Hello, Gnosis Community!
My name is Alberto Jauregui. I represent Pocket Network Inc. (PNI), and would like to submit this grant proposal for feedback and discussion prior to submitting on snapshot.
Summary
Pocket Network is a decentralized, multi-chain, middleware protocol focused on the RPC layer. The native POKT token forms an autonomous, permissionless two-sided marketplace between web3 applications and blockchain nodes.
Dapps pay for network throughput by staking POKT, while node operators stake POKT (on a per node basis) to have skin in the game for the opportunity to earn POKT from servicing read/write requests from those blockchain applications.
This unique tokenomic model establishes a positive flywheel:
- More RPC usage generates more POKT node revenue
- More POKT node revenue attracts more nodes to join the Pocket Network ecosystem
- More nodes boosts redundancy, geographical distribution, and reliability
- Better RPC service attracts more dapps to use Pocket Network for RPC
Because the POKT token staking mechanics eliminate recurring payments to centralized blockchain infrastructure providers, it vastly reduces the cost of infrastructure to near-zero over the lifecycle of an application. The longer an application stakes POKT and uses the Pocket Network RPC service, the more value it can extract from the protocol!
Motivation
The current set of Gnosis Relay Chain IDs (RCIs) are:
- Gnosis Chain = 0027 (mainnet)
- Gnosis Chain Archival = 000C (mainnet)
The POKTdao allowlisted Gnosis Chain (0027) on 07/06/21, with Gnosis Chain Archival (000C) shortly after on 08/26/21). Since the allowlist date, Pocket node operators earned ~49M POKT from servicing over 26.4B Gnosis Chain mainnet read/write requests.
Over that time, these Gnosis RCIs developed to become one of the more populated, stable, and higher-performant pools of nodes. Our network of node runners easily handled several spikes, including a big spike to 242.7M requests on a single day in MAY 2022.
According to POKTscan, there are currently 27,002 Pocket Service Nodes pointing to Gnosis Full Nodes for the 0027 Relay Chain ID and 2,461 Pocket Service Nodes pointing to Gnosis Archive Nodes for the 000C Relay Chain ID. This demonstrates the POKT node incentives at work!
The POKTdao supported node deployment solutions through funding grants such as Node Pilot and DappNode to make it super easy to spin up and monetize Gnosis full/archival nodes within the Pocket Network protocol.
Rationale:
Pocket Network Inc. staked POKT on behalf of the GnosisDAO to subsizie a public good in the form of public RPC endpoints (available in the Gnosis Chain docs) without rate limits:
PNI was going to originally ask the GnosisDAO and its community to vote for a grant of $598,716.80 USD, in the form of DAI or USDC, to cover the POKT stake for 100M relays (i.e. requests) per day of Gnosis Chain mainnet (0027) and 10M relays per day of Gnosis Chain Archival mainnet (000C), with the option of purchasing additional network throughput if the community would like to. I expect the Gnosis Chain Archival to gain more traction over time, especially in regard to use cases that need archival data!
While in the informal ideation/discussion phase, I’d like to introduce two more attractive options for GNO stakeholders to consider:
- Option 1 - Purchase Staked POKT with a 40% discount = $326,572 USD worth of POKT staked
- Option 2 - Traditional SaaS Two Year Contract Upfront Payment without Staked POKT = $109,944
Here is a relay cost calculator to see the breakdown:
Public RPCs are a public good, we hope to share in the responsibility together with the GnosisDAO of maintaining these high-quality public goods on behalf of Gnosis Chain users.
If option 1 is selected, the Gnosis DAO will retain ownership of 7,483,960 POKT in the form of network bandwidth. PNI will purchase POKT on the open market and stake on the behalf of GnosisDAO. It’s important to note that this resource investment can be recouped (subject to the POKT market price fluctuations) since the GnosisDAO may unstake at any time they wish, then sell the POKT tokens on the open market themselves.
The GnosisDAO will be able to monitor and manage the public RPCs through our Pocket Portal as they see fit, including the ability to enable additional security features such as whitelisting user-agents, origins, smart contracts, and methods.
