75072ba728c541ade305418815fdedde07c661d6
Proposal:
The purpose of this proposal is to establish a functional budget to pursue both a market maker for the SPS token and to pursue top tier exchanges listings. There is no way to be certain of success in the pursuit of a centralized exchange listing, but apportioning the funds and establishing some general guidelines for how the DAO would like to pursue a listing if one becomes available, we would allow for the necessary conversations to advance those opportunities to be able to take place.
@clayboyn has already made a very detailed post explaining a lot of the basics about market makers and exchange listings, so if you would like a better understanding of what our options are and how they function, that's a good place to start. Please keep in mind that exchanges generally require NDAs to even have a conversation with them related to listing a token. There is absolutely zero chance we get and maintain a top tier listing without a market maker.
If this proposal passes, the Unallocated portion of SPS that was formerly allocated for Team (270 million SPS) will be authorized to be used by the SPS DAO to negotiate and potentially pay for exchange listing fees, liquidity deposits and marketing fees as well as market maker fees and deposits that may be required to list with a top tier exchange. These funds will not be available to be used for any other purpose for the duration that this proposal is active without a vote to explicitly remove the authorization.
The SPS DAO will allocate a budget of up to $500,000 of SPS and/or stable coins to hire a market maker and provide the necessary liquidity to operate on high volume exchanges. At this point with the SPS token having so much upside potential, it would likely be in our best interest to hire a subscription based market maker instead of selling token options to a lending based market maker. Not all of this would be a spend and it's unlikely that all of it would need to be used, the intent is to simply authorize a budget for the SPS DAO Project Manager to negotiate with.
The SPS DAO will also allocate a budget of up to $2,500,000 of SPS and/or stable coins to pursue a listing with Binance or Coinbase. The funds are not authorized to be used for any other centralized exchange listing. There is no way to be assured of success in the pursuit of an exchange listing and it should be known that the terms of any deals will be under NDA contracts. The intent is to simply authorize a budget for the SPS DAO Project Manager to negotiate with and not a guarantee of results.
If this proposal passes, the budget authorization outlined above will expire 365 days after the date this proposal passes.
Wow, that's a lot of money!
Yes. Yes it is. Go big or go home. There is nothing to gain in life without risk, and I believe this is a risk worth taking given the potentially large benefits and visibility of being on a tier 1 exchange. It is a large amount, but it is a manageable expense and will not bankrupt the SPS DAO. We will still have a large treasury left over.
Why now?
Splinterlands has existed for several years already, and we are struggling to expand & attract interest from the broader crypto community. We need to kick things into high gear. I believe being on a tier 1 exchange will greatly increase our prospects for doing so, following the success of other web3 games such as Axie Infinity. It's a step we must take at some point to increase our visibility, and if not now, then when? How long should we keep kicking the can down the road? I say, let's strike while the iron is hot and be a part of the new bull run!
Why not wait just a little later for the NPE to be complete?
It will take a decent amount of time to negotiate & setup exchange listings, and I don't want us to miss this bull run. The NPE (New Player Experience) effort will be ongoing simultaneously by the devs. Hopefully both these efforts will start to bear fruit roughly around the same time.
Why worry about this at all? Won't things just sort themselves out if the devs build us an awesome game to play?
Building a game that is fun and exciting to play is crucially important. But to be a web3 game that thrives well into the future, we need to start thinking like crypto investors, not only like gamers. We need investment in our token in order to support the game, get people excited, attract interest, and help ensure that the Splinterlands team never ends up in another cash crunch with their back against the wall.
Getting on a tier 1 exchange raises our visibility in the broader crypto community. It's a step on the path to success that multiple major, well known projects have undertaken. It will go a long way toward earning us a spot at the table in the big leagues.
We are lucky in that the SPS DAO is well funded and in a good position to help catapult us to the next level! So let's use those resources, instead of just letting them sit there until it's too late!
Who am I?
I'm an active member of the Splinterlands community, well known in Discord but wanting to remain anonymous for the purposes of kick starting this initiative. That will have to satisfy you.
Thank you for your consideration, and thank you to @cryptomancer for supporting me by graciously donating the 100k DEC fee for this proposal. Have fun voting everyone, and pass or fail, I look forward to seeing how many of you agree with my sentiments!