Create the FOXCHAIN Workstream with @mperklin as Workstream Leader

Proposal Discussion
1
  1. Summary

In order to fully decentralize the backend of ShapeShift it is vital to have a source of reliable, indexed, and decentralized node data for all chains that are supported by the ShapeShift interface. If anyone is going to host decentralized copies of indexed node data, there needs to be an incentivisation structure in place to reward them for their work.

FOXChain, a purpose-built blockchain built on the cosmos SDK, has been proposed to solve both problems and has been discussed numerous times in the ShapeShift DAO community over the last 45 days. The purpose of this proposal is to formalize and fund the next steps of the development of this important piece of decentralized infrastructure.

  1. Abstract
  1. This proposal outlines the first phase of necessary actions to be taken in order to make FOXCHAIN a reality. This first phase will fund the following deliverables to the ShapeShift DAO community:

    A technical scope document, including engineering requirements for FOXChain as well as any necessary diagrams and supporting documentation

  2. A spreadsheet that models the necessary FOX support needed for supporting the security of FOXChain and related tokenomics of supporting the chain
  3. a Proof of Concept built on top of the Cosmos SDK that will serve as the initial reference implementation of FOXChain for testnet purposes
  4. The hiring of an engineering lead and supporting team who will support (1), (2), and (3) and be poised to rapidly iterate into phase 2 of fully building out the FOXChain once the (1), (2), and (3) are fully delivered to the community.

Note: Cosmos is proposed as an ideal candidate due to its a) Tendermint consensus, and b) bonding/slashing mechanisms required for the implementation of FOXChain.

  1. Motivation

The motivation for building FOXChain runs on a number of different paths, but primarily it serves as the long term decentralized backend for all node data the ShapeShift interface will ever need. FOXCHAIN will act as a service for any application requiring reliable access to a consistent interface to any of the supported blockchains, in order to increase dapp development velocity, reduce reliance on centralized data sources, remove single points of failure, and increase censorship-resistance. On top of this there are many additional benefits that can be built out once the ShapeShift DAO has its own sovereign blockchain, though that does not serve as the primary motivation at this phase.

  1. Specification

In order to move forward on the creation of FOXChain, this proposal asks for the creation of a purpose built workstream and appointing Michael Perklin (

  1. ) as its workstream leader. The workstream will deliver on (1), (2), (3), and (4) as defined in the abstract. In more a detailed sense this includes:

    The workstream will work on breaking down the technical scope of the FOXChain, including getting feedback from various technical stakeholders in the DAO and larger crypto community (such as Cosmos core devs, other Cosmos SDK chain developers, and other DeFi projects) in order to produce a full initial technical requirements document and any necessary design diagrams to inform future developers of FOXChain.

  2. The workstream will work with contributors to model out the tokenomics of FOXChain including the costs associated with running each ShapeShift supported blockchain and index, projected necessary FOX needed to subsidize months/years of node subsidies, FOXChain revenue generation for the DAO over the long term, and any other components to properly model FOXChain tokenomics.
  3. The workstream will work to either hire or bounty out developers in order to produce a FOXChain proof of concept which will be informed by (1) and (2) and will serve to launch the initial FOXChain testnet which can be iterated on in phase 2 to launch FOXChain into production.
  4. The workstream will work to hire an engineering lead and supporting team who can support (1), (2), and (3) as necessary but also more importantly so that team can be poised to be funded in phase 2 to iterate and launch the production version of FOXChain to mainnet.

In order to deliver on the above Phase 1 FOXChain scope, this proposal requests 300,000 USDC as funding (or equivalent FOX).

  1. Benefits

The benefits of this proposal will include the first necessary steps to create FOXChain, a vital piece of infrastructure needed to decentralize ShapeShift’s backend and also provide the world and other interfaces with essential infrastructure (reliable, incentivized, indexed, blockchain data across many blockchains). In addition to this vital infrastructure, FOXChain will also likely become a significant source of revenue for the DAO over the long term if the project is successful.

  1. Drawbacks

The drawbacks of this proposal will be that it is a considerable sum to invest at this stage with no guarantee of success. The DAO will have to trust Mperklin to diligently put the right people and pieces in place to deliver on the scope laid out in this proposal. It is possible that phase 2 is not funded, and this never gets delivered to a production mainnet. It is also possible that a better solution or other alternative solutions out in the market end up being better suited to solve what FOXChain is trying to solve.

2

LFG! :fox_face: 1f680

Thank you for making this proposal and for stepping up to lead this workstream . I can’t imagine a better leader for this ambitious and critical mission.

I think the proposal is on point and look forward to voting yay :fox_face: 26d3

3

This is an amazing proposal

Not only is it key to us fully decentralizing our backend, it’s instrumental to the whole decentralization movement for dapps as a whole, and could create an very robust revenue stream for the DAO.

This has my full support.

4

Have been waiting for some news on Foxchain :fox_face:

Fully support and would love to be involved 1f680

https://global.discourse-cdn.com/standard10/uploads/foxcookieco/optimized/1X/ed105bb795dce81c82f3261a1f96de83a3226bbe_2_690x345.jpeg

5

Full support, let’s start up the FOXChain!

6

I am in full support of this and think that running and connecting on IBC is the way and a great home for this.

7

This looks great. I think it’s well explained, and the deliverables are clear. Also, for the deliverables listed, I think $300k is worth it. Should give us the information we need to determine if we fund this further. I also think that funding for full development may come in part from sources besides the DAO treasury. I think this is a project that would benefit from some good solid partnerships.

Not only are you a good candidate to lead the effort technically, you are a good blockchain-land bridge builder, so I’d trust you more than many to vet potential partnerships.

I don’t know if you have engineers in mind for the work to create these deliverables. I recently came across Raid Guild and they could be a good contractor group to consider: https://www.raidguild.org/ They specialize in blockchain projects. They come recommended by Scott Gralnick.

8

One thing that should be noted in the next stage of the proposal (and apologize should have mentioned this earlier when helping draft this) is that any unused funds should be sent back to the DAO or rolled over to help fund phase 2 of FOXChain development at the end of phase 1.

9

Brazil is interested in projects such as DAO, this is evident.

I would like to propose hackathons on ShapeShift products like KeepKey and those projects that includes any big/complex dev like FOXChain in the future.

I’m not a technical person, in shorts… But I see FOXChain as a cutting edge technology development. So, I do support FOXChain and its leadership, given the vast success history.

10

Great to see a well written and thought out proposal for FoxChain, and I am very interested in your continued involvement in the DAO. Adding the potential as your self as a workstream leader for a highly valued project I am excited for the opportunity and look forward to working with you further in the DAO.