Implementation:
In return, Pocket Network agrees to these milestones and deliverables:
| Milestone | Deliverable | Completion Date |
|---|---|---|
| Launch Support for Gnosis Chain Mainnet | Allowlist Gnosis Chain Mainnet (0027) within the Pocket Network protocol | Completed |
| Launch Support for Gnosis Chain Mainnet Archival | Allowlist Gnosis Chain Mainnet (000C) within the Pocket Network protocol | Completed |
| Spin up backup infrastructure for Gnosis Chain Mainnet | PNI to spin up and maintain backup infrastructure for Gnosis Chain (mainnet) | Completed |
| Spin up backup infrastructure for Gnosis Chain Archival | PNI to spin up and maintain backup infrastructure for Gnosis Chain archival (mainnet) | Completed |
| Public RPC for Gnosis Chain Mainnet | Provide Public RPC endpoint for Gnosis Chain: https://gnosischain-rpc.gateway.pokt.network/ | Completed |
| Public RPC for Gnosis Chain Archival Mainnet | Provide Public RPC endpoint for Gnosis Chain Archival: https://gnosischain-archival-rpc.gateway.pokt.network/ | Completed |
| Integrate Gnosis Chain Mainnet into the Pocket Portal | Provide developers the ability to mint private RPC endpoints for Gnosis Chain in the Pocket Portal: https://www.portal.pokt.network/ | Completed |
| Integrate Gnosis Chain Archival Mainnet into the Pocket Portal | Provide developers the ability to mint private RPC endpoints for Gnosis Chain Archival in the Pocket Portal https://www.portal.pokt.network/ | Completed |
| Multi-Regional Support | Public RPC available across 14 regions: ap-east 1, ap-northeast 1, ap-northeast2, ap-southeast-1, ca-central-1, eu-central-1, eu-north-1, eu-south-1, eu-west-1, eu-west-2, eu-west-3, us-east-1, us-east-2, & us-est-2 | Completed |
| Dynamic, Interactive API Docs | Add Gnosis Chain calls to Pocket’s interactive API docs | Completed |
If we are unsuccessful in our proposal to secure retroactive funding, PNI will continue to support the Gnosis Chain network; however, in an effort to do so sustainably, we would introduce per-second rate limits that would channel users and developers to our paid tier in the Pocket Portal where costs would be passed on directly to Gnosis builders.
| Payment Schedule (option 1) |
| – | – |
| Payment Dates Amount Due |
| Upon Proposal Passing 50% = $163,286 USD |
| Upon Milestone Completion 50% = $163,286 USD |
| Total 100% = $326,572 USD |
| Payment Schedule (option 2) |
| – | – |
| Payment Dates Amount Due |
| Upon Proposal Passing 50% = $54,972 USD |
| Upon Milestone Completion 50% = $54,972 USD |
| Total 100% = $109,944 USD |
By sponsoring a pokt-powered Public Gnosis Chain RPC endpoint, GnosisDAO and Pocket Network would continue to contribute to the decentralization, increased resiliency, and censorship-resistance of the Gnosis Chain network. All the while, continuing to incentivize Gnosis Chain node runners with $POKT tokens for serving Gnosis dapps.
The Pocket Network team and community have been long-time supporters of the Gnosis Chain. We’re proud to continue supporting Gnosis!
I’m looking forward to your feedback Gnosis community, and eager to be more active throughout the Gnosis ecosystem. You may see future proposals from me around supporting clients like Erigon|Gnosis for archival with trace (when available) and/or launching support for new networks, such as Chiado Testnet or Gnosis Beacon Chain or Optimism on GC (enabling an additional layer $POKT node incentives on top of existing validator rewards).
Sincerely,
Alberto Jauregui (a.k.a. @disruptbanksy on Twitter)
Ecosystem Development @ Pocket Network
POKTdao Voter
Future GnosisDAO Governance Participant
_
If you are interested in learning more about Pocket Network, here are a few links:
Website: https://www.pokt.network/
Portal: https://www.portal.pokt.network/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/POKTnetwork
Discord: Pocket Network
Governance Forum: Governance - Pocket Network Forum