BIP-21: Optimization of Brand, Token, and Tokenomics

This proposal is co-authored by Cateatpeanut and the Mantle Network team.

Observations

BitDAO was established as an open platform for ideas, with experiments in subDAO-type initiatives, community initiatives, and $BIT-powered products. The current hypothesis is that "Products" are the primary strategy for user and developer engagement, Web3 adoption, and long-term $BIT prosperity.

There is fragmentation of communities, messaging, and mind-share between the Governance (BitDAO) and Product (Mantle) components of the existing BIT ecosystem. There is complexity as to whether $BIT should be valued for its governance component or product component or some combination.

Objective

This proposal aims to recommend changes to branding and structuring that lead to the greatest long-term token holder prosperity, provide the greatest chances of success for core products (e.g. Mantle Network), and preserves the governance and economic rights of token holders.

Proposal

1\ Apply a "One brand, One token" principle.

a. Position mantle.xyz as the unified ecosystem brand with a product focus.

• Product components utilize the Mantle brand, for example mantle.xyz/network and mantle.xyz/lsd.
• Governance components adopt the Mantle brand, for example mantle.xyz/governance.
• Changes from BitDAO.io shall be a cosmetic rebrand only - all existing governance processes are preserved including proposals, budgeting, and treasury resource management.
• The existing BitDAO Treasury holdings and exposure shall remain under the governance of token holders. The treasury will be referred to as the Mantle Treasury.

b. Authorize a token conversion plan.

• Token conversion rules and ratios shall apply to all token holders equally.
• There shall be a flexible conversion period instead of a "balance snapshot" for more convenient user experience. Therefore, existing token holders do not have to take any preparatory actions, and new buyers may buy $BIT in preparation for the conversion.
• The new token design, conversion mechanisms, and conversion channels shall be shared after the audit.

2\ Simplify tokenomics for a fresh start for the Mantle Network mainnet, and token listings.

a. Accelerate all BIP-20 contributions and BitDAO launch vesting schedules.

Supporting Information

Disclaimer: The information provided below describes the current direction of design and structure options but is not an official component of the proposal. Any changes made must comply with the terms outlined in the official proposal.

One Brand One Token

Current

||Ecosystem|Product Components|Governance Components| | --- | --- | --- | --- | |Brand|BitDAO, Mantle, BIT Ecosystem|Mantle [Network], TBD|BitDAO , BitDAO Treasury| |Token|$BIT|$BIT|$BIT|

Proposed

||Ecosystem|Product Components|Governance Components| | --- | --- | --- | --- | |Brand|Mantle|Mantle [Network], Mantle [TBD]|Mantle [Governance], Mantle [Treasury]| |Token|$BIT --> Mantle*|$BIT --> Mantle*|$BIT --> Mantle*|

*ticker symbol TBD

Token Design

• The new token will incorporate the latest design principles and features, including additional features to support Mantle products and Mantle governance, with references to peer token designs and functionality (e.g. layer 2 tokens and DAO tokens).

• Preliminary research and design will be shared for community feedback.

Token Conversion

• Multiple official token conversion channels will be established to support the transition.

• The token conversion may introduce a fixed exchange rate for all users, which preserves all existing proportions of governance rights and other interests.

• The token conversion will be a gradual process with various official conversion channels for holders to select from. Existing holders will have the option to convert their tokens at any time during the transition.

Tokenomic Simplification

• All contributions due from BIP-20 (2.58b $BIT) and remaining vesting schedules from launch (2.8125b $BIT) will be accelerated. This will simplify the token circulating supply and make it more predictable, with no outstanding vesting schedules inherited from the original BitDAO launch.

• All distributions from the treasury shall continue to be approved via the governance process, providing an advantage versus other projects that have significant investor and founding team vesting schedules.

• Tokenomics aggregators and media companies will no longer report large amounts of monthly vesting.

Governance

• This proposal will not result in material changes to the existing governance process.

• Ideas and discussions are welcome on a permissionless forum, and proposals require ratification by the token holder vote on Snapshot.

• Although governance parameters including proposal threshold, vote threshold, vote duration will remain effectively the same, there may be proportional adjustments to the numbers due to the token conversion ratio.

Resource Management and the Treasury

• This proposal will not result in material changes to the existing resource management process.

• The treasury will remain under the general governance of token holders, and not any specific product line or initiative.

• Product lines such as Mantle Network (Rollup) will still be required to submit budget request proposals (such as BIP-19), and tracking of capital calls and spending will be available at Treasury Monitor.

Existing Initiatives

• This proposal will not result in material changes to existing initiatives.

• Existing initiatives, for example Game7 and EduDAO, will maintain their rights to determine their brand, governance processes, mission, and strategy.

Website and Naming Conventions

• The overall ecosystem will be called Mantle, and the website will be https://www.mantle.xyz/.

• The existing Rollup project will be referred to as Mantle Network.

• New product lines which are powered by the Mantle token will use the naming convention Mantle [Name] as a default.

• The existing governance and DAO will be referred to as Mantle Governance. This signals flexibility to explore governance mechanisms and parameters that work for our ecosystem, including operating councils, on-chain and off-chain voting, vote modification schemes, budgeting processes, and more.

• All Mantle branded product lines, governance components, and initiatives will be under the umbrella website https://www.mantle.xyz/ .

• To assist with the transition, the bitdao.io website components will be maintained for some time, with redirects to the corresponding Mantle Governance pages.