Weekly newsletter of DAO highlights | Issue #36
Catch up on the latest happenings within DAO communities and the most relevant news from the DeFi space.
DAO Stats
There has been no significant growth in the number of decentralized autonomous organizations over the past week. Data on the Web3 analytics site DeepDAO pegs the aggregated number of DAOs at 25,614 as of August 21, 2023. This total is short of just three DAOs from last week’s figure.
Along with the flash crash in the wider crypto market, DAO treasuries took a massive hit over the past week. The total assets held in DAO treasuries nosedived by $2.2 billion, closing the week at $20.1 billion. This represents a weekly crash of more than 10%.
DeFi News
North Korea's Crypto Heist: $2 Billion Stolen Since 2018
According to a recent report by blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, North Korean hackers have stolen an estimated $2 billion worth of cryptocurrencies since 2018. Hackers from the region have stolen around $200 million of crypto in 2023, accounting for about 20% of all stolen funds this year.
The majority of the stolen funds were obtained through cyberattacks, such as the 2022 Ronin Network hack, which resulted in the theft of $650million worth of Ether.
PayPal Suspends Crypto Purchases in UK Due to Stricter Regulations
Amid growing regulatory clampdowns, PayPal has announced that it will be halting crypto purchases in the UK until early 2024. The payments giant will temporarily suspend crypto purchases in the United Kingdom starting October 1, 2023, as it works to comply with new regulations. The company said it will continue to allow users to hold and trade cryptocurrencies in their PayPal wallets, but they will not be able to buy new cryptocurrencies.
The move comes as the UK government is set to introduce new rules for cryptocurrency exchanges and other crypto businesses. The rules, which are expected to be finalized in the coming months, will require exchanges to register with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and to comply with anti-money laundering regulations.
Gitcoin's Shell Partnership Sparks Greenwashing Concerns
Open-source crowdfunding platform Gitcoin has announced a partnership with oil and gas giant Shell, sparking concerns from critics who say the move is a form of "greenwashing." The partnership will see Gitcoin launch a new grant program called the "Shell for the Web" program, which will provide funding for projects that use blockchain technology to address climate change.
Gitcoin CEO Kevin Owocki has defended the partnership, saying that it is an opportunity to "use the power of open source to accelerate the transition to a net-zero future." However, critics have argued that the partnership is hypocritical, given Shell's history of climate pollution. They also point out that the Shell for the Web program is funded by Shell's profits from oil and gas production.
DAO Governance Updates
Completed
- Decentraland DAO’s attempt to create a new Community Building category forthe DAO grants program has scaled through. However, other proposals to enforce a 3-year term limit for DAO committee members and budgetary redistribution for the group’s grants program have failed to secure enough votes.
- ApeCoin DAO will be getting an ape-inspired mascot after the community voted to release $5,750 in APE for the design.
- The Arbitrum community has voted to onboard Matrixed.Link as a validator for the Arbitrum One chain.
- Despite the supposed difficulty for proposals to reach quorum “in view of governance power decay,” 1inch DAO has rejected a proposal seeking to lower the 1inch Snapshot space quorum to 7 million Unicorn Power.
Active Voting Rounds
- Months after resuming its grants program, Decentraland DAO is looking to institute another freeze on the program. Voting on the proposal, which seeks to temporarily freeze spending for some period of time or until MANA reaches a certain price, will end on August 23.
- A proposal that aims to deploy the RARE staking protocol to the Ethereum mainnet is currently being voted on by SuperRare DAO. If approved, the DAO’s Council will be authorized to claim ownership of all contracts associated with the deployment.
