We have been closely monitoring the sustainability of public goods. While we have conducted systematic studies on their sustainable status, the current reality is that many issues still need our attention. The two most pressing questions are:
- Where does the funding for public goods come from?
- Which public goods should the funding be allocated to?
Many have attempted to address these questions. Gitcoin might be the best current solution for public goods funding distribution, and RetroFunding tries to solve the funding source and distribution scheme for public goods within the OP ecosystem.
These are all positive developments, but are they enough? The answer is no. The Web3 ecosystem continues to grow, with more users and developers joining in the future, and more public goods will require funding.
The prosperity of the Web3 ecosystem is inseparable from the support of public goods. However, developers of public goods often struggle to share in the benefits of the ecosystem’s prosperity. If builders of public goods could participate in the distribution of underlying ecosystem profits, sustainability could be achieved.
In the Ethereum ecosystem, the CSR (Contract Secured Revenue) model allows excellent contract developers to share in the chain’s gas fee revenue is a great idea, but it has some significant issues:
- The on-chain CSR mechanism is vulnerable to vampire attacks.
- Many public goods originate from off-chain sources.
We aim to build PGNode as a bridge, allowing public goods to distribute profits from the underlying ecosystem and thus achieve sustainability.
What is PGNode?
In a nutshell: PGNode raises sustainable funding for public goods.
PGNode is a new initiative by LXDAO, aiming to raise sustainable funds for the development of public goods by participating in the construction of the entire Web3 ecosystem infrastructure.
PGNode is committed to creating a secure and open-source node operation solution for Web3. It will also engage in the governance and construction of various node ecosystems, with funds obtained from ecosystem participation automatically allocated to contributors. This enhances the decentralization and transparency of the network.
Why Decentralized Governance Matters
Why can PGNode raise the necessary funds for public goods from the ecosystem? Because the ecosystem is thriving enough.
Why does the ecosystem thrive? Because it has a substantial user and developer base.
Why are developers and users embracing this ecosystem? Because the ecosystem is headed in the right direction.
Good governance mechanisms are essential for ecosystem prosperity, and decentralized governance is a crucial aspect, ensuring the community is indeed moving in the right direction and avoiding harm from malicious proposals. PGNode participates independently and neutrally in the construction of various ecosystems, helping them achieve a higher degree of decentralization.
Web3 Needs a Stronger Infrastructure
The current number of Web3 users is still relatively small, but we believe that in the future, Web3 will have many more users. Thus, the underlying infrastructure becomes even more critical, directly impacting the security and stability of the ecosystem, which in turn guarantees the safety and user experience of user funds.
For the underlying infrastructure, we need a more professional and open-source security model that can be audited by more people and continuously optimized.
Why Automated Allocation Matters
The most important principle of blockchain is to trust less and verify more. We need to ensure that the flow of every fund is verifiable, rather than having PGNode tell the community where the money goes. We will have an on-chain automatic allocation protocol to ensure that these funds are distributed as agreed.
A fixed portion will be directed towards public goods, and the rest will automatically go to those who have contributed to PGNode, including developers, operators, and more. Some might question why not direct as much funding as possible towards public goods. The reasoning is that only if PGNode is sustainable can the funding for public goods be sustainable.
PGNode has raised funds for public goods, but how should these funds be distributed to public goods? This is an important question, but clearly, PGNode does not intend to solve this issue, as there are already many solutions available.
Public goods are part of a complex system, and there are already many good funding distribution solutions that are continuously being optimized. Our focus is solely on raising sustainable funds for public goods; the distribution of funds is best left to professionals.
Of course, we still need to decide which ecosystems to allocate funds to, and LXProtocol will address this. LXProtocol, managed by LXDAO, is a public goods protocol, and the community will vote on which ecosystems receive the funds.
Enhancing On-Chain Transparency
The biggest difference with Web3 is that the entire infrastructure is open to everyone. Everyone has the right to understand the operation of the underlying network, which will help increase the decentralization of the entire Web3 network. If there are governance issues or other risks in the network, these risks also need to be disclosed to users so they can respond in a timely manner.
Another goal of PGNode is to enhance the on-chain transparency of all L1s. We will continue to disclose key metrics of various networks, allowing everyone to understand the operation of all L1s.
PGNode has just begun, and if you have any suggestions, feel free to reach out at [email protected].