Uniswap Foundation requests $62.37M to fund ecosytem growth

• Uniswap Foundation is requesting for $62.37 million to support growth of the Uniswap ecosytem.
• An on-chain vote on the foundation’s proposal will be taken on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.

The Uniswap Foundation has submitted a governance proposal requesting for $62.37 million funding as it looks to continue supporting the Uniswap’s ecosystem growth.

Uniswap Foundation eyes $62.37 million funding

Today’s proposal follows last year’s request that asked for $74 million in funding to create the Uniswap Foundation. A governance vote granted the proposal, with funds split in two tranches as had been requested. 

At the time, the idea was that the second of the tranches would be requested via an on-chain vote – which is what the UF has done.

“The reason for breaking our funding into two tranches was to allow for the UF to finalize the completion of its legal entity, and to formally receive non-profit 501(c)4 status from the IRS (and thus receive clarity on tax implications), prior to receiving the larger portion of funds. We are pleased to have received that status in Spring of this year,” said Devin Walsh, Executive Director and co-founder of Uniswap Foundation.

10% more funds to mitigate price risks

The initial proposal had the UF receiving $20 million in the first tranche, with 2,547,002 UNI tokens requested. However, a 13.7% dip in the price of UNI after the request – from $8.14 to $7.05 – saw the group receive only $17.3 million.

To mitigate any potential price volatility, the foundation wants the final share of the funding to have a 10% buffer. This means adding an extra $5.67 million to the $56.7 million that remained from the $74 million granted. The UF has thus asked for $62.37 million, setting a one week on-chain vote for the proposal on Wednesday, October 4.

According to Walsh, the Uniswap Foundation plans to use the money to support the Uniswap ecosystem, splitting the $56.7 million into two categories – operations and grants. The funds will be used in employee compensation packages, developer support, providing a 6-month runway in cash and investment in low-risk yield bearing assets.