As the Across DAO approaches a milestone of 500,000 UMA earned through UMA voting participation, it’s an opportune time to open a discussion about how we, as a community, can best utilize this UMA to benefit the Across protocol and potentially UMA as well.
The goal of this thread is to gather feedback and align on a strategy to begin using UMA in a thoughtful and effective way. Below are a few initial ideas to kick off the conversation.
Proposed Use Cases for Earned UMA
1. Reward Governance Participation
Given that ACX is currently a governance-only token, incentivizing participation in governance feels aligned with its core purpose. Additionally, since staking has been disabled for some time, introducing a new incentive model could help increase engagement and boost morale.
Suggested Mechanism: UMA-Based Airdrop in Two Rounds
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Round 1: Airdrop UMA to wallets that have actively participated in Across DAO governance votes over a defined period.
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Round 2: Provide an additional bonus airdrop to wallets that stake and vote using the UMA received in Round 1.
This approach rewards both past and future engagement while introducing UMA to Across DAO participants.
2. Add UMA Incentives to Across Liquidity Pools
To support protocol growth and scaling, we could explore using UMA to incentivize deposits into Across liquidity pools. This could help attract new capital and boost usage.
Potential Approaches:
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Add UMA incentives to one or more existing pools (e.g., ETH pool).
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Consider replacing or supplementing ACX rewards in select pools with UMA.
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Reintroduce staking for ACX and add UMA rewards as an incentive layer.
Note: This may require coordination and technical work from Risk Labs. The complexity and feasibility should be evaluated before proceeding.
Suggested Timeline: Strategic UMA Usage Every 3–6 Months
Rather than deploying all earned UMA at once, we might consider creating a recurring cadence (e.g., every 3–6 months) to review and allocate portions of UMA based on DAO priorities and performance metrics. This ensures long-term sustainability and flexibility.
Community Feedback
These are just starting points. I’d love to hear:
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Other creative or strategic ideas for how the DAO can use earned UMA.
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Feedback on the proposed mechanisms.
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Any technical or governance considerations to keep in mind.
Let’s make sure we’re using these rewards in a way that strengthens Across while also contributing positively to the broader UMA ecosystem.
4 Likes
Happy to see this discussion get started and options presented are intriguing.
I’d propose an additional option that could passively generate fees/revenue for the DAO.
Perhaps look to add single sided liquidity to an imbalanced pool that would sell UMA for ETH as/if UMA appreciates in value. UMA doesn’t rise, no harm no foul. In theory, same strategy could be deployed with ACX as well.
Eventually if successful, take some portion of that ETH and reallocate it to providing bridge liquidity, lend, etc.
Some combination of options under consideration could help spur engagement and drive value to the DAO.
2 Likes
This is a great initiative, thanks for putting it together. A few thoughts:
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Incentive alignment: The UMA airdrop idea is creative, but it’d be good to clarify how to prevent short-term “farming” vs. driving long-term governance engagement.
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Liquidity incentives: If UMA is added to pools, how will that balance with ACX rewards? We should ensure UMA supplements rather than overshadows ACX’s role.
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Implementation details: Helpful to specify who would handle mechanics (Risk Labs or contributors), and how eligibility windows for Round 1 would be defined.
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Metrics for success: Suggest adding KPIs (e.g., governance participation %, liquidity growth %) so we can evaluate UMA usage every 3–6 months.
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Broader impact: Nice framing around contributing to the UMA ecosystem, could expand on how this strengthens Across’s position as a UMA-aligned project.
Overall, love the milestone-based framing and phased approach. Excited to see where this discussion goes.
2 Likes
The airdrop plan for past voters is a solid nod to those who’ve been in the trenches with governance super fair way to show love for their commitment.
The two-round setup It’s a great balance of honoring the OGs while pulling in fresh energy, however I feel execution is the most crucial aspect of Airdrop as it can bring in new eyes to the protocol if properly executed
I’m also all-in on bringing back ACX staking. Pairing that with UMA rewards for liquidity pools, like the ETH mostly, is a sharp move to juice up participation and draw in new capital.
The proposal is solid imo, rewarding loyalty, sparking engagement, and scaling smartly
Let’s make it happen.
3 Likes
I’m going to second Benni here, he summed this up nicely. Milestone-based framing and a phased approach is scientific in outcomes that can be measured. Defining the KPI’s and DAO priorities yields the results needed. Taking these metrics into account, it’s going to validate what is working. And furthermore, it sets up the narratives necessary to create growth.
Data and transparency are two sharp tools you have to engage the DAO. So consider how you will share the metrics and results and what calls to action you would like from the DAO members at these intervals.