The Lido on Solana development team has formally requested financial assistance from the Lido DAO community, citing a shortfall in revenue against development costs. Over the past year, the team has incurred $700,000 in expenses while generating only $220,000 in revenue, resulting in a net loss of $480,000. The proposal stated,
We are at a critical juncture where the decisions we make today will shape the future of Lido on Solana.
The team’s proposal to the Lido DAO community outlines two possible scenarios for the project’s future. The first involves securing a 12-month financial commitment from Lido DAO to cover development, marketing, and customer service costs, totaling $1.5 million. The team emphasized the critical nature of the decision, stating that immediate action is essential for the project’s sustainability.
In the absence of financial support, the team plans to initiate a phased discontinuation of the project. According to the proposal, new staking deposits would be halted starting September 10th of this year. Subsequently, node operators would withdraw from the pool by October 10, and front-end support would be terminated by February 10, 2024.
Despite facing financial challenges, the team reported significant progress in both product and business development. The project’s Total Value Locked (TVL) increased from 954,000 SOL in December 2021 to 4.1 million SOL in October 2022, a growth rate of 330%. Additionally, the project expanded its integration with DeFi protocols from 4 to 22 and secured listings for stSOL in 12 major digital wallets. However, the financial overview for the fiscal year 2022-2023 shows a different picture, with the firm facing substantial losses.
The Lido DAO community is expected to vote on the proposal within the next four weeks. While the team remains optimistic about the project’s potential contributions to the Solana ecosystem, they highlighted that the support of the Lido DAO community is crucial for the project’s continued development and growth.
