Our year in review @ Octant

A happy new year from us at Octant (it's the second week of Jan, so new year wishes are still okay!). While the year's just started, we've had a pretty busy few weeks and we can't wait to share more. But first, we want to take a moment to reflect on all the progress we made last year in developing a sustainable public goods funding mechanism, and bringing added value to the Golem ecosystem. Our approach wasn’t just about generating financial resources; it was about highlighting a new way for communities to sustainably fund what matters to them.

A few of Octant's 2023 highlights:

• Epoch Zero launch - we distributed $1 million in ETH
• Epoch 1 - we distributed ~250 ETH to 19 high-impact public goods projects
• We launched our first community round with SheFi -  for 6 ETH
• 41x average donation multiplier in our epoch round
• We committed to decentralization (Diva Staking Partnership)
• We went global, with Octant presence in Berlin, Prague, Paris, Istanbul, Singapore, Taipei, and Warsaw. We participated in ETHDenver, ETHCC, Schelling Point Singapore, Schelling Point Istanbul, and Funding the Commons in Taipei, to name a few!

Our model is something any community can plug into their ecosystem and use in an effective way. We want to prove that it works. And we've had a good start. Reflecting on 2023, we're proud of our achievements that underscore our commitment to supporting public goods funding.

We've had lots of highlights: a successful launch of Epoch 0 and Epoch 1. Epoch Zero, as a pre-launch event, set a strong foundation for building awareness for Octant, while Epoch 1, the first true round for Octant, demonstrated our model’s effectiveness, with substantial ETH distributed to high impact projects.

We're proud of the growth and development of the Octant ecosystem. Community engagement has been steadily on the rise, and we're grateful for what we're already seeing here. We’re seeing incredible projects apply for our upcoming Epoch Two allocation window.

In Epoch 1, we were able to accommodate every project that met the eligibility criteria with space to participate. This upcoming round (epoch 2), with the growth we’ve seen in eligible applicants, for the first time, our community signal and votes will decide which projects make it to the next epoch. This growth isn’t just quantitative; it reflects a deeper excitement about the trajectory that we see for Octant.

Epoch Zero - Laying the GroundworkEpoch Zero was a defining moment for Octant, marking our first foray into community-driven public goods funding. It was a special pre-launch initiative where we distributed $1 million in ETH among ten curated public goods projects: Clr.fund, DAO Drops, Drips, EthStaker, Ethereum Cat Herders, Giveth, Gitcoin, Kernel, Protocol Guild, and Supermodular.xyz.

This event was not just about allocating funds; it was a bold experiment in decentralized governance and a test of our community’s engagement and decision-making capabilities. The round enabled a wide range of stakeholders to participate in the funding process and was pivotal in shaping the Octant community’s approach to collective decision-making. This set a high bar for active participation, which rolled over well for Octant’s first true round.

Epoch 1 - Building Momentum

Building on the success of Epoch Zero, Epoch 1 marked the first official allocation window of Octant. This phase saw even greater community involvement, with 515 addresses participating and 363 making allocation decisions. We had a total reward pool of 330.25 ETH, with a total of ~250 ETH distributed to 19 impactful projects, reflecting the diverse interests and priorities of our community. The process involved participants choosing to claim rewards, or donate to projects, which leveraged Octant’s Matching Pool. This phase was crucial in demonstrating the practical application of our funding model, emphasizing the role of community engagement in decision-making.

In total, already $1.5M dollars in funds have gone to public goods. The funds delivered have not only supported a diverse range of projects but also reinforced the ethos of positive sum games for our community.

Epoch 1 grantees: Protocol Guild, Rotki, Hypercerts, Tor Project, Giveth, Drips, OnionDAO, Gitcoin, Ethereum Cat Herders, DAO Drops, Kernel, EthStaker, BrightID, Clr.fund, MetaGame, PublicHAUS, Praise, and Glo Dollar

Our CommunityThe feedback and insights we’ve received from our community have been invaluable. Thank you. You’ve not only helped us fine-tune our processes but have also reinforced our commitment to what we’re building. We have major plans in 2024 for how we will further empower you, growing our governance and community-led decision making.

Our SheFi Round Results

We partnered with SheFi, for our first community round because SheFi and founder, Maggie Love, have played an instrumental role in making web3 and crypto more accessible. To date, they've onboarded 2,200 members to the SheFi community with their programs and events that involve immersive instruction, hands-on tech demos, and peer support, all aimed at advancing careers in crypto and AI.

We donated 6 ETH to the matching pool, and let the community decide how to allocate this funding through quadratic funding on Gitcoin's Grants Stack.

The round surpassed all our expectations, and was such an impressive show of community! We had 22 projects participating, who received 1025 donations ($4702.17) from 353 donors.

What's in store for us in 2024We're pretty excited about this year. Partnerships, community, and growing Octant– we've got it all in store. We're increasing capital inflow & enhancing GLM utility through partnerships such as with Diva Staking. We're investing more in our community, with you all at the forefront of our efforts. We're empowering our community to have more decision making within Octant, and we've started running mini rounds with value aligned communities outside of our own.

2023 laid a strong foundation in growth for Octant. We reached significant milestones in public goods funding, and fostered a strong, active community. As we start 2024, we're inspired by our public goods community, our grantees, and most importantly, you, our Octant community. Things are looking pretty optimistic (no pun intended). We're more committed than ever to our mission of becoming the first self-sustaining global PGF ecosystem that balances the common good & individual financial empowerment. We invite you to continue this journey with us in shaping a more equitable and sustainable future in the web3 ecosystem.Here's to a fantastic 2024!