Aura Maxis: Béguin, CheesySweets, cryptocomical, danielkds12, Matt | Alfafa or Spanky?, Mattgene, James K, Jeffery, JoJo, and Yakitori.
August was, in part, a slow month. There wasn’t much volume in crypto in general, and activities for the DAOs were limited. Nevertheless, Maxis focused on community management and on strengthening the foundation of the Aura protocol and the Maxi group.
We added several new members to our Maxi roster. At the end of August, we onboarded Chrom to assist with official content and guides for our users. As mentioned in the previous monthly report, we also onboarded danielkds12 as a Korean translator. We’re aiming to connect with the Vietnamese community, so if you’re up for the challenge, please respond to this post.
We continued our efforts in what have become recurring tasks: supporting the community, especially as Aura expands into several new chains, and managing and testing the UI/UX of the Aura website for bugs reported by users.
On the governance front, there weren’t any specific events. However, there was an extended discussion between August and September about AIP-42, tto clarify some key points for the community. Additionally, the proposal to change the STG pool from being paired with USDC.e to bb.a.USD was approved.
1. Governance Activities:
As stated, governance activity this month has been relatively low compared to the rest of the quarter. The most predominant activity related to discussions of previously posted proposals, specifically regarding AIP-42. This proposal will not only change the Aura emission mechanism but also help in more rapidly bootstrapping new L2. Additionally, there was a discussion on the Stargate governance platform about moving POL to a 50/50 STG/Boosted Aave V3 USD pool staked in Aura.
Below is a breakdown of all the proposals that Aura Maxis either published or assisted in drafting, along with their objectives and outcomes.
Make Aura and Balancer the STG Liquidity Hub on Arbitrum
- Summary: The goal is to enhance the current present of Stargate in Arbitrum
- Objective: The goal is to replace the current 50/50 STG/USDC.e Balancer Pool with a 50/50 STG/bb-a-USD pool, to increase the base yield
- Outcome/Update: The proposal was approved
Aura Maxis interfaced with the Aura delegates:
- Circulated Balancer governance vote recommendations; and
- Coordinated and updated the Aura delegates’ vote reasoning on the Balancer Delegates’ Thread
2. Protocol Support/Growth Activities:
Regarding other activities, there was a reduced engagement from other protocols with Aura.
On the 22nd of August, a bug was reported for certain Balancer boosted pools, prompting the activation of some security measures. Both the Aura and Balancer communities were advised to withdraw/migrate the LPs. Maxis handled the communications related to this issue and supported the community by answering questions. Assistance was provided in both English and foreign language channels.
Just as we did for the Korean community, we are now aiming to expand Aura’s presence in the Vietnamese community. We’ve posted a targeted announcement and are actively searching across various media channels.
Activities Undertaken:
- Contributed to relevant forum discussions and groups to provide support and share insights;
- Managed communications regarding a vulnerability in specific Balancer boosted pools;
- Put out an announcement for a Vietnamese translator;
- Communicated upgrades/news about the Aura protocol.
3. Community and Content Activities:
As the primary responder on Discord for Support and Governance, we continued to engage with the community on specific topics. The most significant ones were the changes implemented with AIP-42 and the new method of reward distribution directly to wallets. While this initially caused some confusion, it was a feature that Aura users greatly appreciated.
As is common with major changes, AIP-42 introduced a few minor UI/UX bugs. These were quickly identified after several users reported potential discrepancies in the APR numbers displayed on the app interface, and they were promptly addressed.
For the first time, a Twitter space for the Chinese community was hosted by our Chinese translator, Mattgene. We are excited about hosting more initiatives like this to promote the Aura protocol to the broader crypto community.
Activities Undertaken:
- Moderated and maintained Discord and Telegram channels, answered questions, maintained Discord bots, and facilitated communications with other contributors;
Provided constant support for community in relation to AIP-42 questions and other community inquiries; - Provided support in Discord and content for both Twitter and the main aura website in foreign languages (Chinese);
- Hosted a Twitter space in Chinese regarding Aura protocol.
4. Internal Activities:
Discussions on how to enhance our engagement with all communities are a recurring theme. We see immense value in our community, with specific members consistently assisting others on Discord to clarify any Aura-related topics.
For this reason, we decided to introduce a special role called “Meditators”. Knowledgeable users who have demonstrated their expertise can apply for this role. They can contribute to the Aura protocol in ways that align with their abilities and skills, all under the guidance and support of Maxis. Consequently, we had specific discussions on how to channel this energy and effort from the community effectively.
We also welcomed a new member to Maxis: Chrom. Having contributed to the Aura protocol in the past, Chrom will assist the community by creating content and official guides tailored to specific audiences. The aim is to onboard users who have minimal or no knowledge about the Balancer and Aura ecosystem.
Lastly, BarryLime, who served both as a Maxi and as a contributor to the grant committee, has chosen to leave to pursue a new career. We are grateful for his contributions and wish him the best in his future endeavors.
Activities Undertaken:
- Drafted and discussed a specific internal framework for Meditators
- Conducted regular SP meetings to align on objectives and progress;
- Onboarded Chrom as new Maxi member;
- Managed the Coordinape reporting and voting;
- Managed the Maxi multisig to add new members and remove old ones.
5. Financial Summary and Transactions:
The activity was on allocating stipends according to [AIP-28] for the Aura Maxi Service Provider (SP) contributors, to add new signers (danielkds12, Chrom), and to remove old ones (BarryLime). All the multisig transactions are here, with a detailed breakdown below.
Transactions conducted by the Aura Maxi multisig:
The following is a list of transactions for the month of August 2023, from the Aura Maxi multisig wallet.
-
Transaction 7:
- Type: transfer
- Amount: 7933 Aura
- Purpose/Category: disburse stipends to SP contributors
- Transaction hash: tx 7
-
Transaction 8:
- Type: Add owner
- Amount: 0
- Purpose/Category: add danielkds12 as signer of the Maxi multisig
- Transaction hash: tx 8
-
Transaction 9:
- Type: Remove owner
- Amount: 0
- Purpose/Category: remove BarryLime as signer of the Maxi multisig
- Transaction hash: tx 9
-
Transaction 10:
- Type: Add owner
- Amount: 0
- Purpose/Category: add Chrom as signer of the Maxi multisig
- Transaction hash: tx 10
Conclusion
As we reflect on the month’s activities, the introduction of the “Meditators” role stands out as an important move, recognizing the dedication of our active community members. Coupled with the discussions surrounding AIP-42 and our swift response to UI/UX bugs, it’s clear that we prioritize both innovation and user experience. With Chrom joining Maxis, we’re further strengthening our commitment to delivering quality content, particularly for those unfamiliar with the Balancer and Aura ecosystem. While we part ways with BarryLime, his contributions underscore the collective spirit that propels our community. Moving forward, our eyes are set on deepening engagement, refining user experiences, and broadening Aura’s influence across various communities.