Summary
This proposal would fund the viaPrize team to build fiat donations to Gitcoin projects directly into Grants Stack in time for GG22.
Funding would consist of the following:
- An immediate transfer of 100,000 stablecoins to fund the fiat-to-crypto reserve
- Ongoing transaction fee which is split with Gitcoin
- A retroactive fee equal to the fiat donation volume after one year (minus the 100,000 in stablecoins that was already transferred)
Abstract
During GG21, our team successfully built fiat donations on our own site for the Open Civics round which led to 7.21% of donation volume occurring through fiat. We believe this number would be much higher if the option were added directly into Grants Stack because this was a new, unfamiliar feature only found on a separate website.
Upon seeing this success, most GG21 rounds asked us to build this for them as well. However, we did not have the resources. Currently, several rounds for GG22 are asking if we could do the same thing this time for them, and once again we do not have the resources to assist with this community demand.
If this proposal is passed, then we will be able to support all rounds with fiat donations and have a much better user experience by including this directly in Grants Stack.
Motivation
- Gratitude to Gitcoin. viaPrize grew to a full time team of 5 with our sole funding coming from over 1,500 donors on Gitcoin and thanks to initial successful experiments during Zuzalu which was also funded by Gitcoin. We exist thanks to this ecosystem and we would love to give back in a meaningful way.
- Months of work on the line. Our team spent many months learning how to make web3 easier to use, familiarizing ourselves with Allo, and then finally succeeding in putting fiat payments on-chain. We would like to see this work make a difference to users.
- Bringing web3 to billions of people. How can we expect to onboard people when 3/4 of onramp attempts fail? To solve this the viaPrize team are launching Normie.Tech to allow non-crypto users to interact with web3 platforms through gasless transactions and fiat transactions straight to smart contracts. This allows us to transition viaPrize to a nonprofit and to use this separate company to support many web3 platforms in the ecosystem. If this proposal passes, Gitcoin would be our 3rd and biggest client which would jumpstart our future growth.
Specifications
How It Works
-An individual checks out in their cart through PayPal with $100 for example. See a demo video of how this worked during GG21 https://photos.app.goo.gl/UbqyYnGS78jQmhJb7
-We send 100 in stablecoins from our crypto reserves through a wallet generated for the user to those projects
-Those donations receive full matching if they have a verified PayPal account
The Budget
Why the 100k upfront?
We manually refill the crypto reserves by turning the fiat we receive into crypto. Thus, we would want enough on hand so that it doesnât run out due to donation volume exceeding the reserves over a weekend. Considering 600k was donated during GG20, we think 100k would provide a reasonable buffer.
Why the ongoing transaction fee?
Transaction fee breakdown: 3.5% + $0.35 per transaction to PayPal, 0.75% to Normie Tech, and 0.75% to Gitcoin.
The transaction fee to us allows us to scale our crypto reserves as usage increases.
The transaction fee to Gitcoin provides valuable insight into a potential way for Gitcoin to become self-sustaining long-term.
Why the retroactive cost?
We would be rewarded equivalent to how much Allo GMV was processed through our feature after 1 year and at least 4 GGs (in case a GG gets delayed before the end of the 1 year time frame.) The 365 days would start when the feature goes live.
If 300k is processed through us after 1 year, Gitcoin would send us 200,000 in stablecoins (300,000 minus the 100,000 already sent).
If 50k is processed through us after 1 year, we would send Gitcoin $50,000 (50,000 - 100,000).
Plus, weâre PGF nerds in a crowd of PGF nerds so⌠letâs go retro
By making the costs usage-based + retroactive we ensure our incentives are aligned. The benefit to us is proportional to the benefit produced for Gitcoin.
The Team
Noah Chon Lee (steward responsible for the execution of this proposal)
Dipanshu Singh
Nithin Varma
Swaraj Bachu
Aryan Tiwari
User Flow
Donor flow:
Click âdonate with Paypalâ in their grant stack cart. Do the usual PayPal checkout. Thatâs it.
Project manager flow:
After the round, we send the round manager a CSV with the appropriate wallets whitelisted. The round operator uploads the CSV into manager.gitcoin.co and then sends funds the usual way.
Sybil resistance
Each unique PayPal donor account would be linked to a single custodial wallet.
The Sybil resistance consists of whether this donation comes from a verified PayPal account.
Verified PayPal account = has a bank account linked to it.
Weâve stress tested this ensuring only one bank account can be linked to one PayPal. Umar the head of data of Gitcoin has called this Sybil resistance satisfactory.
Donation Minimums
Due to PayPalâs $0.35 minimum fee per transaction, we would implement a $2 minimum donation. Note that a donation to many projects at once would count as a single transaction.
Possible improvements
Bank transfers and Visa card verification
Weâve found APIs that we are in process of gaining production access to which allow us to check whether someone is using their legal name in a bank transfer or a Visa card transaction. We likely can add bank transfers as an option (with $50 minimum donation) which invites larger transactions. If we access the Visa API we may eliminate PayPal in the future and also increase the cut to ourselves and Gitcoin.
Requirements from the Gitcoin product team
Accepting a Github request that would add the pay with PayPal button into Grants Explorer.
We would also add a little alert by the button that says, âMake sure a bank account is connected to your PayPal account to have matching funds added to your donation.â
Benefits
- With a bootstrapped version resulting in 7.21% of donations in fiat, we expect that this feature directly within Grants Stack could result in an immediate 10-30% increase in Allo GMV.
- Long-term, adding fiat capabilities to Grants Stack means Allo Protocol is accessible to billions more people, increasing the potential user base by 100x.
- Not only that, making the platform more accessible means easier partnerships with major corporations and governments. Grants stack would no longer be another crypto platform just for crypto users, it would be a blockchain-based platform that anyone can use.
Perhaps in 5 years Allo GMV will be 10x thanks to this capability.
Drawbacks
Chargebacks
Credit card chargebacks average 0.6% in online platforms
We would deduct these costs from the transaction fees given to us and Gitcoin.
Massive transaction at end of the round
If a massive transaction comes in through fiat (such as the 400k that was donated at once in 2021) that exceeds our crypto reserves, then we can still process it manually with a few day delay. If this massive transaction comes in within a few days of the end of the round then it may miss out on automatic matching.
Time to pass this proposal
Considering that we must take 5 days of discussion then 5 days of voting before finishing this proposal, we may need to build in this feature 3 days before the start of GG22. We believe this is doable, especially if the DAO vote is passed quickly, but we may have to launch fiat donations partway through GG22.
Vote
- Yes: Fund the addition of fiat donations in Grants Stack in time for GG22 with an immediate 100k transfer, ongoing transaction fee, and retroactive reward
- No: Do not fund the addition of fiat donations in Grants Stack in time for GG22 with an immediate 100k transfer, ongoing transaction fee, and retroactive reward
- Abstain: I am missing context