The out-going Council members occupied a period of six months as the Community elected Alchemist Coin governmental body. The Council was tasked with strategically leading Alchemist during this time. Consequently during this period — between August 8th 2022 and February 13th 2023 — many developments in the Alchemist ecosystem transpired. This report will act as a detailed overview of the key events of this time period.
The elected Council members began as Santa, Ri, Joeh, Asathoro, and Renars. However, Joeh resigned from the Council and temporarily left Alchemist. Subsequently, the 7th highest recipient of votes, Adrian, stepped up to fill the empty position. This is what they accomplished:
MIST Improvement Proposal (MIP) #1
The newly elected Council wasted no time in getting to work as they set in motion a governance vote regarding MIST Improvement Proposal (MIP) #1 — after some initial discussions around it occurred on Discourse. Essentially, this changed the type of rewards Alchemist Coin liquidity providers (MIST-WETH) receive for their contributions to the ecosystem. Liquidity providers (LPs) had been receiving revenue airdrops in MIST, but with the passing of MIP #1, LPs now receive revenue airdrops in WETH or stablecoins. Since the passing of MIP #1 two revenue airdrops have occurred. They amounted to ≈ 55.2 and ≈ 2.2 WETH being distributed to Alchemist LP’s and MIST Stakers, respectively.
One of the changes implemented in MIP #1 is a new type of MIST staking reward program which introduces a time requirement for MIST stakers to be eligible to receive rewards. The implementation of this feature of MIP #1 has been made possible by the incredible work that the Crucible team has been doing. The Crucible team had to make a new type of Aludel smart contract to support this functionality. This feature is in the final stages of development and will hopefully be launched in the near future.
The Crucible team introduced the ability for anyone to permissionlessly setup a reward program using the Crucible interface, which was a monumental feature released by them and gave the Council the ability to set up an interim single-sided MIST staking program. This made the revenue airdrop possible while the final feature release was under development.
Alchemist <> Fjord
The next big decision after MIP #1 was the Alchemist <> Fjord (previously known as Copper) deal. This deal was agreed upon unanimously by the Council members at the time and Ri was excluded from voting on the deal since he was/is the Product Lead for Fjord.
The relationship defining agreement between Fjord and Alchemist has proven to be a significant win for both parties. Prior to the agreement, Fjord faced numerous obstacles that hindered their growth, including difficulty in forecasting funding, developing partnerships, and taking necessary legal steps to protect their product. The ambiguity surrounding their relationship with Alchemist was one of the primary barriers to their growth.
However, with the clarity provided by the agreement, Fjord has been able to overcome these challenges and make significant strides to expand their product offering. The agreement has allowed Fjord to structure a strategic partnership with Balancer, becoming their exclusive LBP partner, which has enabled Fjord to capture more market share in the LBP market. This exclusive relationship with Balancer has allowed Fjord to secure much needed grant funding to keep the lights on and sustain its ability to grow through the challenging market conditions. The prominence of Fjord on Balancer’s UI further increases its visibility and credibility, leading to more growth opportunities.
The agreement has enabled Fjord to formalize its legal structure, which will help protect their product and team. It has also allowed Fjord to conduct conversations with additional strategic partners who may be able to help unlock more of Fjord’s potential. Additionally, Fjord was also able to define their financial roadmap, allowing them to forecast their budget, burn rate, and give them the ability to hire more team members.
Fjord has always been, and is, committed to returning value to the Alchemist ecosystem. As part of the agreement, Alchemist now receives 25% of the revenue returned to Fjord from erc20 LBPs. Although this is lower than before, it is — orders of magnitude — better than the alternative of Fjord not having the resources to survive and compete during challenging market conditions. Additionally, Alchemist has a 25% equity ownership in the parent company of both Fjord Foundry and Fjord NFTs — Fjord Labs Holdings Ltd. This equity ownership allows Alchemist to capture the growth and success of everything the Fjord team builds without siphoning any additional resources from the already resource constrained team.
The agreement between Fjord and Alchemist has proven to be a significant win for both Fjord and the Alchemist Coin Community. The clarity provided by the agreement has enabled Fjord to overcome the challenges that hindered their growth and make significant strides in their development. Fjord’s newfound ability to capture more market share, combined with its commitment to returning value to the Alchemist ecosystem, makes it a valuable asset to the Alchemist Community. The formal relationship between Fjord and Alchemist has allowed Fjord to persist and grow, even in the most challenging market conditions seen in years, ensuring a bright future for both parties.
Chaos Labs
During the MIP #1 work and Alchemist <> Fjord deal, the resurrection of Chaos Labs, a project focused on advancing DAO tooling, was taking place in the background. This proved to be a major accomplishment for the Council and the Chaos Labs team. Working together, we were able to breathe new life into a stagnant codebase, creating a minimum viable product that holds a lot of promise for the future.
