Uniswap Community Votes to Create First-time Foundation
The foundation will support decentralized growth and the long-term sustainability of Uniswap
Blockworks exclusive art by axel rangel
key takeaways
- Hiring for Uniswap Foundation members has already begun
- “We recognize holding this role is a big responsibility and we do not take that lightly,” Devin Walsh said
Uniswap community members have voted to create the Uniswap Foundation, an organization that will support decentralized growth and long-term sustainability of their namesake protocol.
The Uniswap Foundation will be an independent entity that will focus entirely on supporting the decentralized exchange’s protocol and ecosystem.
The proposal to create the Uniswap Foundation was submitted by Uniswap community members Devin Walsh and Ken Ng, and voting on the ended August 2, with overwhelming support from UNI token holders.
“We are thrilled about the support the foundation has received from the community thus far and have been so energized by the conversations we have had over the past few months,” Walsh told Blockworks.
“That being said, we recognize holding this role is a big responsibility, and we do not take that lightly. We look forward to building strong relationships with as many community members as possible and to welcoming in new high-value contributors as well,” she said.
The foundation wants to reduce governance friction at Uniswap for high-impact and high-value projects and improve navigation in the ecosystem and has requested 2.5M UNI tokens to participate in governance at the protocol.
It is also requesting $74 million from the DAO’s $3.4 billion balance sheet, which will be divided into two disbursements: $20 million will be allocated to operating expenses and grants over the next to years, and $54 million handed out by the Uniswap Treasury after the foundation establishes its legal entity.
Since passing the proposal, Walsh said the team at Uniswap Foundation is already hitting the ground running on its top priorities which include: building out its talent pool, scaling the Uniswap Grants program and reinvigorating the governance process.
“We have already met dozens of amazing candidates, are excited to announce our next wave of grants shortly, and are looking forward to publishing our first set of RFPs and working with the community on improving the community governance process,” Walsh said.
Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:
- Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
- Empire: Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross.
- Forward Guidance: Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin.
- 0xResearch: Get alpha directly in your inbox — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.
- Lightspeed: All things Solana, in your inbox, every day from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.
- The Drop: The newsletter for crypto collectors and traders, covering games, tokens, apps, memes and more.
