D2 Rangers Path Forward Vote

Background

D2 DAO is established as a non-profit entity under the jurisdiction of the Marshall Islands, solely possessing the d2.finance domain and its associated decentralized application (dApp). Upon exhausting its financial reserves in spring 2024, external entities voluntarily contributed approximately $250,000 to sustain operations. This figure excludes additional opportunity costs, which are estimated to significantly exceed this direct financial contribution.

Clarification of Legal Scope

Any outcome of this proposal explicitly does not alter existing claims over asset management operations or revenues generated thereby. This limitation was previously established and clearly articulated in legally binding Snapshot votes:

"The D2 DAO exclusively holds operational control over the d2.finance dApp and domain. It exercises no control or claim over the asset management entity, nor any associated revenues or financial results arising from its operations."

https://snapshot.box/#/s:d2dao.eth/proposal/0x8e231e0453f09f2d796dc365dcda26773270f52f4abcfe11c085e48c6f1e45b6

https://snapshot.box/#/s:d2dao.eth/proposal/0xd6f8cf602ced2b4774d35f000ef9ac9a8c703417c42990c5fd6e3d132725696f

This clarification is reiterated here to eliminate any ambiguity among stakeholders.

Ecosystem Context

Arbitrum: Although D2 Finance notably enhanced yield opportunities within the Arbitrum ecosystem, prolonged ecosystem underperformance severely diminished the practical value of the voluntary D2 token airdrop. Projects such as Dopex and Jones exemplify the broader ecosystem’s struggles, compounded further by numerous unsuccessful initiatives (e.g., Isekai, Adapter.fi, Loud). Currently, Arbitrum exhibits a significant decline in active user participation, making it improbable that even market-leading products developed by D2 Finance would attract substantial user engagement or ecosystem support.

Berachain: Early in the year, D2 Rangers, who were granted governance voting rights, had the opportunity to stake holdings into the xD2e structure intended to capture Berachain-related potential. Due to Berachain execution delays and substantial ecosystem underperformance, anticipated Berachain upside did not materialize. Comprehensive documentation outlining these strategic decisions have been discussed in discord and mediums.

In addition, the gamified framework the DAO originally believed would succeed on Berachain has instead complicated institutional due diligence, hindering capital inflows and broader ecosystem growth.

Financial Reality

Cumulative platform-generated fees total approximately $190k, significantly below operational costs, which, under optimal conditions and with proper personnel, are in the ballpark of $1 million annually.

For additional context, D2 Rangers through xD2e hold 1.555M xD2 tokens, representing 3.11% of the total supply of 50 million tokens, equating to roughly $5,900 in hypothetical attribution. This figure is illustrative only, does not represent actual owed or payable amounts, and notably excludes the substantial financial support predominantly sourced through external contributions since spring 2024.

Operational Status: The platform currently incurs financial losses without additional external financial contributions, severely limiting its capacity to recruit qualified personnel.

EDA Token Status and Outlook

Meaningful economic value realization from EDA token issuance remains improbable without substantial changes in broader market behavior and platform growth. Recent market dynamics, including predatory VC-backed issuances, have eroded trust and significantly diminished the marginal demand for altcoins.

All prior EDA-related communications should be considered outdated, with previously designed gamification structures rendered ineffective by Berachain’s unsuccessful execution.

New Revenue Opportunity for D2 Rangers via Hyperliquid Builder Codes

Hyperliquid has rapidly established itself as one of DeFi’s most successful platforms. Perhaps most notably also D2 strategies as Hype++ trade ~millions daily in Hyperliquid since December 2024.

Hyperliquid recently launched Builder Codes, a permissionless feature allowing projects to easily monetize their trading volume by integrating directly into Hyperliquid’s liquidity. Projects using Builder Codes have already demonstrated significant revenue generation (e.g., $7 million from PvP.Trade alone). See Hyperliquid builder code revenue dashboard revenue:

https://www.hypeburn.fun/builders

Integrating builder code revenue into the D2 ecosystem could enable:

