[HIP-49] Deprecation of Ulysses Gauges (Batch 2)

I. Summary

This proposal recommends the deprecation of Hermes gauges connected to the Ulysses protocol and a subsequent update to the user interface to transition Ulysses integration into a “Withdraw-Only” state.

Since the initial integration of Ulysses, our platform has shipped and matured the Meta-Bridge, a native cross-chain product designed to support modern token standards and protocol-owned bridging flows. As the broader cross-chain market has evolved, the industry has consolidated around sovereign, native standards (such as LayerZero OFTs and xERC20s) that allow protocols to retain full control over their assets, messaging, and upgrade paths.

Because the Meta-Bridge already fulfills this role natively—and is fully supported by our existing UI and incentives framework, continuing to direct emissions and UI surface area toward Ulysses is no longer the most efficient use of protocol resources.

This proposal formalizes a transition toward the Meta-Bridge and other native-standard integrations, ensuring our incentives, product surface, and capital allocation remain aligned with where the market and our partners are actively building.

II. Motivation & Rationale

The Shift Toward Sovereign Infrastructure

When Ulysses was integrated, the cross-chain landscape was fragmented, and liquidity-layer solutions were necessary to bridge gaps between chains. However, the market has matured. Protocols today prioritize ownership and sovereignty. They are increasingly opting for native cross-chain token standards (like OFTs and xERC20s) that allow them to control their own infrastructure rather than delegating custody and bridging logic to a third-party liquidity protocol like Ulysses.

The Meta-Bridge was built specifically to support this shift, enabling protocols to retain end-to-end control while benefiting from a unified, native user experience.

Market Traction & Resource Allocation

Ulysses has not seen the level of sustained adoption necessary to justify ongoing incentives in the current market environment. This outcome reflects evolving industry preferences rather than any deficiency in the underlying technology.

Continuing to allocate Hermes emissions and gauges to Ulysses pools dilutes incentive efficiency and fragments liquidity. By deprecating these gauges, we can concentrate incentives on Meta-Bridge routes and other native-standard integrations that are already seeing active usage and align more closely with partner demand.

Immutability & User Safety

It is important to clarify that this is a UI and Incentive shift, not a shutdown of the underlying blockchain infrastructure.

• Immutable Contracts: The Ulysses smart contracts are immutable. They cannot be paused, upgraded, or shut down by us or anyone else.
• Funds are Safe: Users will retain the ability to interact with the smart contracts indefinitely.
• UI Transition: Upon the passing of this proposal, the official UI will start a transition to simply remove "Deposit" functionality for Ulysses and hide these pools from the active "Earn" sections as they are removed through governance proposals. The "Withdraw" functionality will remain accessible through the UI to facilitate an easy exit for current liquidity providers.

III. Governance Details

Actions

If passed, this proposal will execute the following:

1. Remove Gauges: Remove gauges for all Ulysses-related pools, stopping all Hermes emissions to these strategies.
2. UI Update: Update the frontend to "Withdraw Only" mode for Ulysses, guiding users to migrate liquidity to newer, standard-aligned pools.

Timeline

This proposal will follow the standard Hermes Gauge approval governance process:

1. Temperature Check (3 days): Open forum discussion and early sentiment gathering.
2. On-Chain Vote (3 days): Formal token-holder vote through the governance module.
3. Execution Queue (2 days): Mandatory delay before execution to allow final review or veto mechanisms.

IV. Calldata

Target: 0xE64278005e0F00cd6199d000386b018d7C000000 Function: removeGauge(address) Value: 0

Gauge Name: Metis m.USDT Gauge Address:

• 0xC2A443258ED8E73e1BE607671Ade05d0318a5F21 Calldata:
• 0x3a045145000000000000000000000000c2a443258ed8e73e1be607671ade05d0318a5f21

Gauge Name: Mainnet USDT Gauge Address:

• 0xa5CA905487911F500721FBbf080553Fabe16191F Calldata:
• 0x3a045145000000000000000000000000a5ca905487911f500721fbbf080553fabe16191f

Gauge Name: Mainnet USDC Gauge Address:

• 0x390933a42946273f5430138281f469522f5Ba52f Calldata:
• 0x3a045145000000000000000000000000390933a42946273f5430138281f469522f5ba52f

Gauge Name: Sonic stkscUSD Gauge Address:

• 0x98ed55723eE3D9e9DA4B1BBD58862f017783c8ae Calldata:
• 0x3a04514500000000000000000000000098ed55723ee3d9e9da4b1bbd58862f017783c8ae

Gauge Name: Sonic Anon Gauge Address:

• 0x2E33c9BeF049E19B372CDF7eec493E28Eb49A3C7 Calldata:
• 0x3a0451450000000000000000000000002e33c9bef049e19b372cdf7eec493e28eb49a3c7

Gauge Name: Sonic BRUSH Gauge Address:

• 0x49d0e9473b46eF66f8762f92a41409707Ff0cE5B Calldata:
• 0x3a04514500000000000000000000000049d0e9473b46ef66f8762f92a41409707ff0ce5b

Gauge Name: Sonic stkscETH Gauge Address:

• 0xb51602828017782059b87De1868AD68e9cC06eE3 Calldata:
• 0x3a045145000000000000000000000000b51602828017782059b87de1868ad68e9cc06ee3

Gauge Name: Sonic stS / GOGLZ Gauge Address:

• 0x819BeD29f779e2Db97f8B68fDE57155D15f76c03 Calldata:
• 0x3a045145000000000000000000000000819bed29f779e2db97f8b68fde57155d15f76c03

Gauge Name: Sonic BEETS / stS Gauge Address:

• 0x24045f7143B27C10744B2Ce26893b3A15CfEda4B Calldata:
• 0x3a04514500000000000000000000000024045f7143b27c10744b2ce26893b3a15cfeda4b

Gauge Name: Metis m.USDC Gauge Address:

• 0x7C5F622C32788AcB676C85a73273ca139DA4172f Calldata:
• 0x3a0451450000000000000000000000007c5f622c32788acb676c85a73273ca139da4172f