LIP-25 Remove staking for V1 and V2 NFTs

Authors: Hatchy, Ani, Lemz

Summary:

This LIP proposes the removal of the staking contract for Ethlizards NFTs and converts to a standard claim mechanism.

Abstract:

The current Ethlizards staking contract has existing technical bugs that require a rewrite and redeployment to function properly. The cost to holders and the DAO of performing this is high compared to the value for the DAO.

Rather than taking on this cost, the proposed solution is the removal of staking for Ethlizards NFTs and using a simplified claim mechanism instead.

Rationale:

Current stakers are eligible for a weighted return on the first liquidation from the Portfolio sub-DAO but this will be relatively small given current market valuations and the allocation will be reset after the first revenue distribution. Primary value generation of airdrops of $LIZ, Elemental Lizards, external project tokens, and whitelists can continue for all lizard holders regardless of staking status.

As the goal of staking is to allow the rewarding of long-term and active holders, simply ensuring that any distributions are unannounced in advance has a similar positive impact that prevents the negative buy/sell activities associated with front-running.

Saving the costs of a contract rewrite and retaining holder flexibility and confidence in the technical solutions of the ecosystem remain priorities. The long-term vision of Ethlizards' holders is well established and removal of the staking contract has no substantial impact on this.

The vast majority of staked NFTs (80%+) are already eligible for immediate unlocks so this doesn’t provide a particular impact to one group of stakers (new vs old).

A notable change would be that the removal of Ethlizards staking would result in deprecation of Locked Lizard NFTs (LLZs) and the ability to use them in lieu of Ethlizards NFTs for token-gated activities within the Lizard Labs or partner ecosystems.

Specifications:

Remove all NFTs from the staking contract and implement a claim window for the revenue distributions and any future airdrops as needed. A separate LIP must address distribution processes and the council/investment structure for the Portfolio Sub-DAO.