence, successfully shipped past projects or features)
• Qualified team capable of delivering
• Willingness to KYC

3. The grant committee may choose to allocate a portion of the grant to community-proposed initiatives such as the ‘Artist Rennaisance’ or ‘Rapid loans/Listing reimbursement,’ if these become closer defined via community discussion and the community does not propose them as stand-alone initiatives

Steps to Implement

The RARI Foundation shall set up a new multisig wallet (same signees as the current administrative wallet) dedicated solely to the use of the Ecosystem Growth fund. This wallet is to receive the full amount of 1.4M $RARI.