---
# System prepended metadata

title: 'Forum at a Glance: April 7 - 13, 2022'
tags: [Forum at a Glance]

---

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tags: Forum at a Glance
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# Forum at a Glance: April 7 - 13, 2022

![](https://i.imgur.com/W6io7cZ.png)

Welcome to the one-stop-shop for a TL;DR on everything discussed on the MakerDAO forum.

*Links reflect our views of the most noteworthy activities in the governance, risk, and oracles categories. Disagree? Think something should be added? Leave a reply or send a PM.*

<details><summary>Where else can this post be found?</summary><br>

[Online PDF version](https://pdfhost.io/v/cKXE8xUMp_Forum_at_a_Glance_April_7_13_2022)
[Medium]() *publishing soon!* | [GovComms Medium Account](https://medium.com/@MkrGovComms)

</details>

## ![](https://i.imgur.com/sFOnnGd.gif) Three-Point Summary

‘What is the most relevant information on the forums this week for MKR and Dai holders?’

1. In their [Off-Chain MIPs Collateral Update](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/off-chain-mips-collateral-update-what-s-going-on/14530), the Real World Finance Core Unit shares the team's progress and breaks down what they're working on, from MIP6 to MIP73. Keep scrolling for related discussions [Charting a Path For RWAs](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/charting-a-path-for-rwas-the-case-for-continuity/14519) and [A Letter to the CUs on Community Impatience and Trust](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/a-letter-to-the-cus-on-community-impatience-and-trust/14560).
2. @monteluna [explores ideas](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/boosting-dai-usage-by-funding-an-l2/14521) for growing Dai usage by developing a custom Layer 2 platform, arguing that "a native chain with applications and savings is a clear demand driver that actualizes growth."
3. @Derek's [post](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/clarification-on-pecu-initiatives-priorities/14508) clarifies the Protocol Engineering Core Unit's current initiatives, goals, and progress.

---
## ![](https://i.imgur.com/yix8kCn.gif) News and Announcements

**[Off-Chain MIPs Collateral Update: What’s Going On](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/off-chain-mips-collateral-update-what-s-going-on/14530)**

<details><summary>Over the past few months, the Real-World Finance (RWF) Core Unit has been working closely with entities interested in partnering with Maker to onboard off-chain collateral.</summary><br>

The teams reviewing proposals for now collateral are working hard to follow the process outlined in [MIP67](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/mip67-methodology-and-review-process-for-structured-finance-transactions/13737). Given the number of proposals, however, these teams need a way to prioritize them. Prioritization will depend on several different factors, including:

-   Current status along the collateral onboarding process
-   Potential financial impact of the protocol
-   Perceived financial and execution risk
-   Level of completion and available details
-   Perceived quality of the counterparty
-   Perceived strategic value in the transaction

The remainder of the post is dedicated to providing an overview of what the RWF Core Unit is working on. In order of priority:

**1\. MIP6: SocGen**

-   Ongoing; working through technical and legal mechanics in the agreements
-   See also [here](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/sg-forge-ofh-token-transaction-update-march-2022/14334)

**2\. MIP65: Project Clydesdale**

-   High-level opinion already [provided](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/mip65-project-clydesdale-monetalis-arrangement-i-liquid-bond-strategy-execution/13148/37) by LOVE; nothing to do ahead of voting

**3\. MIP68: Monetalis V2**

-   Independent risk assessments already provided by RWF ([here](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/mip68-monetalis-vault-v2/13789/11)) and LOVE ([here](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/mip68-monetalis-vault-v2/13789/16)); nothing to do at this stage

**4\. MIP70-71: HVB**

-   RWF expects that this application will be greenlit imminently, in which case RWF will commence a risk assessment, site visits in Pennsylvania, and a meeting of key underwriting/monitoring personnel at HVB
-   Incubating LTS will provide a high-level issue-spotting and diligence review based on the current information. Once greenlit, LTS will work with HVB to flesh out the legal structure and review the financing agreements

