[HIP-48] Deprecation of Ulysses Gauges (Batch 1)

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: Mainnet FRAX Gauge Address:

• 0x100c99025651BD248AA8D120aA1643d9760e2041 Calldata:
• 0x3a045145000000000000000000000000100c99025651bd248aa8d120aa1643d9760e2041

Gauge Name: Optimism FRAX Gauge Address:

• 0x14d3868bfEEA9A159d85B308C00A2AF36147ae0f Calldata:
• 0x3a04514500000000000000000000000014d3868bfeea9a159d85b308c00a2af36147ae0f

Gauge Name: Mainnet sfrxETH Gauge Address:

• 0xDFa034889E104273C7777f654013AA7C62a726dB Calldata:
• 0x3a045145000000000000000000000000dfa034889e104273c7777f654013aa7c62a726db

Gauge Name: Fraxtal sfrxETH Gauge Address:

• 0xe0dFE084A5698f43ed6FBCFc4AadE79Bc3528B01 Calldata:
• 0x3a045145000000000000000000000000e0dfe084a5698f43ed6fbcfc4aade79bc3528b01

Gauge Name: Optimism sfrxETH Gauge Address:

• 0xF73A590A4FC3847Dc3ddd4F48631eB4752EA698a Calldata:
• 0x3a045145000000000000000000000000f73a590a4fc3847dc3ddd4f48631eb4752ea698a

Gauge Name: Fraxtal wfrxETH Gauge Address:

• 0xDaefd244291404408b016Fd738B0950e1952eC19 Calldata:
• 0x3a045145000000000000000000000000daefd244291404408b016fd738b0950e1952ec19

Gauge Name: Optimism USDT Gauge Address:

• 0x0239Db45Ed8d846a9964E6346975501A242b948C Calldata:
• 0x3a0451450000000000000000000000000239db45ed8d846a9964e6346975501a242b948c

Gauge Name: Ulysses Optimism Stack USDC Gauge Address:

• 0x1fc8d3637769c4dF7050F0Ef382971ACd93f2e76 Calldata:
• 0x3a0451450000000000000000000000001fc8d3637769c4df7050f0ef382971acd93f2e76

Gauge Name: Ulysses Alt L1s USDT Gauge Address:

• 0xf6089a44d8F62aA047aC993E5536533ab0d451cd Calldata:
• 0x3a045145000000000000000000000000f6089a44d8f62aa047ac993e5536533ab0d451cd

Gauge Name: Ulysses Alt L1s USDC Gauge Address:

• 0x0853710C74Bae37C6921C87681412cF4909D8c1E Calldata:
• 0x3a0451450000000000000000000000000853710c74bae37c6921c87681412cf4909d8c1e