[AIP-XXXX] Supplemental Funding for the Aura Ecosystem Fund

Proposals
1

Summary

This proposal requests a transfer of $64,000 in ETH from the Aura DAO Treasury to the Aura Ecosystem Fund to support ongoing development, operations, and infrastructure over the next six months. These funds are necessary to close the current shortfall in ecosystem funding and ensure the continued maintenance and stability of the Aura protocol.

Background

The Aura protocol is currently operated and maintained by a group of dedicated contributors and infrastructure partners. The current total fixed monthly cost of running the ecosystem stands at $20,720.

At present, the Aura Ecosystem DAO is primarily funded by its 1M Aura token lock, which generates an average of $6,953 per epoch (equivalent to $13,906 per month). This leaves a monthly funding gap of approximately $6,814 that must be addressed to maintain operations.

Treasury Status

As part of the Aura buyback initiative, the DAO allocated $1M to repurchase Aura tokens, successfully achieving the target of 2M Aura locked. Following this effort, the Treasury retains a surplus balance of approximately 110 WETH and 20,370 USDC.

Proposal

We propose the following:

  • Transfer $64,000 in ETH from the Treasury to the Aura Ecosystem Fund.
  • This amount will cover the current shortfall for the next six months of operations (6 months × ~$6,814).
  • The funds will be exclusively used to offset the operational deficit arising from underperforming voting rounds.
  • Should future voting rounds increase in revenue and close the surplus gap, the funding runway may extend beyond six months. Any unused funds may be returned to the Treasury.

Rationale

Ensuring the continuous operation and development of the Aura protocol is critical for the DAO’s long-term success. Bridging this temporary funding gap allows contributors and partners to maintain infrastructure and deliver value without interruption.

Voting

This forum post will remain open for discussion for three days before moving to Snapshot.

This vote will be a yes or no vote:

  • Yes: Approve the proposed funding plan
  • No: Reject the proposal.
2

I support the proposal.

A suggestion for the funds in the treasury: it would be interesting to generate yield with the wETH parked there, improving its capital efficiency.

2 Likes
3

For. Even with this funding request, Aura still runs one of the leanest protocols available. I agree with James though, investing the wETH from the treasury could help close the monthly gap requirements.

4

Full support, and nice suggestion from James

5

Thanks for bringing up Aura’s need for additional $ each month.

As far as I know, the $200,000 Hyperlock funding from AIP-65, proposed and approved in Feb, 2024 has not yet been repaid in full.

The proposed terms for this financial support stipulate that the loan will be repaid upon launch of the Hyperlock protocol or as soon as is feasible.

Has any amount been repaid? What is the balance still owed to Aura DAO?

Instead of the transfer from treasury proposed, I would like the DAO to cover the ecosystem monthly $6,814 shortfall via monthly loan repayments from Hyperlock.

Thanks!

6

For this Proposal, It is important to secure the protocol running smoothly, ie keep maintaining the current infrastructure to secure all users access to a functional protocol.

I also think it is interesting the suggestion of Jameskbh that could be discussed on a another proposal.