Summary
Update Proposal 10 and raise PowerPool team allocation from 5m CVP to 17.5m CVP - 17.5% of the total supply:
- Make first 7.5% subject to original lock-up and vesting schedule - lock-up from 1st Dec 2020 to 1st Dec 2021 with linear vesting 18 months thereafter.
- Make another 5% subject to the following terms: lock-up from 1st Dec 2020 to 1st June 2022 with linear vesting 18 months thereafter.
- Make another 5% subject to the following terms: lock-up from 1st Dec 2020 to 1st Dec 2022 with linear vesting 18 months thereafter.
The main goals of this allocation raise are:
- Support project development and facilitate the growth of the team by means of token options
- Align PowerPool team allocation with historically proven market practices for Defi projects
Motivation
Current PowerPool team allocation was approved in Proposal 10 and is only 5m CVP (5% TTS) with 12 months lock-up and 18 months vesting. At the same time, the PowerPool team was seriously expanded in recent months. Up to date, eight people were hired (4 in the public team, 3 in SparkProd, and one in SparkData). The proposed PowerPool’s new vision requires hiring much more people to complete 9 DAO teams as it was specified in approved in Proposal 44.
However, Proposal 44 defines only operational budget (salaries and ongoing expenses), not token options for team members and workers. Current PowerPool team allocation -5% TTS is evidently not enough for paying sufficient token options for all team members, taking into account future hirings and team expansion.
Team tokens allocation acts as the main motivational tool for founders and team members for developing the project since they have a direct impact on their wealth based on project success. Typical team allocation in the Defi sector is something between 20 and 30%, according to publicly available data. I presented some references below:
Table 1. Team allocations in Defi projects
| Project | Team allocation | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Compound | 22.25% founding & team 3.72% future team members Total: 25.97% | Compound Medium |
| Uniswap | 21.51% | Binance research |
| Balancer | 25% - founders, options, team, advisors | Balancer Docs |
| Synthetix | 18.49% - team | Binance Research |
| 1INCH | 22.5% - team | 1inch website |
| Curve | 30% team & investors 3% employees | Curve docs |
The absolute majority of other known Defi projects also allocate at least 15% for the team and contributors. It is not surprising - the only highly motivated team can achieve great success for the project, and team tokens play a primary role in this.
It is why I propose to raise PowerPool team allocation up to 17.5% with sufficient lock-ups and vesting schedule which is a conservative allocation taking into account the data presented above.
Specification
I propose to the CVP community to raise PowerPool team allocation by 12.5m CVP (12.5% TTS). The total team allocation will be 15m CVP (17.5% TTS) after that.
Since team tokens should be vested to align long-term incentives, I propose to update the vesting schedule as follows:
- Make first 7.5% subject to original lock-up and vesting schedule - lock-up from 1st Dec 2020 to 1st Dec 2021 with linear vesting 18 months thereafter.
- Make another 5% subject to the following terms: lock-up from 1st Dec 2020 to 1st June 2022 with linear vesting 18 months thereafter.
- Make another 5% subject to the following terms: lock-up from 1st Dec 2020 to 1st Dec 2022 with linear vesting 18 months thereafter.
Conclusion
I propose to raise team allocation originally specified in Proposal 10 by 12.5m CVP (12.5% TTS) up to 17.5m CVP (17.5% TTS) with the terms specified above. It should be done to align PowerPool team allocation with historically proven market practices, support project development, and facilitate the team expansion.