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tags: Forum at a Glance
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# Forum at a Glance | November 3 - 9, 2022

Welcome to the one-stop shop for everything discussed on the MakerDAO forum.
Summaries reflect our views of the most meaningful activities in MakerDAO. Disagree? Think something should be added? Leave a reply or send a PM.
Authors: @nothsa and Artem Gordon
<small>[PDF version](https://pdfhost.io/v/VjNNMxnq0_November_3_9_2022)</small>
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## Three-Point Summary
<small>*‘What is the most relevant information on the forums this week for MKR and Dai holders?’*</small>
**1.** The Risk Core Unit team has [proposed](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/mana-a-intermediate-parameter-change-proposal/18727) a series of intermediate parameter changes to reduce the risk associated with decreased collateralization of the MANA-A vault type as the token's price has fallen.
**2.** The Strategic Finance Core Unit released a [tool](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Blkp1_FB0N67_-rYSHesthVwmNys_wepfPMtlZrqSew/edit#gid=0) for exploring the consequences of onboarding different collateral types to the Maker ecosystem.
**3.** A [report](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/vault-user-research-survival-analysis/18715) from the Risk Core Unit analyzes vault churn dynamics, resulting in some interesting takeaways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGAb447_PXc
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## :newspaper_roll: Announcements & Updates
> [**Build Your Own ALM Model**](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/build-your-makerdao-alm-model/18730)
To help MKR holders and governance participators understand the potential effects of onboarding different types of collateral, the Strategic Finance Core Unit has released simple asset-liability management (ALM) [spreadsheet](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Blkp1_FB0N67_-rYSHesthVwmNys_wepfPMtlZrqSew/edit#gid=0) for community members to experiment with. The post explains how to use the sheet and what each data set represents. So if you're curious how financials would be affected by a particular colla

The yellow cells are intended to be edited to explore the consequences of using different values for these parameters.
The top part of the spreadsheet features three different sections displaying several metrics derived from the parameters mentioned above:
* Item 1: A simplified income statement.
* Item 2: Surplus Buffer coverage, a major limitation on the risk MakerDAO can take.
* Item 3: A list of conditions that should be met; an adequate solution should have no red cells.
The bottom half of the spreadsheet lists all proposed collateral types and metrics, such as exposure, expected return, and capital at risk.
Key takeaways from this project include:
* The Surplus Buffer is a limitation without an obvious solution.
* MakerDAO does not have enough capital for all the current proposals.
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## :speech_balloon: Active Discussions & Proposals
> [**MANA-A intermediate parameter change proposal**](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/mana-a-intermediate-parameter-change-proposal/18727)
Risk associated with the MANA-A vault type has increased dramatically due to a decrease in collateralization as the price of MANA fell in recent months. One particular [whale](https://maker.blockanalitica.com/wallets/mana-whale/) appears to control most or all of the existing vaults and has not been very active. The liquidation of one of these vaults could result in cascading liquidations if the vaults are not protected.
The Risk Core Unit recommends decreasing Maker's exposure to MANA by adjusting parameters to incentivize debt repayment and further incentivizing vault owners to prevent liquidation events.
Specifically, the team proposes:
* Decreasing DC to 3M DAI from the current 10M
* Significantly increasing SF to 50% from the current 7.5%
* Increasing the liquidation penalty to 30% from the current 13%
> [**Kao Protocol - Seed Investment / Venture Debt**](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/kao-protocol-seed-investment-venture-debt/18720)
This post asks MakerDAO for a \$60K investment in [Kao Protocol](https://twitter.com/Kaodefi/), a DAO and DeFi protocol in which users can stake NFTs to earn yield.
The team plans to issue real estate NFTs representing fractionalized ownership shares in African real estate.
Recognized Delegate @Doo_StableNode stepped in to share his thoughts on the proposal:

> [**Why’s growth core unit is not focusing on Indian & Vietnam markets?**](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/whys-growth-core-unit-is-not-focusing-on-indian-vietnam-markets/18745)
@ihsotas expresses his concern on DAI growth rate and adoption in India and Vietnam. Recognized Delegate Doo Stablenode states that we often collaborate in these countries and markets, such as Axie Infinity. However, ihsotas further clarifies that he's strongly worried about the nearly non-existent DAI-INR volume on exchanges.
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## :bar_chart: Research & Reports
> [**Vault User Research: Survival Analysis**](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/vault-user-research-survival-analysis/18715)
This research report from the Risk Core Unit dives into churn dynamics, investigating how well Maker vault users are retained over time. The analysis is broken down into six primary areas:
1. Vault Count Distribution split by Activity State

Only about 9% of the ~28,000 vaults opened historically remain open. The median tenure for churned vaults—defined as the difference in months between when the vault was opened and when it decreased its position below 10,000 DAI—is about four months. The median tenure for retained vaults is about a year.
2. Vault Survival Curve split by Entity Level (Wallet vs. Vault Level)

The y-axis shows the percentage of still active vaults, and the x-axis shows the number of months since the vault was opened (its tenure).
Takeaways:
* Less than 5% of vaults/wallets tend to remain active after 36 months.
* 30% of wallets remain active after a year of usage, similar to vaults.
* The representative/median tenure before churning is five months.
3. Vault Survival Curve split by Collateral Symbol

stETH has the best early retention, followed by WBTC and ETH.
4. Vault Survival Curve split by Liquidation Churn State

It stands to reason that experiencing a liquidation could significantly lead to vault churn. However, the data shows a negligible connection between vaults that experience liquidation and early churning rates.
5. Vault Survival Curve split by Vault Type (ETH Collateral)

This chart looks explicitly at ETH. ETH-C (low fee, high liquidation ratio) and ETH-A (medium fee, medium liquidation ratio) appear to be retained better, while ETH-B (high fee, low liquidation ratio) is the worst-retaining vault type. This tracks with the idea that more risk-tolerant vault users are more likely to churn due to being more likely to optimize for capital efficiency across the ecosystem.
6. Vault Survival Curve split by Debt Size

A clear relationship exists between improved retention and maximum vault size. 70% of vaults with 100M+ DAI exposure remain active after one year of usage, compared to 25% of vaults with 10,000 DAI to 100,000 DAI after the same time.
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## :building_construction: Ongoing Initiatives
<small>‘Oh my god, this is taking ages; why can’t things be simple?’</small>
[Maker Operational Manual](https://manual.makerdao.com/) - GovAlpha Core Unit releases the launch of the Maker Operational Manual and invites all members and Core Units to reach out if they wish to provide any help or documentation to add to the Manual.
[Off-Chain Proposal Bounties](https://manual.makerdao.com/governance/offchain-incentives/proposal-bounties) - MakerDAO rewards classes of governance action that result in measurable changes to the way the Maker Protocol or MakerDAO operates.
This link provided describes how this incentivization mechanism operates.
[Recognized 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) 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. *Please comment on the thread if anybody has additional information on unique hiring practices or job listings.*
[Collateral Status Index](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PDf_CzhGa7mLuOUfX6Bz3WrnCjDRhIjmu-vDZMMw4Qc/edit#gid=1077340672) - Confused about the current status of the various collateral types discussed recently? Check out this sheet to determine the status and current position within the onboarding process.
[Weekly MIPs Updates](https://forum.makerdao.com/tag/mips-update) - GovAlpha brings the latest updates in MIPs.
[The Official Welcome Thread](https://forum.makerdao.com/t/the-official-welcome-thread/771/4) - A thread for welcomes and introductions. Not strictly governance, but if anyone new or old wants to introduce themselves, now is your chance!
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## 🆘 Help Wanted
<small>‘Oh %#\$?, we need a doodad, and we need it now.’</small>
We could always use help reviewing [MIPs in the Request for Comment phase](https://forum.makerdao.com/tag/rfc).