SPS Governance Proposal - Restructure Ongoing Development Contracts

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Purpose

The purpose of this proposal is to seek a sustainable solution for the SPS DAO to be able to continue with helping to support the ongoing development costs that it took on in an effort to help continue Splinterlands development projects during the protracted bear market. This was always meant to be a temporary measure and at this point, as the SPS DAO Project Manager, I feel it's critical to start looking at how we can work with the company to significantly reduce these costs.

Currently the SPS DAO has committed $480,000 to contract @jptrcorp for a one year period. After discussions with @davemccoy and the approval of @yabapmatt, the terms outlined in the proposal below were deemed acceptable for the Splinterlands team and now I will submit these updated terms for the SPS DAO to approve or deny.

Please note that the JPTR developers also work on the Splinterlands infrastructure team and are crucial to the stability of the game. The intent with this proposal is to ensure ongoing development, reduce costs and also ensure that the greater Splinterlands ecosystem and the SPS DAO continue with the same rate of development that we've been experiencing over the past year.

If this proposal passes, we can reassess the situation in another year. We'll cut out about a $360,000 dollars of development expenses per year compared to the current rate and we'll ensure that the development continues for another entire year. We'll be able to pay in DEC while preserving what's left of our ETH, BNB and USDC to fulfill our other obligations. Myself and @cryptomancer will be the only direct contractors of the SPS DAO going forward.

Proposal

If this proposal passes the following changes will be implemented immediately:

  • The SPS DAO will make a one time payment to Splinterlands of 120,000,000 DEC, roughly equivalent to the outstanding $120,000 owed in the previous proposal, with the following terms:
    • The Splinterlands team will contract the affected infrastructure developers directly going forward for a period of up to one year.
    • Employment contracts and management of the contractors will be handled by Splinterlands.
    • The developers will continue working on the same projects as they were previously and their work going forward will still be under the direction of the DAO.

If this proposal fails, the previous proposal will remain in place until it either runs to completion or is addressed by another proposal.

Notes

The SPS DAO has outstanding obligations to continue to pay these developers up to $120,000 if nothing changes. Validator developments and related integrations of these projects into the Splinterlands ecosystem would end in the coming months without the SPS DAO figuring out how it wants to proceed or the Splinterlands company being able to afford to reintegrate these employees on its own.

If this proposal passes, it'll reduce what was $480,000 worth of yearly expenses by 75% while also ensuring the development work can continue for another year uninterrupted. If we consider the outstanding obligation of $120,000, then the SPS DAO would be spending roughly the same amount of money to replace this current contract while ensuring that we don't lose the developers from the ecosystem in the near future. We also get the benefit of stopping the rapid depletion of our non-Splinterlands assets without having to directly sell SPS, DEC or pull funds out of liquidity positions.

These terms were negotiated in good faith on behalf of the SPS DAO by the SPS DAO Project Manager in an attempt to meet the needs of both the Splinterlands company and the SPS DAO's desire to continue expanding development related to the SPS Validator software. Thanks for your time and consideration.

spsproposal spsdao splinterlands sps governance
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It seems this is another streamlining improvement and reduction in overall expenses.

If the Team & DAO both agree this is a good thing, I will vote Yes to this proposal as reducing costs should still be one of the top priorities.

High Speed, low Drag is always a plus :)

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What does @jptrcorp think about this arrangement? We promised them $40,000 per month for 12 months. I don't like the idea of changing our word (especially on a blockchain project). If they are fine with the new arrangement, I will vote yes.

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I'm pretty sure they'd prefer to keep the contract going and to extend it into the future. The problem is the DAO is not in a position to do that without selling tokens or pulling liquidity out of pools. As is, if we change nothing we can't honor all outstanding obligations. I wanted to work out a deal for the team to take these guys and mancer back on for DEC, but there were concerns with that, so this is what was settled on for the proposal.

In short, validator development doesn't stop and land development can continue as well. It's not a perfect solution, but it buys more time than running out of money in the next couple of months. Hopefully that clears it up.

