This week, we chat about Osmosis' unique approach to bridge selection. Unlike other projects which have used many bridges, Osmosis underwent a "canonical bridge selection" process to choose one provider, with the intention of providing a superior UX for end users. All of this was done through on-chain governance. Axelar emerged victorious, and is working on an integration with Osmosis.  In this podcast, we talk about the unique governance process used, the various bridge providers involved, and Axelar's unique approach. Additionally, we talk about Cosmos-based governance systems broadly, and how it differs from those built on Ethereum. --- Resources: Proposal: Canonical Ethereum Bridge Provider Process Proposal: Adopt Axelar as the Canonical Ethereum Bridge Service Provider --- Twitter:  @sunnya97 | @sergey_nog |@lsukernik | @derek_hsue ---- Show Notes: How Cosmos-based governance systems compare to Ethereum-based systems The role of validators as hybrid service providers, investors and infrastructure builders Why Osmosis decided to pick one bridge provider to start, as opposed to many The unique design behind the bridge selection proposals Axelar's unique bridging approach to the bridge selection process Why founders should build their own AppChains The broader benefits of modular governance systems

In this episode Larry and I chat about M&A in Crypto, and how it compares to traditional markets. We discuss how they may be similar and more importantly different, in a world with open-source, composable protocols. We also discuss the most prominent merger to date, FEI <> Rari, and the dynamics that went into the merger. --- Follow us on Twitter:  @Sam_Bronstein | @jstastny101 |@lsukernik | @derek_hsue ---- Show Notes: The value a neutral broker has, in an M&A transaction The present state of Crypto and DAO M&A What Crypto M&A will look like in the future How should DAOs finance themselves for long-term success? The role that Sam and Jordan see themselves playing within the crypto markets Thoughts on Elon <> Twitter M&A

In this episode Larry and I chat with A16z's Jeff Amico about all things protocol governance. Jeff is the head of network operations at A16z, where he oversees A16z's on-chain participation, including governance, staking, and more. We discuss A16'z participation on the various networks, the delgation program, how DeFi governance will evolve over time and many more themes! --- Follow us on Twitter: @_jamico |@lsukernik | @derek_hsue ---- Show Notes: What the a16z protocol operation team works on The a16z decision-making process for new governance proposals Why Protocol Governance matters, and the long-term implications What decisions should be explicitly left to on-chain governance, and what should be minimized The different ways to structure a DAO depending on the core goals Examining the MakerDAO core unit framework as a model for other DAO contributors The future landscape for service providers to DAOs

In this episode Larry and I chat with Getty Hill about Uniswap Protocol's fee switch. We go into detail about the pros/cons of turning the fee switch on, the process that goes into the decision, and how protocol fees could be used to grow Uniswap long-term.  ---- Follow us on Twitter: @getty_hill |@lsukernik | @derek_hsue Resources: v2 fees, v3 fees, Adding a 1 basis point fee tier for Uniswap ---- Show Notes: What are the pro and cons of turning on the protocol fee switch? Balancing "value accrual" vs. market-share Lessons from implementing a 1 bp fee tier for UNI pools Why v2 fees are much simpler to implement than v3 Why the "fee switch" question is not a one-off proposal, but a multi-month effort combining research, implementation, and monitoring. What kind of new behaviors would turning fees on enable? Second Order effects on the broader DeFi ecosystem Other thoughts on Uniswap governance broadly

In this week's episode, we discuss voting markets with the founder of Paladin, Romain Figuereo. We cover many topics, including the general use case of lending/borrowing votes, and the v-staking model and Curve Wars. Additionally, we cover some prominent examples of vote borrowing, and other kinds of use cases that Romain would like to see.  ---- Follow us on Twitter: Romain| @lsukernik | @derek_hsue ---- Resources Paladin.vote

This week, we chat with Simon Jones, the co-founder of Voltz Protocol. We discuss Voltz's recent governance proposal to allow them to use the UNI v3 license, in order to build their own interest-rate swaps AMM. In this episode, we discuss the proposal, tips for other teams going through governance, and the future of D2D interactions and partnerships.  ---- Follow us on Twitter: @0xSimonJones | @lsukernik | @derek_hsue Governance Proposal: Should Uniswap Provide Voltz with v3 Additional Use Grant? Resources: Voltz Protocol, Forum Discussion ---- Show Notes: What is the UNI v3 license? What is this proposal? How does it benefit the UNI community? How the UNI community can participate in Voltz Protocol governance going forward. Tips for other teams going through governance processes. General thoughts on licenses in DeFi The future of DAO to DAO interactions and partnerships

