This week ML was not feeling well and Chris was on vacation.
ZOMG Google Meet Meeting: June 10, 2021
[Minutes taken by Danika]
Meeting minutes:
Attendance:
Hudson Jameson
Shawn
Holmes Wilson
Danika Delano acting as notetaker
Pre-meeting Agenda:
ZecWallet UX - Open
Trezor - Open
Animated meme NFTs - Withdrew (I just closed it)
CodeUp - Open
Notes:
- Zcash Evangelist
Shawn informed the members that he removed this grant on the platform because it had be declined last meeting.
- ZECpages Usability Sprint
Hudson said he is not sure what the status of this grant is. Shawn explained that the applicant was going to hire a consultant and rework of user interface for all of Zecpages. Hudson pointed out that the total is $31K and thought they funded this applicant for another grant. Shawn replied that ZOMG is currently funding Testnet Faucet.
Hudson voiced that he is leaning toward yes because it will showcase what Zcash can do with more usability net benefit. Shawn also said that he was in favor and added that Michael (the applicant) is a pillar of the community. He also thought it was a fun way to onboard new users and build a platform to be more robust. Holmes also voted to approve.
Hudson added that he has thoughts on what they should do but said he can offer them as a member of the community instead of on behalf of ZOMG.
Hudson said that he thought they could go forward with 3 out of 5 votes for this amount (seeing how ML and Chris were not present). Shawn volunteered to respond.
- Trezor support for Zcash shielded transactions
Based on past conversations, Shawn said that he didn’t think anyone is opposed to approving this grant but stated that if they need an official vote maybe we should wait. Holmes voted to approve. Hudson replied that they also thought they should approve. Holmes volunteered to respond.
- CodeUp With Blockchain
Shawn explained that this grant is complicated; it is almost like a group of individuals working with GitLab, who is working with communities that can get technologies; it is very broad and he didn’t see the direct applicability to Zcash. He added that it looks like a good cause but his first gut response is he isn’t sure how the trickle down to Zcash would be.
Hudson agreed that they need to ask them how it will benefit Zcash. Holmes stated that he thinks it is okay to say no to physical overhead at this stage and they are not really a fit.
Hudson agreed and said that it’s not specific enough to Zcash and has a lot of physical elements so it would not be something that ZOMG should fund. Hudson told the group he thinks it’s just a “deny.” All members agreed and Holmes volunteered to respond.
- Workshop on Foundations of Computer Security (FCS) 2021
Danika gave the committee background on past FCSs that the Foundation had sponsored and explained that there were issues with collecting KYC documentation that affected funding last year. She also explained that they may not know who ZOMG is so it would be worth it for a ZOMG member to follow up with them explaining the structure since they had a history with the Foundation. Holmes volunteered to respond.
- ZOMG Treasury
The members summarized past conversations and reminded them that ML shared that she was calculating how much ZEC ZOMG has and how much ZOMG has promised and asked Jack the current vs what their outstanding balance sheet is because they don’t know the balances of what they have committed to. This will be helpful because knowing just the running total of ZEC doesn’t reflect how much they have since some is earmarked for future milestones for grants that have been approved.
Holmes shared the idea of moving to a stable coin to lock in the USD when commitment is in ZEC and said he doesn’t see why ZOMG shouldn’t do it for existing grants. He suggested they liquidate enough ZEC to pay for existing grants.
Shawn replied that they may be able to work something out with Jack about Arti but emphasized that they need to talk to Jack about other grants because there is some confusion around that. He said that there is still a disconnect so ZOMG needs to schedule a meeting with Jack in an official capacity. Hudson says that sounded good.
Hudson asked if ZOMG can still approve things. Shawn replied that ZOMG has around $5 million USD (in ZEC) so they have a good amount of ZEC.
Shawn stated that they aren’t ready to set a precedent that they liquidate ZEC for every grantee. Holmes said that he remembered laying out 3 options in the last meeting.
Shawn replied that those options were posted in the last meeting’s minutes and reminded him that the only thing ZOMG has done is to fund in pure ZEC and absorb any market fluctuations and, until Arti, he thought it was working well. He added that if ZOMG wants to make a fundamental shift they need to discuss it as a separate item from Arti with The Foundation. He explained that he thought it was different with Arti because it was almost $1 million USD and they have not agreed to change the structure outside of Arti. He emphasized that they need to talk with Jack about the process as he did not want to speak for Jack on his stance.
Holmes replied that he didn’t see a difference between one $1-million dollar grant and ten $100-thousand dollar grants. He pointed out that even with small grants, a big market fluctuation could leave ZOMG high and dry with a grantee and he doesn’t want to let ZOMG’s commitments depend on chance.
Hudson said he was conflicted. He suggested getting consulting from Jack and, of course, talking to Chris and ML.
Holmes voiced that if ZOMG promises something ($30K 6 months in, for example), especially if ZOMG is paying after the grantees do the work, it would be bad if the market tanked.
Shawn pointed out that, based on our current commitments, they have only committed 10-20% so he is not concerned with not being able to meet ZOMG’s current obligations. He explained that since ZOMG was conceived, they have paid out at the ZEC rate when a milestone comes about and if they move the bar it’s a fundamental shift.
Holmes replied that he thought they were always talking about this shift in a general case. Hudson said that he had understood the past conversations to just be about Arti but then they would reapproach it later as a general case. He said that he shared Holmes’ concerns and has seen big fluctuations with Ether; he doesn’t think it’s urgent but they should figure it out in the next 6 months. Holmes agreed.
Shawn reiterated that they have had a process that they have been using and it is important to recognize that they are discussing making a fundamental shift in the whole process because previously there was no option for asking to be paid in ZEC or USD.
Holmes asked “if we run out of money what is our plan?” Hudson replied that they haven’t planned for this worse case scenario. Holmes stated that whatever they decide, they should communicate that to grantees.
Shawn said that they need to discuss it sooner rather than later so they can work it out for Arti. Holmes was confused with that statement and said and said that he thought the Foundation is open to it for Arti so it’s in the Foundation’s court now. Shawn replied that they need to have a conversation with Jack about Arti anyway so in that meeting they can also talk about a contingency plan for the future. Holmes agreed that they need to talk to Jack as soon as possible and volunteered to follow up with him ASAP as he doesn’t want there to be more delays. Shawn said that they need to get on the same page on what the process will be and the sooner they work that out, the sooner Arti can get paid.
CAP
Hudson told the members that he couldn’t decide if it would be a conflict if he ran for the Foundation board (from the ZIP). Shawn replied that he doesn’t think it’s a conflict since it is unpaid and ZOMG does not interact with the board but he doesn’t know if the Foundation would feel that way. Holmes said that if he was a voter, he wouldn’t vote for someone on ZOMG to be on the board.
Hudson thanked them for their opinion and shared that no one has nominated anyone and he thought it’s good for someone to do it and he thought that maybe he should since he has stepped back from Ethereum and has more time. Shawn told him that he thinks he would be a good candidate.