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Than you for the information. It would have been great if there was a deal with DEC. It could have legitimized DEC as a stablecoin.

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Sounds like a smart and thoughtful proposal regarding the ongoing development of the SPS DAO infrastructure. Thanks for the negotiations. I'm in!

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(Edited)

Honestly the way this post was written was not easy for me to understand what was really going on. So I fed both proposals into ai and it pushed out something I understood (double check it's all correct @clayboyn)

Assuming it's helpful I'll share it below no alterations from Gemini:

Okay, let's break down this proposal in simple terms.

The Background (Why this is happening):

  1. The Problem: The Splinterlands company was struggling financially (due to the "protracted bear market"). They couldn't afford to keep paying developers to work on essential background technology for the SPS token (called the SPS Validator software or SPS Chain). This software is needed to make the SPS token truly decentralized, which was always the long-term plan.
  2. The Temporary Fix (Started July 2024): To keep development going, the SPS DAO (the community organization funded by SPS token holders) stepped in. They agreed to hire a company called JPTR Corp (run by a Splinterlands lead developer and employing former Splinterlands developers) for one year.
  3. The Cost of the Fix: This deal cost the SPS DAO $40,000 per month, totaling $480,000 for the year. The DAO paid this in cryptocurrencies like USDC, ETH, or BNB.
  4. Current Status: This temporary arrangement has been running for about 9 months. There are still 3 months left on the contract, meaning the DAO still owes $120,000 ($40k x 3).

The New Proposal (Posted May 1, 2025 by Clayboyn, the DAO's Project Manager):

Purpose: To find a cheaper, more sustainable way for the DAO to ensure this vital development work continues without interruption, while reducing the DAO's expenses. This was always intended as a temporary measure, and now it's time to transition.

What the Proposal Suggests:

  1. End the Old Deal Early: Stop the current $40,000/month payments to JPTR Corp immediately, cancelling the last 3 months of the contract.
  2. Make a One-Time Payment: The SPS DAO will give the Splinterlands company a lump sum of 120,000,000 DEC tokens. This amount is valued roughly at the $120,000 remaining on the old contract.
  3. Shift Responsibility: The Splinterlands company will take over hiring and managing these developers directly for the next year.
  4. Keep Things Going: These developers will continue working on the exact same projects (crucial Splinterlands infrastructure and the SPS Validator/Chain).
  5. DAO Still Guides: Importantly, the SPS DAO will still get to direct what these developers work on. Splinterlands manages them day-to-day, but the DAO sets the project priorities for their work.
  6. Streamline DAO Contracts: Going forward, only Clayboyn (Project Manager) and Cryptomancer will be directly contracted by the SPS DAO.

Why Propose This? (The Benefits):

  • Huge Cost Savings for DAO: Instead of spending another $480,000 over the next year (if the old deal somehow continued), the DAO spends the equivalent of $120,000 once, paid in DEC. This cuts the DAO's development support cost by about $360,000 (or 75%) for the year compared to the previous rate.
  • Ensures Development Continues: Guarantees these key developers keep working on the necessary SPS projects for another full year without stopping.
  • Protects DAO Funds: The DAO pays the final obligation using its DEC tokens instead of spending more of its valuable ETH, BNB, or USDC reserves.
  • Fulfills Obligation: Settles the remaining $120,000 owed from the previous agreement.

What Happens if the Proposal Fails?

  • The current deal with JPTR Corp continues.
  • The DAO pays the remaining $120,000 ($40k/month for 3 months) using its ETH/BNB/USDC funds.
  • After those 3 months, the contract ends, and the funding stops. Development on the SPS Validators could halt unless the DAO makes a new plan or the Splinterlands company finds a way to pay the developers themselves.