• Sustainable revenue through hyperliquid fees rebates.
• Efficient trading of basket-based products via a dedicated platform leveraging Hyperliquid’s deep liquidity and infrastructure and HIP-3; hWorld was just a first example.
• Builder code revenue split: Part of tokenized claims from Hyperliquid rebates may be issued directly to D2 Dao, potentially enabling secondary market trading of such tokenized revenues for its members. The increased adoption and prominence of Hyperliquid as a foundational financial infrastructure may enhance the value derived from transaction flow across multiple products. However, specific dynamics, valuations, and market acceptance remain uncertain and speculative at this stage, as HIP-3 is not yet live. No guarantees of profitability, marketability, or liquidity are provided or implied. Even under conservative assumptions, this strategy is anticipated—but not guaranteed—to offer a more favorable probabilistic return for D2 Rangers relative to the current status quo.
• Enhanced attractiveness to institutional traders, providing competitive liquidity and superior trading execution in trading in size for both the hedge funds products and handpicked counterparties.

Examples such as PvP Trade highlight the substantial revenue potential and effectiveness of Builder Code integration. Increased institutional capital and trading activity can significantly enhance the value proposition and transactional volume for the D2 ecosystem.

The potential revenue from Hyperliquid Builder Codes—should it materialize—will be distributed with preferential consideration given to historical xD2e and strategies holdings.

In short, adopting Hyperliquid Builder Codes positions D2 to capture new, scalable revenue streams and enhance platform usability—potentially delivering meaningful benefits to long-term D2 supporters, despite the failure of the Berachain initiative, which was the sole intended upside for xD2e staking.

User Feedback and Strategic Implications

Multiple users have explicitly stated that no dedicated token is required for the hedge fund product, aligning with simplified institutional due diligence. Institutional feedback indicates tokens as liabilities rather than assets in serious TradFi contexts.

HIP-3 fundamentally transformed the available landscape, creating previously unattainable opportunities and expanding alternative paths.

Proposed Strategic Options

🟢 Let Them Cook (Hyperliquid) Integrate Hyperliquid Builder Codes to enable potentially scalable, sustainable revenue sharing for D2 Rangers—within a platform independent of the external asset manager. This may include long-term rebates from Hyperliquid and retains optionality for future EDA issuance. The asset manager may continue to distribute strategies via d2.finance at its sole discretion and own cost, with no guarantees or obligations to third parties.

🟡 CTO (Commercial Takeover) Buy out the dApp backend infrastructure from the current asset manager (~50% of original cost, 125k USDC). Includes the dApp source code (audited Solidity is already open-source) and a 3-month non-compete agreement.

🔴 Rage Quit Wind down operations with a three-months withdrawal window for front-end (smart contract is technically forever). Distribute residual funds (~20k BERA + ~36k USDC recovered from LP) pro-rata based on xD2e holdings.

Empathy and Stakeholder Consideration

We deeply empathize with our stakeholders and acknowledge their disappointment resulting from external circumstances beyond our control relative to the unrealized Berachain initiative. Although future fundraising and development initiatives carry no assurances of profitability, returns, or market success, our objective remains to voluntary align the interests of supportive stakeholders with emerging market opportunities.

Specifically, integrating Hyperliquid Builder Codes offers potential avenues for sustainable, scalable revenue streams via transaction-based rebates. Tokenized claims from these rebates may be directly issued to long term stakeholders contingent upon market adoption and regulatory conditions. While outcomes remain speculative and uncertain, we believe that this strategic approach represents a materially improved probabilistic scenario for D2 Rangers. No guarantees of profitability, marketability, or liquidity are expressed or implied herein.

Legal and Binding Clarification

This vote is FINAL AND LEGALLY BINDING, governed explicitly under the jurisdiction of the Marshall Islands.

Special Consideration and Buyout Clause

If "Let Them Cook" is approved, all stakeholders who voted for "Rage Quit" or "CTO" will receive a mandatory pro-rata buyout and will irrevocably forfeit all current and future roles, rights, and privileges within the D2 ecosystem. This clause has been enacted to preserve operational integrity under the DAO’s legal structure governed by the Marshall Islands.

It is further reiterated that D2 tokens on the Arbitrum blockchain are permanently disassociated from the platform and hold no current or future economic value, rights, or utility. No guarantees—express or implied—are provided regarding the future use, performance, or tradability of any related tokens, and all participants acknowledge the inherent risk in voting outcomes and DAO decisions.