**5\. MIP73: Pando**

-   RWF plans to issue a high-level triage of this deal. This should help the community make an informed decision on greenlighting
-   Incubating LTS will provide a high-level issue-spotting and diligence review based on the information provided to date

**6\. MIP72: 6s Capital**

-   Incubating LTS will provide a high-level issue-spotting and diligence review based on the information provided to date

**7\. MIP6: ATD**

-   RWF plans to issue a high-level triage of this deal. This should help the community make an informed decision on greenlighting
-   Incubating LTS will provide a high-level issue-spotting and diligence review based on the information provided to date

**8\. MIP6: India Power Green**

-   RWF plans to issue a high-level triage of this deal. This should help the community make an informed decision on greenlighting
-   Incubating LTS will provide a high-level issue-spotting and diligence review based on the information provided to date
    
</details></br>

**[Update to the Gelato Keeper Network Top Up Contract](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/update-to-the-gelato-keeper-network-top-up-contract/14524)**

<details><summary>A bug has been discovered in the Gelato top-up contract, which transfers Dai from `dss-vest` into the Gelato treasury buffer. No funds have been lost, and no funds are at risk.</summary><br>

A [fix](https://etherscan.io/address/0x478c7Ce3e1df09130f8D65a23AD80e05b352af62#code) has already been deployed, and the Protocol Engineering Core Unit (PE) plans to include updating the vest to point to the new contract in the next Executive Vote on April 15th.

Because this system is entirely external to the Maker core system, PE can move much faster than normal. The authors point out that the downside of this is the potential for bugs like this one—small, with minimal risk of loss of funds—to arise.

The post concludes positively: Tech-Ops, Keep3r Network, and Gelato are now fully live and redundantly supporting non-critical keeper functionality.

</details></br>

---
## ![](https://i.imgur.com/FWsFQjz.gif) Active Discussions

**[Minimality - KISS principle](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/minimality-kiss-principle/14579)**

<details><summary>In this post, @iammeeoh shares their thoughts on minimality or minimalism and how it can help us move forward.</summary><br>

The author views Maker's historical approach to collateral onboarding as following a "minimal → larger → BIG/BLOAT → back to minimal" trajectory. Drawing on a recent interview with @NikKunkel, in which he was asked, "What kind of collateral do you think Maker will have in the future?" (answer: BTC + ETH + RWAs), @iammeeoh summarizes the path we've followed so far:

1. MakerDAO started extremely simple with single collateral Dai backed only by ETH.

2. Next, a huge technological advancement happened with multi-collateral DAI. At launch in 2019, MakerDAO included the BAT token and a couple of others.

3. Over the ensuing months, MakerDAO experimented with many other tokens. This phase is extremely important. It provided case studies, experiences, new challenges, solutions, etc.

4. Ultimately, the DAO realized that it's pointless to have 2,000 altcoins with a low market cap (like BAT mentioned above) given the high costs (risks, oracles, etc.).

5. It looks like (following @NikKunkel's vision) we are going back to a minimalistic setup.

@iammeeoh argues that this path has been very productive: "We have dynamically explored the space, matured educated opinions, and ultimately settled for the best tradeoff. Also, some things like the PSM staked ETH, etc. are a result of this 'research.'"

@iammeeoh believes we are on a similar path concerning real-world assets (RWA) and that it is time to take a step back and evaluate our efforts in this direction so far. Unsurprisingly, "some have produced some results, some are just starting, some others are dead branches." The author believes a good approach is to downsize our efforts and focus heavily on one or two promising areas, particularly technical ones, such as L2s, integrations with other protocols, Oracle expansion, and security.

</details></br>

**[A Letter to the CUs on Community Impatience and Trust](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/a-letter-to-the-cus-on-community-impatience-and-trust/14560)**

Inspired by [another post](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/charting-a-path-for-rwas-the-case-for-continuity/14519), <details><summary>@Traster_Tray posted a thoughtful, open letter to MakerDAO Core Units aiming to provide some perspective on the impatience some community members have noticed concerning some proposals and the process of onboarding Real World Assets (RWA).</summary><br>

**1. Shifting Directions**

Maker began as a way to create a very efficient lending system using crypto-native assets as collateral; token holders would share in the profits via the buyback and burn model. With the introduction of the surplus buffer, its evolution from a risk-reduction measure to a tool for supporting growth, and a generally increased focus on growth over profit-sharing, those who weren't onboard with these changes may feel frustrated.