Today's guests are Charles St. Louis and Paul Vienhage from Element Finance. In this episode we go deep on Council, the Element Finance governance framework, which features a few key innovations: Voting Vaults, the Governance Steering Council, and Optimistic Rewards. We also go into the broader philosophy behind Element Finance Governance, and how it differs from existing Governance systems. Charles St Louis is the COO of Element Finance, and has worked extensively on Governance at Element, and previously at MakerDAO. Paul is the lead engineer at Element, and is responsible for implementing the Council smart contracts. ---- Follow us on Twitter: @PVienhage | @CharlieStLouis | @lsukernik | @derek_hsue Resources: Element Finance Governance Model, Governance Steering Council, Voting Vaults ---- Show Notes: What is the Element Finance governance philosophy? How the Element team approached governance design from first principles, and advice for other teams going through the process Comparing corporate governance systems with decentralized governance models, and how they differ Governance Steering Council: Why it's useful, and can help scale decision making Voting Vaults: What they are, why they're novel, and how other teams can use them Why more protocols should consider formal Governance Incentives Lessons from MakerDAO governance and the Core Unit Model The kinds of DAO tooling they're excited about using

In this episode of I Pledge Allegiance, Larry and I chat about the legal landscape in Crypto with Marc Boiron, General Counsel of dYdX, and Jake Chervinsky, Head of Policy at the Blockchain Association and formerly the General Counsel at Compound.  This episode's focus is a practical approach for founders and DAO operators in navigating the crypto legal landscape, from how to find good outside counsel, to understanding the right kinds of questions to ask them. Additionally, we talk about the various organizations contributing to policy in DC, as well as predictions over the coming year.  ---- Follow us on Twitter: @jchervinsky | @boironattorney | @lsukernik | @derek_hsue ---- Show Notes: (1:25) - What the largest challenges in the crypto regulatory sphere are (5:17) - How Jake's litigation background impacts his views (7:43) - How Marc's transaction background impacts his views (10:25) - What are the different categories of lawyers in Crypto?  (13:02) - Biggest mistakes that founders make when evaluating lawyers (15:25) - The ideal background and attributes of a knowledgable Crypto Lawyer (18:40) - Understanding conservative vs "risk-on" legal opinions (20:55) - Why founders should hire an in-house GC very early on  (26:45) - Legal being a "value add" vs. a "cost-center" (33:03) - How to ask the right questions to lawyers (37:00) - How the state of crypto law has evolved in the past 3 years (42:00) - What are regulators' motivations in Crypto? (48:10) - Mapping out the various policy orgs in Crypto (Blockchain Association, DEF, Coincenter, etc) (56:27) - Current thinking on the best way to setup and operate a DAO (1:01:50) - Marc's explanation of Guernsey Trust as a solution for DAOs (1:06:10) - Jake's viewpoint on the current state of DAO structuring (1:15:00) - Other things that Jake and Marc are looking for clarity on over the coming year

In this episode of I Pledge Allegiance, we chat about MetaGovernance with Brian Flynn, the founder of Rabbithole, and mel.eth, long-time contributor at Index Co-Op. We cover numerous topics, including the core motivation behind metagovernance, how it effects everyday token-holders, and where it's headed in the future. ---- Rabbithole MetaGovernance Index CoOp MetaGovernance mel.eth Index Forums ---- Follow us on Twitter: @emjicy | @Flynnjamm | @lsukernik | @derek_hsue ---- Show Notes: (0:50) - What is MetaGovernance? (2:26) - How Index and Rabbithole approach metagovernance (6:50) - On measuring the impact of MetaGovernance (8:44) - The long term implications  (10:31) - How to handle situations with diverging interests (13:40) - How the INDEX token creates leveraged governance of other protocols (16:18) - The technical decision-making behind metagovernance implementation (21:45) - The Rabbithole MetaGovernance decision-making process (25:29) - Where MetaGovernance is headed in the future (29:58) - DAO governance vs. traditional forms of governance

In this episode of I Pledge Allegiance, hosts Derek Hsue and Larry Sukernik chat about Governance Frameworks with arr00, the creator of Compound Governor Bravo. We also speak bring on Alex Kroeger, who worked on governance for A16z and is a longtime governance participant in numerous protocols. We discuss existing governance frameworks such as Compound Governor, how these systems may evolve in the future, and other hot takes in Governance. ---- Compound Governance Alex Kroeger - Mirror ---- Follow us on Twitter: @arr00 | @alex_kroeger | @lsukernik | @derek_hsue ---- Show Notes: (1:17) - What are Governance Frameworks? (2:55) - On Compound Governor Alpha's importance (5:04) - How arr00 became involved with Compound (8:05) - How governance frameworks enable more powerful behaviors (10:30) - The importance of third-party tooling (12:54) - What can be changed with Compound Governor Bravo in the future (16:26) - On the idea of "Negative Consent" voting (20:17) - Balancing upgradability with security (22:02) - How governance frameworks effect decision-making (25:11) - How do large funds handle protocol governance? (29:04) - How can governance incentives be designed? (35:31) - Cross-chain governance and its implications (40:02) - Are veStaking models a good idea?