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2024 November Polkadot OpenGov Report

Bulls Are in Control! With Bitcoin's rally officially marking the start of the bull market, Bullposters are seizing control of the narrative on social media—a welcome shift after three long years of bear market discussions. Now is the time to activate the resources we've gathered and put the structures we've built into action!

Setting Standards​

The proposal we introduced last month, calling for mandatory standards for bounties in OpenGov, passed with overwhelming support, securing a 97% approval rate.

We now expect all existing bounties to align with these standards, as mandated by OpenGov. The goal is to ensure that every executive body operates with clear guidelines for budgeting, transparency, and compliance. As OpenGov.Watch, we are actively monitoring multiple bounties, and we think adhering to these standards will not only improve governance transparency but also lead the network to more predictable and sustainable budgeting.

As the new year approaches, we are already reaching out to active bounties to assess their situation and work collaboratively to implement these standards. If you’re part of a bounty and have questions or need guidance you can always book a call with the OpenGov.Watch.

Parallel Hack​

A remarkable demonstration of Polkadot governance in action was showcased recently. Parallel Finance, a rollup operating on Polkadot, suffered a governance attack where hackers gained control of user funds on the rollup. Although the Polkadot Relay Chain itself is completely secure, OpenGov had the authority to intervene because the rollup operates under Polkadot’s security umbrella.

Responding to a call for assistance from some ecosystem agents, the Technical Fellowship swiftly proposed a referendum on the Whitelisted Caller track. The proposal aimed to rebond the tokens targeted by the hackers, effectively halting the unbonding process and granting the Parallel team 28 additional days to devise a solution. Importantly, this intervention did not take custody of the funds but rather froze their movement, buying critical time for recovery efforts.

The referendum passed rapidly, with nearly 9% voter turnout, and the rebonding extrinsic was enacted just five days later—mere hours before the unbonding period would have ended. This timely intervention showed the agility of Polkadot’s governance system. Meanwhile, the hackers issued a statement via the root track, accusing the Parallel team of misconduct, further complicating the narrative.

Blockchain hacks and attacks are not uncommon, but this case highlights the unique strength of Polkadot's governance system. Unlike other ecosystems, Polkadot OpenGov can actively intervene across connected chains to solve critical issues. By providing the hacked project valuable time to respond, Polkadot highlighted its effective governance, strong community reaction, and ability to protect the rollups in its ecosystem.

Fixing Pure Proxies​

Another proposal hitting the root track addressed a long-standing issue with pure proxy addresses. Pure proxies are chain-specific, meaning that if a pure proxy received assets on a chain other than its designated one, those assets would become inaccessible to the owner.

This issue notably impacted four major pure proxy wallets funded by OpenGov: Heroic, the Editorial Board, Polytope Labs, and the Polkadot Blockchain Academy. These wallets had stablecoins stuck in their Asset Hub addresses while their pure proxies were set up on the Polkadot relay chain. The Heroic sponsorship deal, which has been widely appreciated for its impactful advertising videos, was the largest among the affected cases.

The proposal, introduced by Radha from Web3 Foundation, aims to resolve this issue, allowing these teams to finally access their stuck funds.

Notable Mentions​

  • Treasury Net Flow Turns Positive: With the decommissioning of the old Marketing Bounty, reckless spending has come to a halt. For the first time in months, Polkadot’s treasury net flow turned positive in November, recording a surplus of over 400k DOT. While the spending from the new Marketing Bounty will likely impact this figure negatively in December, the expectation is for a more balanced net flow throughout 2025. To stay updated on treasury movements, you can explore the Dune dashboard.
  • The New Editorial Board: Polkadot’s main X account has introduced its new editorial board. Following the approval of a recent small spender proposal, Emil, Esther, Flavio, Goku, and Irvin will now contribute to the account's content under the direction of Evan. We extend our congratulations to the new board members and wish them great success in their roles!
  • Ambassador Fellowship: The new Ambassador Fellowship has been successfully approved on the root track. It’s now up to the fellowship to replace the previous ambassador collective with this updated version. Establishing this program has been a long and challenging journey, but a well-structured plan is now on the horizon. A medium spender proposal to fund the collective is also nearing approval. Additionally, a tipper proposal has been submitted to fund Lucy and Don Diego’s efforts in developing the new program. For more details, check out our previous governance report or refer to the summary document of the new collective.
  • Quadratic Funding: The Polkadot community continues to explore innovative funding mechanisms, building on efforts like Optimistic Project Funding and the newly introduced Phragmèn Initiative Fund by the Ambassador Fellowship. Among these alternatives, the Opensquare team recently proposed a complex quadratic funding system for OpenGov. Although this proposal is currently facing significant disapproval and the decision deposit has not been placed, we see this as an important effort to experiment with funding frameworks in OpenGov. Proposals like this can initiate valuable discussions.

Marketing Bounty Report​

The new Marketing Bounty, where OpenGov.Watch (OGW) serves as a curator, is now live, actively accepting proposals and funding initiatives. As part of our commitment to promoting transparency and accountability within the ecosystem, OGW will publish monthly updates on our actions and the overall progress of the bounty as long as we remain involved.

Bounty-Wide Efforts​

The curators are working tirelessly across multiple fronts, including outreach, due diligence, and establishing administrative structures. Over the past month, the bounty has reached out to more than 30 agencies to explore offers for campaigns in areas such as social media, PR, media, and press relations. Dedicated communication channels have also been created to ensure synchronization with other key outreach initiatives, including the Events Bounty, WagMedia, Kusamarian, and others.

Requests for Proposals (RFPs) have been issued to onboard community managers for the upcoming year and invite offers from PR agencies. In a bid to improve accountability, the Bounty is exploring collaborations with the Polkadot Community Foundation for KYC/KYB services and working with legal advisors to establish formal contractual relationships with entities the Bounty engages with.

OGW’s Role in the Bounty​

As OpenGov.Watch, we are actively contributing to the Marketing Bounty by focusing on transparency and procedural standards. In the past month, we have:

  • Created the submission template for bounty proposals.
  • Assisted in setting up processes and standards for invoicing and compliance.
  • Contributed to the creation of a transparency page for bounty operations.

While other curators focus more on outreach to agencies, OGW’s efforts are geared towards improving operational transparency and ensuring compliance with OpenGov standards. We are also preparing an RFP to overhaul Polkadot’s Wikipedia page, which has been long neglected and currently contains minimal information.

OGW remains committed to supporting the Marketing Bounty by ensuring transparency and adherence to OpenGov’s mandated standards. We are pleased to report that all curators are demonstrating exceptional dedication to maximizing the bounty’s impact on the ecosystem, working together to bring value to the Polkadot ecosystem.

Get Involved​