### Update on CCXT Integration Grant: Moving Forward Proposal

**Proposal Reference**: [Snapshot Proposal](https://snapshot.box/#/s:cowgrants.eth/proposal/0x2f8f3ba4bba90178c970c3fd0706245aab050d9676723f326779ce596881a747)

#### Current Status
The CCXT integration grant is currently at a standstill. We have fully completed the required work on our end, but final delivery is blocked while we await the upstream CCXT library to review and merge our pull request:
[PR #27319](https://github.com/ccxt/ccxt/pull/27319).

#### Agreement on Milestone Adjustment
In light of the delay, which is outside our direct control, and due to concerns raised by our technical reviewer - we propose a **20% haircut** on the original 15,000 xDAI milestone amount. This reduces the milestone payout to **12,000 xDAI**.

#### Partial Payment Request
We respectfully request a **50% partial payment** of the adjusted milestone amount — **6,000 xDAI** — as compensation for the work already completed and delivered.

#### Remaining Payout
We agree that the remaining **6,000 xDAI** will be held and disbursed only upon successful merge of the PR.

We also understand that the **15k vCoW** tokens associated with this grant will remain locked and will not be distributed or begin vesting until one year after the PR is successfully merged and the integration is complete.

Assuming the partial payment requested above is approved, and only as a last resort to further expedite the situation, we would be open to allocating a percentage of the remaining funds to the CCXT maintainers as an incentive for timely review and merge. The CCXT team would also directly benefit from the Partner Fee included in the integration, creating aligned incentives.

#### Ongoing Commitment
We remain fully committed to seeing this integration through to completion. We will:
- Continue actively monitoring the PR.
- Promptly address any feedback or requests from the CCXT core team.
- Perform any additional work required to facilitate a successful merge.
- Assuming we offer the ccxt team maintaiers $1000 of the remaining (6k) funds in order to expedite the review and merge PR - we expect this plus the opportunity for partner fee revenue (505K in January) to be enough incentive for team to accept PR.

#### Lessons Learned: Third-Party Integrations
This experience has highlighted the importance of early engagement with third-party maintainers for integrations that depend on external repositories. Involving the upstream team at the outset helps:
- Confirm alignment with their roadmap.
- Identify potential concerns early.
- Ensure timely review and merging of contributions.

We applied this lesson in a subsequent proposal (Hummingbot Gateway connector), where early outreach to the third-party team would have mitigated similar risks:
[CoW Forum Discussion – Hummingbot Proposal](https://forum.cow.fi/t/retro-round-hummingbot-gateway-connector-for-cow-sdk/3333/11).

Moving forward, we will prioritize early coordination with any relevant third-party teams in similar integration proposals to minimize delays and maximize success rates.

#### Looking Ahead
We are enthusiastic about continuing to contribute to the CoW Protocol and DAO. Once this PR is merged, the integration will be complete and live. We look forward to proposing and delivering additional novel integrations that leverage the CoW SDK, drive new order flow, and increase protocol volume.

Thank you for your understanding and support. We are happy to discuss this proposal further or provide any additional details required.

All the best,
Tantodefi and Bhavya Gor