Chaos Labs brings significant value to the Alchemist Community, giving MIST and LP token holders more control over the direction of the Alchemist Coin project. This empowers the Community to play a more active role in shaping the project’s future, ensuring that it aligns with their needs and goals. The Council was able to incentivize much of the development through vested MIST, allowing them to direct more resources into the project without utilizing stablecoin reserves.
The Council is proud to have been a part of the transformation of this project and is eager to see its continued growth and development. The success of Chaos Labs is a testament to the remarkable achievements of the Chaos Labs MVP team, who worked closely with the Council to bring this project to life. The close collaboration between these two groups was crucial to the success of the project and highlights the power of teamwork and dedication. The Council very much enjoyed this collaboration and is honored to have played a role in such a significant accomplishment.
MIP 2
Towards the last trimester of their term the Council set their sights on another MIP. This was because it was critical for the Alchemist Coin community to find a cost-effective and innovative way to attract and incentivize contributors. This was particularly important for Alchemist due to the limited stable asset reserves. That is why, after careful consideration and analysis, the decision was made to move from paying contributors in valuable reserve assets or unlocked MIST to vested MIST.
Vested MIST provides a number of key benefits that align the interests of contributors with those of the Alchemist Coin community. The vesting period of 3 years — decided by the Community — ensures that contributors have a long-term commitment to the community’s success. This alignment of interests will hopefully lead to more unified and motivated contributors.
Additionally, vested MIST offers the potential for a much larger financial reward than alternative rewards. As the community grows and its value proposition appreciates, contributors with vested MIST can benefit significantly from their efforts. Vesting over a longer time horizon, such as the 3 years enacted by MIP #2, also has the added benefit of encouraging contributors to focus on long-term goals and outcomes. This provides contributors with a stake in the community’s success, which in turn incentivizes them to work towards its long-term growth and prosperity.
Vested MIST can also be an effective tool for attracting contributors. Communities with high-growth potential — like Alchemist — may persuade contributors to stay with the community since they have a stake in its success. This is particularly important for the Alchemist Coin community, which is facing intense competition for talented individuals and needs to ensure that its contributors stay motivated and committed to the community’s success.
Another key advantage of vested MIST is its cost-effectiveness. Unlike traditional rewards, which have an immediate impact on Alchemist’s reserves, vested MIST does not require any immediate expenditure. This makes it an ideal option, as it allows for more flexible budgeting.
All-in-all, the decision to move from paying contributors in valuable reserve assets or unlocked MIST to vested MIST is a change that the Council believes will yield great results for the future of Alchemist. Vested MIST aligns the interests of contributors with the long-term interests of the community, provides a potential for significant financial reward, is cost-effective, and seeks to attract and retain like-minded contributors.
Transparency
The Council implemented a variety of measures to increase the transparency and accountability to the Community this term. These include the creation of a twice weekly office hour and conducting all communications through channels that would ultimately become public. Hopefully future Council’s will continue to uphold this precedent.
The benefits of increasing transparency between the Council and the Community are numerous and profound. Regular office hours and open communication through public channels foster trust, clarity, and accountability, leading to improved decision-making and outcomes for Alchemist. Members of the Community have the opportunity to provide feedback, participate in the productive discussion, and build stronger relationships with the Council. This increased transparency has led to increased trust and transparency within Alchemist, improving morale and fostering collaboration and teamwork. Additionally, open communication helps Alchemist assess and manage risks, leading to better problem-solving and a more productive operation.
At its core, increasing transparency between the Council and the Community was about creating a culture of trust, mutual respect, and shared responsibility within Alchemist. By prioritizing open communication, the Council sought to ensure that everyone is well-informed, expectations are managed, and community members feel empowered to contribute to the success of Alchemist. The Council is confident transparency can serve as a powerful catalyst for positive change and growth for the Alchemist Coin community.
Other Developments
Other initiatives the Council worked on include a new budgeting methodology, Room33 and Artist Incubation, and Paulo’s Quest Incubation. The new budget methodology allows Alchemist to budget projects and contributors by examining what the traditional labor market values specific roles at and converting that to an equivalent value in vested MIST. Room33 is a Museum of Crypto Art (MOCA) room where Alchemist Coin will be able to use the room to curate and display NFT artwork. This room in conjunction with Alchemist’s Artist Incubation initiative aims to build and cultivate a symbiotic relationship with artists. Paulo’s Quest is a mini-game series you can currently find on the Alchemist Homepage by typing:
For Game 1 Type:
CTRL + H
For Game 2 Type:
CTRL + QThese games are awesome and the Council made the decision to incubate Paulo’s Quest to help continue building Alchemist Lore and give Paulo’s Quest the attention it deserves. More information to be released regarding these developments in the near future.
Council II — Yours in Alchemy,
Santa, Ri, Asathoro, Renars, Adrian
