Simple Summary
MEV Blocker is a CoW DAO affiliated project, in collaboration with GnosisDAO and Beaverbuild.
Since its launch, MEV Blocker has been successful and now accounts for 5-6% of all Ethereum transactions (cf. Dune dashboard here, query here). To ensure MEV Blocker maintains its position as one of the market leaders and expand its reach, it is proposed to increase the resources spent on MEV Blocker.
With this proposal, the service provider Nomev Labs asks for a regular monthly payment of 30k USD in USDC starting 1 October 2023, for a time period of 6 months (up to and including March 2024) to support MEV Blocker with additional marketing, business development, and engineering resources, where needed.
Motivation
Background on the motivation for building MEV Blocker can be found in @fleupold’s forum post on MEV Blocker kickbacks. To summarize:
The MEV Blocker RPC endpoint was designed to complement CoW Protocol’s MEV protection for trades and protect users in a wider sense:
“While MEV Blocker achieves a very good level of protection from MEV, we mainly built it as a complement to CoW Swap for transaction intents that are not yet supported by the protocol (e.g. providing liquidity, NFT trades, etc…) and as a stepping stone for integrations.
“Moreover, CoW Protocol itself can use MEV Blocker’s infrastructure to benefit CoW Protocol solvers and therefore also CoW Swap users.”
MEV Blocker is an important, constituent part of the suite of MEV-protective products that CoW DAO offers to Ethereum users and therefore should receive dedicated resources.
Specification
To date, Nomev Labs has asked for funding as part of two Service Agreements (cf. CIP-6 and CIP-24), with each allocating 6M USDC to the development of the CoW Suite. These funds came out of the USDC raised and set aside by CoW DAO for the provision of development services.
We are now asking for a separate stream of continuous funding to support MEV Blocker for the next 6 months.
These funds would come from funds that CoW DAO holds within the treasury. Currently, the treasury accumulates a surplus of an average monthly 62k USDC (roughly, depending on the ETH price). Further profit-generating streams for CoW DAO can and should be discussed separately.
Scope of Services
At this time, Nomev Labs would like CoW DAO’s support to continue dedicating significant efforts to MEV Blocker. While also including Services that have not been in scope so far, the scope of Services that can be mandated within this CIP, are:
Services
- Continuous improvement of the user experience
- Fostering collaborations and partnerships, especially business development for MEV Blocker integrations
- Hosting relevant interfaces such as mevblocker.io on behalf of CoW DAO
- Assisting in the promotion of the product, including at and for conferences and with promotional materials
- Any other assistance and advice that may be provided by the team’s expertise, e.g. software engineering, graphical design as well as relevant project management and accounting services
- Data analysis and engineering
- Integration engineering
- Project coordination and facilitating profit generation discussion
- Any other adjacent services to ensure the smooth running of the product, including but not limited to:
- Potential Grant proposal vetting
- Effective outsourcing to specialists and external parties.
- Ensuring system security, providing development operations and security personnel.
- Per need, driving bug bounties (to be settled via CoW DAO)
Funding request and payment terms
We are asking for 30k USD equivalent in USDC or other stablecoins, including EUR denominated stablecoins, to be contributed per month, commencing 1 October 2023, for a period of 6 months (up to and including March 2024).
This total funding amount of 180k USD will go to support 3 full-time equivalent resources.
The funds can be terminated by means of the successful passing of a proposal from CoW DAO at any point in time.
A potential renewal for continuous funding is not automatic and would be proposal-based.
Execution
Safe Transaction Data:
With the generation from and re-direction of CoW DAO profits to the treasury team, the proposal suggests that the treasury team streams monthly funds to eth:0x42eAF3a4264be73f3Dc96a85990fa283f3CbCbc5
II Terms
Payment terms
- With the successful passing of the proposal, CoW DAO agrees to a monthly payment of the fee, which is not subject to additional invoices.
- The payment should be made at least 30 days after the last day of the relevant month for which Services are performed (e.g. for October payment, by 30. November).
- No detailed time report will need to be provided.
