[EXAIP-27] Exa Labs Development Plan for Q1-26

Proposal ID: EXAIP-27 Proposer: Exa Labs Date: December 01, 2025

Summary

This proposal requests allocating 130k USDC per month to Exa Labs during Q1 2026 (January–March), for a total of 390k USDC.

This budget continues the model established in EXAIP-22, ensuring stable development, maintenance, and operations for the Exa App and Exactly Protocol.

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Motivation

Exa Labs is responsible for all core development and operational needs of the Exa App and Exactly Protocol, including:

• Smart contracts and protocol maintenance
• Exa App development (credit flows, wallet infra, gas sponsorship)
• Integrations (Uphold, Rain Cards, Persona ID, Base App)
• Backend/API services
• Infrastructure and node/RPC systems (Alchemy)
• Security and audit readiness (ABDK, Sherlock)

As usage grows and card volume increases, maintaining uninterrupted development capacity becomes essential. This proposal ensures continuity throughout Q1 2026.

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Budget

Month	Amount
January 2026	130,000 USDC
February 2026	130,000 USDC
March 2026	130,000 USDC
Total	390,000 USDC

Funds will be streamed monthly from the DAO Saving Account Multisig, following the same structure as defined in EXAIP-22.

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Scope of Work

1. Core Protocol Development

• Contract maintenance and upgrades
• Exa Card repayment + BNPL flows
• New integrations and protocol improvements

2. Infrastructure

• RPC/node services
• Backend API and database maintenance
• CI/CD pipelines and monitoring

3. Security

• Internal audits
• External audit preparation
• Dependency and library updates

4. Exa App Enhancements

• UX/UI improvements
• Wallet/multisig support
• Onchain credit workflows
• Analytics, limits, repayment options

5. Operations & Documentation

• Developer documentation
• Governance reporting
• Production support

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Conclusion

The proposed budget:

• Maintains stability as Exa Card transaction volume grows
• Supports mission-critical infra (KYC flows, lending, onchain credit)
• Provides predictable development continuity
• Follows the precedent set by EXAIP-22