Summary
The objective of this proposal is to list DYDX as a collateral asset on the Neutron outpost of the Red Bank.
Motivation
dYdX is currently the leading perpetuals DEX by volume. With the launch of dYdX v4 the protocol recently migrated from Ethereum to its own Cosmos-based appchain. As activity starts picking up on the new dYdX Chain, we expect the token to become more relevant within Cosmos. This proposal aims to take advantage of the popularity and quality of the token by proposing to list it on the Red Bank. Ultimately, we believe this listing has the potential to increase organic usage of the Red Bank.
Risks
In the sections below we’ll explore the risks associated with listing DYDX and the proposed risk parameters for the listing.
Technical Risk
While the dYdX chain has been audited and there’s a significant active bug bounty, the main technical risks come from the nascency of the chain and all the custom modules that compose it, which make it a more complex product than a standard Cosmos SDK chain. Ultimately, this means there can exist unknown unknowns which could materialize in different ways. The materialization of some of these risks may have significant consequences for DYDX the asset, which could expose Mars to bad debt.
The following table summarizes the complete list of requirements suggested by the Mars Risk Framework and their status:
Metric | Requirements | Comments |
---|---|---|
Time Since Launch | - | dYdX Chain launched on October 26th, 2023. |
Custom Public Audit | Ideal | dYdX was audited by Informal Systems. |
Recent Audit | Ideal | The audit was performed within the last year. |
No Critical Vulnerabilities | Ideal | No critical vulnerabilities have been exploited. |
Bug Bounty Program | Ideal | dYdX Chain has a live bug bounty of up to $5M, depending on the issue’s severity. |
Centralization Risk
Currently, the dYdX Operations subDAO (a governance elected subsegment of the dYdX DAO dedicated to managing the DAO’s operations) has control over some components of the protocol while it’s in its initial launch stage. This ‘testing’ stage is intended to allow for “low-friction forks or roll-backs if confronted with significant issues, such as errors, functional problems, security vulnerabilities, or hostile attempts by malicious actors.”
The Operations subDAO is currently managed by 4 trustees and an enforcer who oversees the trustees’ work.
Oracle Risk
We propose to use the Pyth DYDX/USD feed.
Note that this feed currently tracks the price of Ethereum-based DYDX. While DYDX on dYdX Chain can be minted on a 1:1 basis using Ethereum-based DYDX, there exists some bridging risk between Ethereum-based DYDX and DYDX on dYdX Chain. If this bridging risk were to materialize into different prices for Ethereum-based DYDX and DYDX on dYdX Chain, the protocol could be exposed to bad debt as it wouldn’t be aware of this price divergence. As more tokens are migrated to Cosmos and the Cosmos-based token version is more widely adopted we expect this risk to decrease, as the price reported by Pyth will more accurately reflect the Cosmos-based price.
Risk Parameters Suggestion
Implementation
This is a signaling proposal, not an executable proposal.
The Mars smart contracts on the Neutron chain are currently controlled by the Builder Multisig address. If this proposal passes, the builders will utilize their multisig to make the necessary parameter changes.
Copyright
Copyright and related rights waived via CC0.
Disclaimers/Disclosures
This proposal is being made by Delphi Labs Ltd., a British Virgin Islands limited company. Delphi Labs engages in incubation, investment, research and development relevant to multiple ecosystems and protocols, including the Mars Protocol. Delphi Labs and certain of its service providers and equity holders own MARS tokens and have financial interests related to this proposal. Additionally, Delphi Labs is one of several entities associated with one another under the “Delphi Digital” brand. Delphi Digital’s associated entities and/or equityholders or service providers of such entities may hold MARS and may have financial interests related to this proposal. All such entities, service providers, equity holders and other related persons may also have financial interests in complementary or competing projects or ecosystems, entities or tokens, including Neutron/NTRN and dYdX/DYDX. Delphi Ventures, a related company, is an investor in rights to receive DYDX. These statements are intended to disclose relevant facts and to help identify potential conflicts of interest, and should not be misconstrued as a complete description of all relevant interests or conflicts of interests; nor should they be construed as a recommendation to purchase or acquire any token or security.
This proposal is also subject to and qualified by the Mars Disclaimers/Disclosures. Delphi Labs may lack access to all relevant facts or may have failed to give appropriate weighting to available facts. Delphi Labs is not making any representation, warranty or guarantee regarding the accuracy or completeness of the statements herein, and Delphi Labs shall have no liability in the event of losses or damages ensuing from approval or rejection or other handling of the proposal. Each user and voter should undertake their own research and make their own independent interpretation and analysis of all relevant facts and issues to arrive at their own personal determinations of how to vote on the proposal.