ZIP - Proposal - Activating ZFI Utility Through Fee Redistribution and Strategy Access Incentives

Title: Activating ZFI Utility Through Fee Redistribution and Strategy Access Incentives Author: Gauthier Vila / ZyFAI DAO Date: 2025-07-09

Preliminary Note:
This is Version 2 of the proposal. It incorporates community feedback received so far.

Summary: This proposal aims to activate real utility for both the ZFI token (on Base & ZKsync) and its staked version, stZFI (currently on ZKsync only), within the ZyFi and ZyFAI ecosystems. Currently, no protocol fees are being distributed. This proposal seeks to correct that by implementing fee flows and informing the community about other mechanisms that reflect the value these tokens are intended to capture. Motivation:
ZFI and stZFI holders currently do not benefit from any value accrual mechanisms, despite the usage and adoption of the underlying products. The absence of live fee routing prevents long-term alignment between token holders and protocol growth. This proposal introduces initial mechanisms to ensure that activity on both ZyFi and ZyFAI contributes to token utility and value. The first mechanism introduces a 10% performance fee on all ZyFAI strategies. 100% of these fees will be routed to the DAO’s cross-chain multisig wallet that will be created specifically for this. Fees can only be switched or changed by a new DAO proposal. While the system will begin collecting value from day one, redistribution of these fees — whether through buybacks, burns, or rewards to stZFI holders — will be proposed separately in a future vote, once legal and infrastructure considerations are complete. The second mechanism — for informational purposes — involves token-gated access to upcoming Degen strategies. This mechanism will be implemented by the company, not the DAO. Its structure is being refined with legal advisors to ensure compliance and effectiveness. All feedback from the community has helped shape the current design. The next versions of Agent strategies could require users to hold at least 20,000 ZFI to access it. Users who do not meet the threshold or who sell after deployment may be automatically rebalanced into the Safe strategy.

Mechanism:
Performance Fee Redistribution: A 10% performance fee will be introduced across all ZyFAI strategies. 100% of this amount will be sent to a cross-chain multisig smart account managed by the DAO. The ZyFAI team will technically implement this fee based on the performance of deployed agents and the yield they generate. These fees will begin accumulating immediately. A future proposal will determine how they are distributed — options may include token buybacks, burns, or redistributions to stZFI holders.

Technical implementation details: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1edNOU43SbOO5S_OWEvnW0zIOjWKLJIHA8xps_HDrfRQ/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.ueawpdfwg0ls

Implementation: The ZyFAI team will implement all the processes, and will deploy a multichain Vault contract that acts both as the fee collector and DAO treasury. This Vault will be controlled by a DAO-managed multisig wallet. The current fee rate will be stored in this contract and can be updated only through a governance-approved multisig transaction, ensuring that the community maintains full control over the protocol's fee policy.

Token-Gated Strategy Access (Informational): The company plans to introduce a gating mechanism for access to future “Degen” strategies. This feature, based on legal guidance, will not be governed by the DAO but managed directly by the team. The expected requirement is a minimum holding of 20,000 ZFI. Users who fall below this threshold after strategy deployment may be automatically rebalanced into the Safe strategy. This implementation reflects strong early demand and helps drive token utility without introducing unnecessary risk or decentralization concerns.

FIRST_CHECK Link: https://zyfai.discourse.group/t/proposal-update-v-2-activating-zfi-utility-through-fee-redistribution-and-strategy-access-incentives/43/3