**2. Unsustainable Rise in Operating Expenses**

While representing a big opportunity for growth, RWA also brings with it a large increase in operating costs. The decrease in funds available in the surplus buffer every month, together with the lack of a cap on expenses and no timeline for the realization of revenue growth, may lead some to want to onboard every RWA available in hopes of getting the ball rolling as soon as possible.

**3. Growing Perception of Greed and Waste**

As operating expenses grow and individual CUs spend more funds, some may wonder if funds are being used efficiently. As the author puts it, "I do believe there’s plenty of work being done, and teams feel they still need more help but is it being done efficiently? Is the right work being done? Or does more manpower result in more conflicts and arguments over who’s right and what we should be doing?"

**4. Centralized Voting Power**

Another issue @Traster_Tray would like to see addressed the concentration of voting power.

**5. CU Influence and Power**

Some community members may feel a certain imbalance of power between Core Units and individual community members, especially when there are no concrete deadlines.

In short, while they believe in Maker and the abilities of its contributors, the author wants to clarify our processes and improve efficiency: "I simply want the CUs to understand why patience is hard and hope this promotes efforts for more transparency, clarity, and accountability, ultimately to bring more trust between alienated MKR holders and CUs."
    
</details></br>

**[Tesla Taps MakerDAO-Powered Lender for \$7.8M Real Estate Deal](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/tesla-taps-makerdao-powered-lender-for-7-8m-real-estate-deal/14543)**

<details><summary>A recent Defiant [article](https://thedefiant.io/tesla-makerdao-loan/) reports that 6s Capital, a commercial lender powered by MakerDAO, finalized a real estate deal worth \$7.8M for Tesla.</summary><br>

A forum member even got a direct quote: "MakerDAO forum-goer @aburban90 responded to the news, commenting, ‘we… closed our first deal with Tesla yesterday? Smells bullish."

It's always exciting to see Maker mentioned in the headline of a major crypto publication, but several forum commenters have pointed out initial inaccuracies in the article and the lack of any attempt to contact a MakerDAO representative for comment. It may be worth considering opening a role for a dedicated Maker media liaison or press office.
    
</details></br>

**[[Discussion] Establishing Minimum Interest Rates Guidelines for MIP borrowers](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/discussion-establishing-minimum-interest-rates-guidelines-for-mip-borrowers/14529)**

@CodeKnight opens the floor for discussion on setting guidelines for a minimum acceptable rate for borrowers in this post. Any applicant below these guidelines will need to make a strong case for approval.

This post has attracted significant discussion; throw in your two cents if this is a topic you're interested in.

**[Boosting Dai usage by funding an L2](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/boosting-dai-usage-by-funding-an-l2/14521)**

<details><summary>In this post, @monteluna considers options for growing Dai usage by building out our own Layer 2 platform, arguing that "a native chain with applications and savings is a clear demand driver that actualizes growth," as has been the case for Luna and UST.</summary><br>

Some options include:

* MakerDAO could directly partner or merge with Gnosis and probably significantly discount or pay for transaction fees for some time. Direct ownership of an L2 with free transactions could significantly drive growth. This is optimal as Dai is the base layer transaction token.
* MakerDAO could partner with StarkWare and create a brand new StarkNet L2 where fees are free, and the base layer transaction token is Dai. This seems interesting from a growth perspective but doesn’t tap into the EVM for growth.
* MakerDAO could partner with ZK-Sync and possibly run a forked ZK-Rollup for transactions only. Their old alpha version of ZK-Rollups without smart contract features could boost DAI usage easily. A small roadmap for this would be refactoring the Dai Wallet 1 to link to this ZK-Rollup, translating the app into various targeted languages like Korean, Spanish, Chinese, etc., and marketing it as a small payment wallet. The general cost of the rollup itself could be quite cheap, and MakerDAO could likely fund all of its use. This seems like the cheapest and easiest option at the moment.
    
