[HGP-69] Proposed Governance Changes for Epoch 12

Summary

As part of ongoing efforts to streamline governance, adapt to market conditions, and ensure sustainable funding for the Hummingbot ecosystem, I propose the following changes for Epoch 12 in my sole capacity as HBOT holder:

Each sub-proposal will be implemented only if it receives 50% approval from participating HBOT holders, provided the overall proposal meets quorum.

1. Simplify Connector Polls:

• Summary: Consolidate the current three separate exchange connector polls (CLOB spot, CLOB perps, AMM) into a single quarterly poll that decides which exchanges the official Hummingbot codebase should support and allocates HBOT maintenance budget across their connectors.

Current System:

• Epochs currently include three separate connector polls (CLOB spot, CLOB perpe, AMM), each requiring voter participation.
• It requires classification of connectors into one of the three categories. The top 4 connectors in each poll receive maintenance budget proportional to their vote share, but other connectors receive no maintenance budget.

Proposed Changes:

• Summary: Merge into a single quarterly "Exchange Connectors Poll" where HBOT holders select exchanges rather than individual connector types, with each exchange vote determining support for all its connector types that Hummingbot supports (spot, perpetual, AMM, etc.).
• Pro-rata distribution: Connectors receive funding proportional to their vote share, with a per-exchange cap of 1M HBOT to prevent over-concentration.
• Reduce duration to 7 days: Shorten the voting period from two weeks to one week to streamline the governance process.
• Minimum vote threshold: The minimum HBOT vote threshold (see below) applies on a per-exchange basis, rather than per-connector type.

2. Raise Connector Inclusion Threshold to 400K HBOT

• Summary: Increase the minimum HBOT vote threshold for connector eligibility from 200K to 400K HBOT to account for the decline in HBOT’s market price and ensure stronger community consensus for supported exchanges.

Current Threshold

Connectors must receive 200K HBOT votes to qualify for funding.

Proposed Change

Increase the threshold to 400K HBOT to:

• Account for HBOT’s price decline: The threshold’s USD-equivalent value has dropped significantly since inception.
• Ensure meaningful support: Higher thresholds reduce "noise" from low-engagement proposals.

3. Set 18M HBOT Maintenance Budget for Q2-Q4 2025:

• Summary: Allocate 18M HBOT to fund maintenance via developer bounties assigned by the Foundation, with 9M HBOT for specific exchanges (as voted by connector polls) and 9M HBOT for general maintenance. Enable the Foundation to conduct periodic open market buybacks of HBOT to mitigate dilution caused by bounty payouts.

Proposed Allocation:

• Total budget: 18M HBOT (6% of remaining community supply), split as follows:
• 9M HBOT (50%): Allocated per exchange via quarterly polls (3M per quarter) and used by the Foundation on developer bounties to address maintenance needs of each exchange's connectors (bug fixes, API updates, etc).
• 9M HBOT (50%): Allocated to a general maintenance fund, used by the Foundation on developer bounties covering:
  • Core Hummingbot client
  • Environment, tests, CI/CD ( Integrations (e.g. Telegram, TradingView, etc)
  • Other Hummingbot repositories (dashboard, quants-Lab, brokers, hummingbot-site etc.)

Buyback Mechanics:

• Enable the Foundation will do periodic purchases of HBOT to balance supply emitted via developer bounties
• Each purchase will be reported in the HBOT Purchases tab of HBOT Tracker
• Rationale: This ensure HBOT has sufficient economic value

4. Set 2M HBOT Support Budget for Q2-Q4 2025

• Summary: Proposed allocation of 2M HBOT for Foundation to allocate on a monthly basis over the next 9 months to the Discord Support Program (https://hummingbot.org/blog/improvements-to-the-discord-support-program/).
• Rationale: For the past 2 years, this program has been instrumental in helping to support users on the Hummingbot Discord. While we plan to use AI to make this process more efficient and scalable, there still exists needs for human guidance. *The Foundation will conduct the same buyback mechanics to balance HBOT distributions as for maintenance bounties above

5. Set 3M HBOT Trading Competition Budget for Q2-Q4 2025

• Proposed allocation of 3M HBOT for the Foundation to allocate to community-run trading competitions
• Rationale: Trading competitions have proven to be a good way to expand the user base. If approved, the Foundation will set guidelines for the community to apply to receive this funding for eligible trading competitions *The Foundation will conduct the same buyback mechanics to balance HBOT distributions as for maintenance bounties above