[GIP-232] Business Development Initiative & Referral Program

Author: @apeir99n and @ivangbi 👾 RV

Summary

As the DeFi market increasingly mirrors TradFi and Web2 with standardized business development practices, we are proposing a dedicated business development initiative. To support this effort, we propose creating a separate referral program. While GIP-120 addresses external entities, this initiative is focused on internal business development resources.

Proposed Incentive Structure: Rewards will be structured based on the sales/acquisition channel using a KPI-driven approach.

Motivation for Referral Bonuses: Gearbox pools generate varying revenue streams. Currently, Gearbox pools curated by Chaos Labs earn 25% of the spread. However, pools containing volatile assets like ETH and BTC tend to have lower performance compared to stablecoin pools. Therefore, different multipliers for bonuses are proposed for these pools. Additionally, Gearbox is transitioning to a permissionless model where curators will be able to launch their own pools. In such cases, Gearbox’s revenue share will likely be lower, so a third multiplier is proposed for pools curated by external agents.

KPI Calculation:

1. Referral Fee will be paid quarterly (if launched now, the first premium will be paid at the end of June).
2. Referral Fee Calculation: 2.1 For pools curated by Gearbox DAO & Chaos Labs:

• Stable pools: 0.04% premium on cumulative attracted liquidity.
• Volatile pools (ETH, BTC, wstETH, etc.): 0.016% premium on cumulative attracted liquidity. 2.2 For pools curated by external Risk Curators: Premium: 0.008% from attracted liquidity.

3. Referral Fee is paid only if the cumulative attracted TVL exceeds the following thresholds. These metrics apply to each individual participant, and the counting of quarterly periods begins from the actual start date of their work—not from the beginning of the calendar year:

• Q1: $10M
• Q2: $22M
• Q3: $35M
• Q4: $55M (+ an additional $10K bonus for reaching $100M TVL)

5. Attracted liquidity is calculated based on referral links and equals the aggregated amount of liquidity provided to passive pools. It is measured at the end of each quarter.
6. Referral Fee are paid 50% in the pool’s asset and 50% in GEAR. The GEAR price is calculated as the 2-week TWAP before the payment date.

Eligibility: The list of eligible participants will be determined by the Vibes multisig, which will inform the Foundation/DAO about who can participate in this program and under which referral link. In coordination with the Gearbox Foundation, identification and due diligence / KYC verification may be requested as part of the candidate approval process.

This vote also authorizes the Gearbox Foundation, if needed, to enter into agreements with approved participants.

It is expected that the program will initially open one vacant slot. However, depending on the program’s success, this vote grants Vibes multisig the authority to expand the number of available slots to up to three, if necessary.

This initiative aims to optimize our internal business development efforts while ensuring efficient liquidity allocation within the Gearbox ecosystem.

Voting

Simple Approve/Reject