</details></br>

**[Charting a Path For RWAs - The Case For Continuity](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/charting-a-path-for-rwas-the-case-for-continuity/14519)**

Authors: @teej, @Eumenes, and @SebVentures

<details><summary>Several authors contributed to posting a lengthy but very detailed and candid contextualization of MakerDAO's evolution concerning Real World Assets, beginning with the early MakerDAO 1.0, which was focused on crypto loans, and moving on to filling in everything that happened between then and now, such as the economic realities of RWAs, the opportunities they present, stability risks and solutions, and continued decentralization.</summary><br>

The case focuses on continuity, such as pushing the "Aggressive Growth Strategy" and raising our Surplus Buffer. We also need a code of principles to help us stay on the most promising path forward. RWAs have the potential to strengthen both the protocol and public belief in the peg--we should take advantage of that.

@Traster_Tray has already responded with another thread, [A Letter to the CUs on Community Impatience and Trust](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/a-letter-to-the-cus-on-community-impatience-and-trust/14560). The author presents their perspective on some of the current issues around RWAs, specifically among the community. This post discusses shifting directions, the unsustainable rise in operational expenses, a growing perception of greed and waste, centralized voting power, and Core Unit influence and power.
    
</details></br>

**[Clarification on PECU Initiatives & Priorities](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/clarification-on-pecu-initiatives-priorities/14508)**

<details><summary>@Derek made a post to clarify the Protocol Engineering Core Unit's current initiatives, goals, and progess in response to some comments on the Maker Discord's #Speculation channel.</summary><br>

**PECU Current Engineering Tasks**

The following engineering work summarizes existing technical development:

-   Compound D3M
-   DssGate
-   PAXG
-   TUSD Offboarding
-   DssCure (for L2)
-   DssProxy (for L2 and core protocol)
-   Core protocol initiatives
    -   DssDeployScripts maintenance & enhancements
    -   Keeper maintenance & enhancements
    -   Chainlog migration & enhancements
    -   Associated safety, review, and internal audit work

**PECU Pre-MIP Advisory Work**

-   The team is advising Maple Finance to ensure that their future integration with Maker will be possible and safe.
-   Similarly, we have met in person with TrueFi at EthDenver to ensure future alignment if/when Governance determines we proceed.
-   Initial investigation has been done into Rari pools to ensure that the solution we build is scalable for future implementations.
-   Initial meeting with OasisProMarkets (re: India Power Green Bonds and others) to ensure future token integration will be possible (wrt how ES, liquidations, and other components will function).
-   Informational meetings with L2 ecosystems not yet in the formal roadmap to ensure canonical DAI can be implemented across domains.
    
</details></br>

**[MIP6 Recommended Guideline Metrics for Onchain Collateral Onboarding](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/mip6-recommended-guideline-metrics-for-onchain-collateral-onboarding/14503)**

Continuing the ongoing discussion regarding the most effective process for onboarding new assets into Maker, this collaboration between the CES, Risk, Growth, PE, and Oracle Core Units offers a set of guidelines for assessing candidate collateral. Because every asset has its unique collection of attributes and market conditions are always in flux, no assessment framework can provide hard-and-fast "Yes" or "No" answers every time; the goal is to provide a toolbox to help MakerDAO make more well-informed and educated decisions. For additional context, check out the [latest Governance and Risk Call](https://youtu.be/kj92mk6qbHA?t=2032) discussing collateral onboarding and management.

<details><summary>Recommendations:</summary><br>

**30M Dai minimum target debt ceiling**: The Core Units involved in the collateral onboarding process have agreed that candidate collateral should be expected to generate at least 30M Dai. Reasons include collateral onboarding and maintenance costs, the upfront work required, ongoing operational/maintenance work, bandwidth costs, and opportunity costs.

