RIP #25 - Investment into OtterClam/Ottopia (CLAM)

OtterClam is an ohm-form turned into DAO-governed treasury alongside an NFT game on Polygon (MATIC). You can read a full introduction of the protocol along with all documentation here: https://docs.ottopia.app/

Investment Thesis: CLAM is currently trading under backing per token (~$2.5 Market Price vs. ~$3.2 Backing). The DAO has also shifted from the classic ohm-fork model (inflationary token via rebases) to a model that is deflationary (no rebases and burns from Ottopia revenue). This means there is no more inherent dilution of the backing value. https://otterclam.medium.com/introducing-clam-pond-and-pearl-bank-ce7a9fa46407

The DAO has also shifted it's model to direct yield gained by the treasury to:

1. Clam Pond: Where users can stake clam, and receive auto-compounding clam via the treasury buying back CLAM from the LP with yield and distributing it to Clam Pond stakers.

2. Pearl Bank: Where users can stake CLAM, and receive USD+ (USD+ is an interest-bearing stablecoin fully collateralized by $USDC, $DAI, as well as $USDT) from the treasury yield.

The treasury has been providing an average 60% APR to the staking pools over the past couple weeks, ranging on the day from 40% to 100%+. https://ottopia.app/treasury/dashboard

And last but certainly not least, although the backing per clam takes into account all circulating CLAM with claim, there is a large portion of the CLAM supply that is currently inactive in the old staking contracts. Meaning, the yield for the entire DAO is only being distributed to those staking in the new framework, increasing their share of the yield.

TL;DR:

• Deflationary token
• Trading under backing
• Has stable coin holdings that provide backing close to market price
• Farming power per $ much higher than market price (trading below backing & not all circulating supply is staked)
• Very active and healthy governance system and discussion in the discord

Negatives/Potential risks:

• Significant team salary expenses, currently covered by treasury yield but could be a problem in the future.
• Potential smart contract risk (including all of the treasury investments)
• Potential mismanagement of directional treasury funds

Execution: If we vote to make an investment into CLAM, a multisig will be set up on MATIC, the authorized amount will be transferred over and converted into USD+, and the multisig will attempt to purchase CLAM strategically when under backing. I have also been in conversation with team members from OtterClam and we will attempt to OTC CLAM to absorb selling pressure from the team if possible. If the market does not allow us to purchase under backing value, we will not purchase any clam even if we have the funds to do so.

This RIP is to decide whether or not to authorize treasury funds for investing to CLAM, how much if so, and where to stake them. The options are as follows:

1. Do not invest into CLAM
2. Invest in CLAM, up to $50k USDT, Clam Pond
3. Invest in CLAM, up to $100k USDT, Clam Pond
4. Invest in CLAM, up to $50k USDT, Pearl Bank
5. Invest in CLAM, up to $100k USDT, Pearl Bank

If a pearl bank option is chosen, USD+ rewards will be swapped to USDT and directed back to AVAX.

My spreadsheet with current CLAM treasury calculations can be found here: https://i.imgur.com/BZkplu9.png