Uniswap DAO Votes to Invest $12M in Ekubo: A Step Towards Decentralization?

Uniswap’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) recently cast its ballots. The vote? To invest a significant 3 million UNI tokens ($12 million) from the treasury into Ekubo, a fledgling decentralized exchange on Starknet. This investment comes with the caveat of a 20% share in Ekubo’s forthcoming governance token.

Moody Salem, the founder of Ekubo and a former lead engineer at Uniswap, celebrated the move. Accordingly, the Ekubo team will act as core developers, blending their expertise with that of Uniswap’s existing talents.

“We see this as a monumental stride in decentralizing Uniswap’s protocol development,”

Moody Salem, Founder of Ekubo

The DAO’s Vote and Community Sentiment

The Snapshot vote was hardly unanimous, with 21 million UNI tokens in favor and 12 million against. However, the numbers reveal something intriguing: just five token holders accounted for a whopping 97% of the ‘yes’ vote. Additionally, more than 3,500 votes were cast, highlighting the community’s vested interest in the DAO’s decisions.

The liquidity from this investment will primarily fund Ekubo’s operational costs and facilitate contributions to the Uniswap protocol. Specifically, the resources will aid in developing public goods in the Starknet ecosystem, as per Salem. Consequently, Ekubo has ambitious plans to level up Starknet’s capabilities to rival other Layer 2 solutions.

Opposition and Concerns

Yet, not everyone is on board with this investment. The opposition has been vocal, taking issues ranging from governance to valuation. Doo Wan Nam, co-founder at StableLab, criticized the vote, saying, “Uniswap governance needs to reflect on accountability seriously.” Meanwhile, Wintermute, a crypto market-making firm, dismissed the investment, pointing to an inflated $60 million token valuation. Keyrock, another market maker, highlighted the haste of the decision-making, calling for more thorough due diligence.

Will This Move Improve Uniswap’s DAO?

As we ponder this significant move by Uniswap’s DAO, it’s worth asking: Does such an investment, which effectively concentrates development power in fewer hands, truly further decentralization? With few token holders wielding disproportionate voting power and opposing voices in the ecosystem, is Uniswap’s DAO navigating towards greater decentralization or risking community fragmentation? Your thoughts might just shape the next epoch of decentralized finance (DeFi).