Purpose

The Meta-Governance Working Group stewards focus on identifying ways to make the governance process increasingly autonomous. Their goal is to enable individual contributors to submit proposals independently, aligned with the ENS DAO Constitution, and to gradually minimize the need for centralized actors like stewards.

Over time, the aim is to evolve the DAO to a point where the stewards' input becomes less necessary, empowering the community to guide and advance the DAO’s governance on its own terms. With this vision in mind, let’s review the strides made in Q2 2024 toward this objective. For a look back at Q1, refer to the previous retrospective linked here.

Q2 Recap

Before diving into Q3, let's revisit the Q2 retrospective. During Q2, ENS DAO contributors played a vital role in advancing governance, treasury, and security. Key contributors led initiatives that postponed the bylaws process for further refinement and secured critical funding for broader operations.

A standout development was the formation of the Security Council, with critical infrastructure developed and prepared by Blockful to defend against governance threats. Contributors also upgraded endowment tooling and permissions, worked on enhancing governance UX through Agora, and supported AI-driven DAO tooling projects.

Key Events

• Postponed DAO bylaws for refinement.

• Secured funding for DAO operations.

• Established a Security Council with veto powers.

• Implemented ENS vesting contracts for stewards via Hedgey.

• Upgraded endowment tooling using Zodiac Roles Module V2.

• Sponsored AI-based DAO tooling and maintained the Small Grants portal.

• Enhanced governance UX with Agora updates.

Q3 Executive Overview

In Q3 2024, contributors introduced new initiatives and refined governance processes, focusing on tools and efficiency. Three major proposals were submitted, with contributors aiming to strengthen the longevity and resilience of the ENS DAO.

Additionally, several contributors worked on supporting independent DAO tooling projects, structuring compensation guidelines, and further decentralizing governance through the distribution of ENS tokens to service providers and the Security Council. A Governance Distribution Pilot was also proposed as part of ongoing decentralization efforts.

Guidance for Participating in Governance

Delegates who want to stay updated on proposal processes can follow the Voting Period Bulletin, which is regularly updated on the forum. Other useful resources include the ENS DAO Telegram Notifs channel and the Agora forum plugin, where live proposals can be tracked.

Proposal details are also available on Agora.

Resources:

• Voting Period Bulletin regularly updated on the forum

• ENS DAO Telegram Notifs channel

• Agora for viewing proposal details

Proposals

Three proposals (two executable and one social) were put forth in Q3, all of which were approved by the DAO, reflecting the important contributions of community members.

• EP 5.14 (Executable) - Permissions Update for Karpatkey and Endowment Funds: This proposal, prepared by the endowment manager Karpatkey, updates the Endowment Permissions to allow new trading actions on behalf of the DAO. The proposal was reviewed and supported by the community.

  • Objective: New permissions for diversified fund management.

  • Permissions: Actions on Aave, Stakewise, Balancer, and Uniswap.

  • Auditing: ThirdGuard audit cleared all material risks.

• EP 5.15 (Social) - ProposalBond for ENS Governor: This proposal, prepared by Agora, introduces a bond mechanism for ENS DAO onchain governance. It lowers the barriers for proposal submissions, empowering contributors with at least 1,000 ENS to submit onchain proposals with collateral.

  • Goal: Lower barriers for proposal submissions.

  • Mechanism: Bond forfeiture for low-quality proposals.

• EP 5.16 (Social) - Reimbursement of ENS Labs Legal Fees in eth.link Litigation: Prepared by ENS Labs, this proposal authorized the reimbursement of $1.2 million in legal fees for the defense of the eth.link infrastructure. Contributors highlighted the importance of this defense for decentralized website accessibility.

  • Purpose: Reimburse $1.2M in legal fees for eth.link litigation.

  • Rationale: Protecting the eth.link domain, vital to ENS. Key Initiatives

DAO Tooling

Contributors continued to work on improving governance tracking and tooling for delegates. These projects were supported through small grants, community voting, and public advocacy.

1. Dhive Analytics: Provides governance insights and monitoring tools. View the ENS DAO report.

2. x23AI: AI-powered indexer for summarizing DAO activities. Try it here.

3. ENS Ledger: Tracks and visualizes DAO budgets through a Sankey diagram. Visit the ledger here.

4. DDocs: Secure peer-to-peer document collaboration via Fileverse. Explore here.

Compensation Guidelines

The responsibility of establishing compensation guidelines rests with the Meta-Governance stewards, who, guided by delegate feedback, have redefined compensation structures for stewards, aiming to ensure a fair system for the upcoming Nomination Window. The proposal is live and awaits a DAO vote.

Key changes

• Discretionary amounts removed, evenly redistributed to stewards.

• Regular stewards now receive $4,000 USDC per month (previously $3,000).

• Lead stewards now receive $5,500 USDC per month (previously $4,500).

The ENS token distribution model was updated:

• Each steward receives $ENS tokens equal to their annual USDC compensation.

• Distribution occurs on July 1st, via 2-year linear vesting contracts.

• The token price on July 1st is used to calculate the amount.

Investment Policy Statement

The ENS Endowment Manager, Karpatkey, proposed an Investment Policy Statement (IPS) to outline clear goals and a framework for asset management. Contributors were actively involved in the review process, ensuring alignment with the DAO’s long-term goals.

• 60/40 portfolio strategy: 60% ETH, 40% stablecoins.

• Bi-weekly rebalancing with 1,000 ETH tranches.

• Limits on exposure to single protocols and ensuring stablecoin reserves.

• Annual review for updates based on market conditions.

• Read the IPS here.

Governance Distribution

The Meta-Governance Working Group continues to work on decentralizing the DAO to trusted, aligned contributors. So far, 180,000 ENS have been distributed to stewards and service providers via 2-year vested contracts using Hedgey.

A current vote will determine broader recipients based on their contributions. The ENS Ledger app, developed by Danche, will help to identify and attribute ENS matching, using a quadratic formula to determine the ratio of ENS to USDC for each recipient.

Q3 Revenue Report

DAO transparency was reinforced with the preparation of the Q3 revenue report by limes.eth, the DAO secretary. In Q3 2024, ENS generated $6.3M in revenue:

• $4.72M from registration fees

• $838k from temporary premium fees

• $738k from DeFi returns on the ENS endowment

• Year-to-date revenue stands at $22.6M.

• Read the full report.

Future Direction

As 2025 approaches, contributors will continue to focus on finalizing proposals, including the Governance Distribution program and compensation for contributors. Additionally, the Meta-Governance Working Group will assist with election processes and further refinement of governance bylaws, with a focus on empowering the community to lead ENS DAO initiatives.