In a Nutshell:

The DAO is currently paying a lot ($480k/year) via a contractor (JPTR) to fund essential SPS development that the Splinterlands company couldn't afford. This new proposal suggests the DAO make a one-time payment (using 120M DEC tokens, worth ~$120k) to the Splinterlands company. In return, Splinterlands will hire these developers directly for the next year, saving the DAO a significant amount of money ($360k) and allowing it to preserve its cash reserves (ETH/BNB/USDC). The developers keep working on the same projects, and the DAO still directs their work priorities. It's essentially shifting the management back to the company while fulfilling the DAO's remaining financial obligation in a more cost-effective way using ecosystem tokens.

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That sums it up pretty well. Basically we don't have enough non-SPL assets to fulfill all outstanding obligations, so instead of just running out of money, pushing the DAO to sell tokens or pulling liquidity out of pools, the deal is to pay Splinterlands in DEC and have them take on some of the cost directly.

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But now it's gonna cost 120k a year instead of 360-480k a year?
Seems maybe we overpaid for the first year? What's the story here?

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It's possible. One of the main points here is that the team is going to have to make up the difference or work out a streamlined contract themselves. Simply put, the DAO helped get past the biggest financial hurdle and there's a new pack sale now. Unless we can get agreement from top holders to start selling DEC/SPS or pulling funds out of liquidity pools (I don't think we can from the conversations I've had) then it's do something or just go until we run out of money, which means no Validator development, no Land development and I'd be gone too I suppose.

I ran the numbers even taking myself out of the equation entirely, the DAO still can't afford both JPTR and mancer to contract completion. Just trying to do my best to help offload some of the costs the DAO has taken on and hopefully get us net positive at some point in the next few months. I'd like to see bridging set up so the DAO can start capturing a few thousand dollars a month there at least. If we make some strategic LP plays, we may be able to start generating enough to cover both me and mancer, we'd need to like 4x our current non-spl earnings to do that.

We could do one sided LPs to sell tokens, we could try to work out promo card sales for stables or something along those lines. I've been exploring a lot of options to try to figure out how to get the DAO net positive, but yea it's way harder trying to budget $60k a month than it is under $20k a month. This proposal is what I was able to work out to help us better position ourselves to have the time needed to explore those options.

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Why when that proposals were put up, no one risen the hand and said hey guys not enough founds for validates and lands?

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When this proposal was put up, it wasn't an issue. It became an issue with subsequent proposals like the DHF agreement to buy a million HIVE and 130,000 HBD, which was still fine. Then the DAO passed a proposal to hire cryptomancer as well. It all adds up and when the DAO chooses to budget pretty much every dollar it has, that doesn't allow much room for things like market fluctuations. I'm pretty sure people did point this stuff out as I made it clear to Matt when he ran the cryptomancer proposal that this proposal we're getting now was a very real possibility. Unless the DAO wants to start selling DEC or SPS we don't have a lot of options. Regardless of who said what and when, we currently have a budget problem and need to fix it.

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How much hbd per month do the 130000 give? I am just thinking why not sell non hive assets and just switch full to hbd and pay whatever else with it? It's a stable and 15% apr is great

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Well shit, that sucks... but it makes sense.

Maybe another Runi like project (cross chain?) to a chain that can also pair with marketing. 👀 .

Honestly, this has always kind of been on my mind taking funds without effecting price is hard. But the team needs DEC anyways for credit purchases?

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Yep, this is probably the best way to "sell" DEC. Let the team trickle it out for credit purchases. They can use the cash to pay the devs. We don't have to market sell DEC or SPS.

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Wait wait wait wait, so they have been overpaid and now the Dao is running out of founds? Unexpected!!

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Great work clayboyn, I am loving the effort you put into your role, hope you stay on forever.

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(Edited)

So Splinterlands will be able to finance its own developers from now on. Perfect.

I just hope the company earns enough money to keep the lights on.

I am afraid a bit, that the DAO is now molken and we are shortly before the end.

How much has been earned by the PreSale of Conclave Arcana yet? From the leaderboard it shows 1.150.140.000 so around 1.000.000 $.

Does this go to Splinterlands alone, or is it split with the DAO? Did not follow to be honest.

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