On Monday afternoon, the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) of Gitcoin approved a proposal seeking to develop and implement “collusion-resistant Quadratic Funding (QF) mechanisms” for Gitcoin Grants.
The proposal, “[GCP-010] Evolving Gitcoin Grants: The Q.E.D. (Quadratic Experimentation and Development) Program,” asserts that multiple groups have targeted and committed exploitative attacks on Gitcoin Grants. This does not come as a surprise as a DAO money grabber recently shared insights into how his group tactically drained DAO treasuries through watery proposals. The Gitcoin Q.E.D program is meant to “create a more inclusive and democratic funding model that addresses collusion and improves the efficiency and fairness of the funding process.”
It is worth clarifying that the program is not going to change Gitcoin’s core QF algorithm. Rather, it is a research and development effort led by Computer Science Ph.D. student Joel Miller. Miller had previously worked on collusion-resistant QF mechanisms in collaboration with Erich and Glen Weyl, the inventors of QF.
The team will receive $27,240 in USDC to fund staffing expenses for three months.
Following its approval, the team behind the proposal will deliver the following:
- A mathematical framework for understanding QF within the Gitcoin ecosystem.
- Empirical analysis of collusion-resistant QF mechanisms using real-world Gitcoin Grants data.
- Practical recommendations for implementing collusion-resistant measures in Gitcoin’s QF product.
- Bi-weekly updates to the Gitcoin community.
In general, the Q.E.D. program is a major step forward for Gitcoin and the open-source community. The program is designed to accelerate innovation and impact by providing funding and support for experimentation and development.
What is Quadratic Funding?
Also known as Plural Funding, Quadratic Funding is a mechanism for funding public goods that incentivizes individuals to support a wider range of projects. It works by rewarding individuals who support multiple projects, rather than just one. This is done by multiplying the value of each individual’s contribution by the number of projects they support.
Quadratic funding has a number of advantages over traditional funding mechanisms. First, it helps to ensure that a wider range of projects are funded. This is because individuals are incentivized to support projects they believe in, even if they are not the most popular projects. Second, quadratic funding helps to reduce the risk of funding failure. This is because projects that receive more support are more likely to succeed.
Despite the inherent pros, quadratic funding has its drawbacks, including its complexity to implement, cost of administering, and the difficulty ensuring that the funding is used effectively.
About Gitcoin
Gitcoin DAO is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that funds public goods on the open web. The DAO is governed by a community of developers, builders, and contributors who use Gitcoin to fund projects they support.
Gitcoin DAO uses a quadratic funding mechanism to allocate funds to projects and has funded over $50 million in public goods since its inception in 2017. The DAO has funded projects in a wide range of areas, including open-source software, research, and social impact.
The DAO is currently ranked as the 28th-largest decentralized organization in terms of treasury size. Out of the $69 million sitting in its treasury, more than $40 million is held in the form of its native GTC token. The remaining amount is majorly shared between USDC, WETH, and ETH.