Termination
- The ongoing Services can be terminated via a proposal and successful voting of CoW DAO (which takes roughly 2 weeks).
- Nomev Labs is entitled to end its Services with a 2-week notice via publication in the Forum.
- Payment is expected for the time in which Services were rendered (until a valid termination and 2 week notice period).
Intellectual Property
- All rights related to works, new products and processes, or correction or improvement of products or processes already existing in the scope of the Services/MEV Blocker, in addition to works, inventions or creations, designs or models, trademarks, trade names, logos, software, databases, domain names or other materials and know-how (including trade secrets), whether registered or not, and regardless of their patentability, registrability or fixation, that Nomev Labs, individually or jointly, has created or whose creation has provided during the Services to provide services that relate, directly or indirectly, to the business of CoW DAO, (hereinafter, “Intellectual Property”), belong by origin and since their creation to CoW DAO in accordance with the CoW DAO’s Participation Agreement (the “Participation Agreement”).
- This effect occurs when the Intellectual Property is generated during the provision of Services by Nomev Labs, regardless of whether or not the creation, or the cause of the creation, of the Intellectual Property is, wholly or partially, directly or through a third party.
Miscellaneous (in no particular order)
- Profit. The company strives to incur a profit. Profits are envisaged to be reinvested into the company, in line with CoW DAO’s vision of a decentralised future and mission of enhancing the MEV-Protection products.
- Subcontracting. The Company may subcontract any portion of the Services to be performed under these Services (if passed successfully).
- Assignment. Nomev Labs may at any time assign, mortgage, charge, subcontract, delegate, declare a trust over or deal in any other manner with any or all of its rights and obligations under this CIP (if passed successfully).
- Confidentiality: All information obtained privately (i.e. not via public discourse, such as blockchain transactions or on the CoW DAO Forum) shall remain the sole and exclusive property of the discloser (including CoW DAO and Nomev Labs members).
- Definitions. Terms in this CIP (if passed successfully) shall have the same meaning as in the Participation Agreement. In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between this CIP and the terms of the Participation Agreement, this CIP shall take priority as between them to the extent that is necessary to resolve the conflict or inconsistency.
- Affiliate. Nomev Labs is a Service Provider to CoW DAO, not a member or affiliate. Nothing in this proposal and no action taken by the Nomev Labs or CoW DAO pursuant to this proposal shall constitute, or be deemed to constitute, a partnership, association, joint venture or other co-operative entity between any of the parties…
- Disclaimer. CoW DAO and Nomev Labs expressly disclaim all representations, warranties, guarantees, conditions and undertakings, including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
- Limitation of liability. Nomev Labs’s total aggregate liability for all and any claims arising under or in connection with this CIP (if passed successfully), regardless of form of action and whether in contract, tort, warranty, or other legal or equitable grounds (including in each case negligence), shall be limited to a maximum amount of USDC 10,000.00. Nomev Labs shall not be liable for any actions taken by or on behalf of CoW DAO including Services and actions taken pursuant to this CIP (if passed successfully).
- Force Majeure. If the provision of the Services are affected, hindered, prohibited or made impossible in whole or in part by a Force Majeure, this shall under no circumstances be deemed a breach of this CIP (if passed successfully).
- Severance. If any provision of this CIP (if passed successfully) is or becomes invalid, illegal or unenforceable, it shall be deemed modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid, legal and enforceable.
- Disputes. In the event of any dispute, claim, question, or disagreement, CoW DAO and Nomev Labs shall use their best efforts to settle the disagreement. To this effect, they shall consult and negotiate with each other in good faith (using the CoW DAO forum forum.cow.fi or any other Interface) and, recognizing their mutual interests, attempt to reach a just and equitable solution satisfactory to both parties. Any such amicable decision to resolve a dispute shall go through the CoW DAO Governance Mechanism. If no agreement is found within 30 days, the disagreement shall be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration by one arbitrator in London, United Kingdom, under the arbitration rules of the London Court of International Arbitration.
- Governing Law. This CIP (if passed successfully) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.