**Clear business case**: The technical ability to support a 30M+ debt ceiling doesn't mean much without an audience of users willing and able to generate more Dai. For this reason, it is crucial to investigate how much actual usage a new type of collateral may stimulate.

**Min. $250M market cap of circulating supply**: Requiring this minimum will help ensure that Maker does not become overexposed to any newly onboarded assets.

If we assume a max 30% of circulating supply as a guideline for crypto token collateral and average debt weighted CR in the vault type at 250%, the asset needs a minimum circulating market cap of $250M for a minimum DC of $30m (`Min DC*CR/MaxRatioOfSupply = 30M*2.5/0.30 = 250M`).

![](https://i.imgur.com/TFZ1G7p.png)

**Min. $40M of onchain liquidity (132% of debt ceiling)**: Like the minimum circulating supply, this minimum is derived from the debt ceiling figure. By considering the CR distribution of positions in the ETH-A vault and an expected drawdown or jump risk of 40%, it is expected that approximately 26.5% of total Dai debt will be liquidated. After this 40% drop, vaults CR will go below LR.

![](https://i.imgur.com/JSgCGDW.png)

Based on the previous minimum debt ceiling, an estimation can be made for how much Dai debt would be liquidated in such a scenario.

![](https://i.imgur.com/HJ7WO1g.png)

If the liquidation penalty is 13%, the system can slip up to approximately 27% price slippage before depleting the buffer created by the penalty and potentially creating bad debt. Therefore, the maximum allowed price slippage after a 40% drop is 27%.

By utilizing this number (27%) in the AMM x\*y=k formula, we can derive that such slippage occurs when around 35-40% of assets are sold compared to the pool size of the asset. This means that assets should have five times more on-chain liquidity compared to liquidated debt (in the case of an equally weighted two-asset AMM).

![](https://i.imgur.com/kyvvRJR.png)

**Traded on at least five exchanges with**: 1. **Daily exchange volume of the collateral asset >$2M.**, and 2**Order book depth of over $200k in the +2% and -2% tiers**: The presence of these metrics will help ensure that the price sources needed to build and maintain an oracle for the new asset are difficult to manipulate.

**Technical metrics to gauge complexity and upfront implementation cost**: The more of these metrics a candidate collateral type checks off, the easier the onboarding should be in terms of technical difficulty:
* Implements ERC20 token standard
* Can utilize existing ExchangeCallee contracts for flash liquidations; the currently supported exchanges are Uniswap v2, Uniswap v3, and Curve; must have sufficient liquidity on these exchanges to support liquidations
* Audit(s) from a reputable firm(s), e.g., Trail of Bits, ChainSecurity, ABDK
* No admin functions/upgradability
* No rebasing/changing supply of individual token balances
* No blacklists/whitelists
* Transfer semantics should be simple; e.g., no fees on transfers

For more discussion on collateral onboarding, this time focusing on real-world assets, scroll down to the Forum Insight below.
    
</details></br>

------
## ![](https://i.imgur.com/zFRtZoo.gif) [Seeking Consensus](https://forum.makerdao.com/tag/active-signal)

‘Yo, do you even signal?’

**[Advance “MIP4c3SP3: Amend MIP64 to allow more flexibility in scope” to on-chain poll](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/advance-mip4c3sp3-amend-mip64-to-allow-more-flexibility-in-scope-to-on-chain-poll/14435)**

@psychonaut submits a signal request to push [MIP4c3-SP3](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/mip4c3sp3-amend-mip64-to-allow-more-flexibility-in-scope/14200) as an on-chain poll.

**Vote will run until April 12, 2022.**

<details><summary>Here are the current voting results:</summary></br>
    
![](https://i.imgur.com/bAzHHuM.png)
    
</details></br>

**[Extend SHCU (SH-001) Budget Until May Governance Cycle](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/signal-request-extend-shcu-sh-001-budget-until-may-governance-cycle/14511)**

@aburban90 has recently revised his MIP40c3: [modify the Strategic Happiness Core Unit Budget](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/mip40c3-sp67-modify-core-unit-budget-strategic-happiness-sh-001/13805). Due to the original budget quarter now being complete, Andrew requests a one-time transfer of  35,000 DAI to cover the time gap between budget cycles. The funds will be used to produce and deliver swag for Amsterdam and other upcoming events until the next Governance Cycle.

