GIP-129: Should GnosisDAO establish Seldon Inc and appoint a Gnosis VPN Committee to support the Gnosis VPN project?

PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE PROPOSAL: https://forum.gnosis.io/t/gip-129-should-gnosisdao-establish-seldon-inc-and-appoint-a-gnosis-vpn-committee-to-support-the-gnosis-vpn-project/10316

Summary:

In GIP-98 , Gnosis DAO approved initial research and development for an anonymous VPN running on top of the HOPR mixnet 1, called Gnosis VPN. After a successful proof of concept, in GIP-122 , GnosisDAO approved further development to bring the project to market over two years.

HOPR is responsible for developing the software for the first version of Gnosis VPN, including the Gnosis VPN client itself and improvements to the HOPR mixnet and HOPR Session Protocol needed to make Gnosis VPN work. However, the goal is for Gnosis VPN to be a standalone project entirely separate from the underlying infrastructure and the HOPR team.

To achieve this, Gnosis VPN already requires a legal entity to interact with various vendors and service providers. It also needs a simple governance structure to make decisions and instruct this entity.

This proposal seeks approval to incorporate a new legal entity and establish a delegated Gnosis VPN Committee to instruct it. The proposed name will be Seldon Inc, subject to it being accepted by the local authorities. Otherwise, alternative names given for the entity are Mallow Inc and Maelcum Inc.

This proposal will explain the rationale for Seldon Inc, its structure and initial operational budget, as well as the committee’s structure and mandate.

Motivation Why does Gnosis VPN need a dedicated entity? We expect Gnosis VPN to play a fundamental role in achieving Gnosis’ goal of creating the open internet. Anonymous, unblockable, and uncensorable internet access is essential for sovereign digital identity. VPN services are also big business, with an estimated annual market size of $130bn by 2030. Estimates for 2024 (made in 2020) were all exceeded, so there’s a strong chance that this 2030 estimate will prove conservative.

It was always envisioned that Gnosis VPN would grow to be its own project, separate from HOPR and Gnosis Ltd. Once Gnosis VPN is market ready, it will need to scale, and the primary focus will shift from software development to business development. HOPR is not necessarily best placed to provide this, and in the spirit of web3 it is wise to separate the infrastructure layer from the services running on top of it.

There are, broadly speaking, three legal options for stewarding a project like Gnosis VPN:

Use no incorporated entity at all Run Gnosis VPN using an existing Gnosis entity Establish a new entity for Gnosis VPN

The first may seem appealing for an anonymous web3 VPN powered by a mixnet, but this is infeasible. The goal is to make Gnosis VPN accessible to everyone, which requires a streamlined UX and ready availability of the Gnosis VPN software. On mobile this means being listed in app stores, which will require an incorporated entity to apply for and maintain the listing.

It is also not desirable to subsume Gnosis VPN under an existing Gnosis entity, as Gnosis has a longstanding tradition of decentralization on this front. Like all VPNs, Gnosis VPN is likely to face some level of regulatory scrutiny, which also makes it unwise to lump it together with other Gnosis entities.

Ownership Structure Seldon Inc will be 100% owned by Gnosis DAO Operational Foundation (Cayman). This structure ensures continued ownership by the Gnosis DAO.

Budget and Funding In addition to the legal costs outlined above, Seldon Inc requires a modest operational budget, mostly earmarked for devops and infrastructure costs. Current estimates are for 14 virtual machines, with a range of specifications, to handle gnosisvpn-js and exit nodes in staging and production. A 20% buffer is included in case specifications change, with any further increase requiring a request to the DAO from the Gnosis VPN Committee. The budget below includes all projected costs, including the monthly directors’ fee but not the one-off incorporation fee (to be confirmed, up to $5,110)

Cloud Computing 14 virtual machines 1,950 Networking ~10% of infra costs 195 Support ~20% of infra costs 390 Seldon Admin Panamanian Director Fees 360 IP Leasing /24 IP range subnet 120 Google Workspace Business Starter (5 users @ $8/mo) 40 Buffer 20% costs buffer 611 Monthly Total (Pre-Tax) 3,666 Tax VAT @ 21% 770 Monthly Total (Post-Tax) 4,436 Annual Total (Post-Tax) $53,232

Payment for the indicated services will occur via a dedicated crypto corporate payment service. Dakota has been provisionally chosen, but an alternative may need to be selected in the unlikely event that onboarding cannot be completed. If the GIP passes, payment of funds should be made to the service address provided by the Committee once onboarding is complete.

Note that Seldon Inc is also expected to earn revenue via its exit nodes, although the amounts will depend on user numbers and traffic. If the exit nodes are also used as relay nodes in the HOPR mixnet, they will earn HOPR tokens for relaying, as well as the cover traffic which is distributed to all eligible HOPR nodes.

Conclusion Approving this proposal will enable GnosisDAO to efficiently scale Gnosis VPN with appropriate legal and operational infrastructure, while maintaining GnosisDAO oversight and alignment with the broader Gnosis ecosystem. While we don’t expect the entity or committee to take many actions in the first 12 months, we think it’s important to lay the groundwork well in advance to give Gnosis VPN the best chance to thrive.