**Vote will run until April 21, 2022.**

<details><summary>Here are the current voting results:</summary></br>

![](https://i.imgur.com/afaPMZs.png)

</details></br>

**[Onboard D3M for TrueFi](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/signal-request-onboard-d3m-for-truefi/14563)**

TrueFi is signaling to onboard a D3M for a newly created TrueFi 3-month-maturity DAI lending portfolio with an initial debt ceiling of 50-100 million DAI. @RyanRodenbaugh, a member of TrueFi, states that this onboarding is in line with MakerDAO’s ‘[Aggressive Growth Strategy.](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/aggressive-growth-strategy/13958)’

Pros:

- Non-Crypto Lending Opportunities
- Customized Loan Opportunities
- Future Collaborations

Cons:

- Smart contract risk
- Multisig Risk
- Illiquidity Risk
- Compliance Risk

<details><summary>Here are the current voting results:</summary></br>

![](https://i.imgur.com/4qyPx9b.png)

</details></br>

-----
## ![](https://i.imgur.com/lh2zo3P.gif) [Ongoing Initiatives](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/governance-initiatives/1347)

‘Oh my god, this is taking ages; why can’t things be simple?’

[Maker Operational Manual](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/announcing-maker-operational-manual/12553) - @GovAlpha-Core-Unit release the launch of the Maker Operational Manual and invite all members and Core Units to reach out if they wish to provide any help or documentation to add for the Manual.

[Recognised Delegate Requirements](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/recognised-delegate-requirements/9421) - @LongForWisdom writes a detailed overview of the current requirements and application system to become a delegate in the Maker community. Check out this [thread](https://forum.makerdao.com/search?expanded=true&q=%40LongForWisdom%20%23governance%3Adelegates) for more posts related to delegation.

[Where to Find Opportunities at MakerDAO](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/where-to-find-opportunities-at-makerdao/10076/2) and [Open positions at MakerDAO](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/open-positions-at-makerdao/12197) - Looking for job opportunities at MakerDAO? Perfect! @Davidutro and @manomad set up individual threads containing resources to help find available job listings and hiring practices. *If anybody has additional information on unique hiring practices or job listings, please comment on the thread.*

[:mega: Collateral Calls - Calling all Projects!](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/collateral-calls-calling-all-projects/3715) - @juan sets up a signup thread for projects wishing to present on the bi-weekly collateral call. Know any potential collateral partners that want to present? Refer them here.

[Collateral Status Index](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/collateral-status-index/2231) - Confused about the current status of the various collateral types discussed recently? Check out this post to determine the status and current position within the onboarding process.

[Weekly MIPs Updates](https://forum.makerdao.com/tag/mips-update) - @blimpa brings the latest updates in MIPs.

[The Official Welcome Thread](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/the-official-welcome-thread/771/4) - A welcome and introductions thread. Not strictly governance, but if anyone new or old wants to introduce themselves, now is your chance!

-----
## ![](https://i.imgur.com/piG0Vud.gif) [Help Wanted](https://forum.makerdao.com/c/miscellaneous/help-wanted/11)

‘Oh %#\$?, we need a doodad, and we need it now.’

[Wanted: Governance Contributors for GovAlpha](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/help-wanted-govalpha/8811) - @LongForWisdom puts out the call for new team members! Different tracks are available depending on interest and time commitment.

We could always use help reviewing [MIPs in the Request for Comment phase](https://forum.makerdao.com/tag/rfc).

---
### [Feedback Survey](https://survey.sogosurvey.com/r/qTb1p7)

*Please, check out the [Forum at a Glance feedback survey](https://survey.sogosurvey.com/r/qTb1p7) to help us improve and scale these reviews - It will be fun, I promise.* 

Credit:
@nothsa
@Artem_Gordon
