Nexus Mutual Roadmap | Q1 & Q2 2024

Nexus Mutual Updates Roadmap
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Nexus Mutual Roadmap | Q1 & Q2 2024

Nexus Mutual Roadmap Q1 & Q2 2024
Nexus Mutual Roadmap Q1 & Q2 20241920×1080 68.1 KB

Overview

In June, Kayleigh shared the Nexus Mutual Roadmap | Q3 & Q4 2023 with the community, which highlighted the core objectives and initiatives the Foundation and DAO teams were pursuing in Q3 & Q4.

I wanted to share an update, as we’re nearing the end of Q4 2023. In this update, I’ll highlight the progress the Foundation and DAO teams have made in the last two quarters, the areas where we’re conducting research, and the core priorities our teams will be pursuing in Q1 & Q2 2024.

Core objectives for Foundation and DAO teams

Our objectives remain largely the same as previously shared in the Nexus Mutual Roadmap | Q3 & Q4 2023. I’ve shared them below, as well.

  1. Growth. The number one priority for the Foundation and DAO teams centres around growth initiatives focused on increasing cover sales, expanding the Mutual’s product offerings, breaking into new markets, investing more of the Capital Pool float, onboarding more members to the Mutual, and scaling the Nexus Mutual ecosystem. Teams are trying different strategies and testing to see what works, so successful initiatives can be scaled to drive growth within the Mutual.

  2. Tokenomics. Members approved NMPIP-209: Launch Tokenomics Upgrade, and the Advisory Board updated the token model and removed the MCR Floor. Now members are able to mint and redeem NXM–this upgrade puts in place a sustainable token model that positions the Mutual for long-term growth and completes Stage 1 of the tokenomics revamp project. The DAO R&D and Engineering teams will be focused on Stage 2, which is concerned with managing capitalisation levels when the Capital Pool approaches the cover-driven MCR.

  3. Progressive Decentralisation. When the Mutual launched in 2019, the community’s goal has always been to decentralise as the protocol and DAO mature. At this stage, the DAO teams are conducting research into how more members can play an active role in team-led initiatives, while ensuring the Mutual can scale and achieve growth. Over time, we plan to further decentralise the protocol and the teams contributing to the protocol.

How the Foundation and DAO teams will contribute to the core objectives

In the sections below, I’ve included an overview of each team and shared the respective initiatives they are working on in Q1 & Q2 2024. Some initiatives will extend over longer time frames, but they are included in the roadmap because the teams will be focusing on those initiatives in the next six (6) months.

Foundation Engineering

Team # of Contributors
Engineering 6
How the Foundation Engineering team will contribute to core objectives
  1. User Interface (UI) / User Experience (UX) Improvements. The Engineering team is working to overhaul the frontend architecture, which will help improve load times in the UI, and to update the UI/UX for the cover buying and staking experience.
  2. Launching Cover Edits Feature. This feature will be launched in 2024 and will allow cover buyers to edit their existing cover NFT to extend their cover or increase their covered amount. This will reduce gas costs and make it easier to renew a cover without minting an entirely new NFT.
  3. Technical work for Cover Re Agreement. Per the recently approved NMPIP, the Cover Re deal will require Engineering resources. The Engineering team will allocate resources and provide support to make the Cover Re deal possible.
  4. Tokenomics Stage 2 Research. Support the R&D team through Stage 2 of the tokenomics revamp project. Stage 2 will be concerned with how liquidity is managed through the RAMM when the Capital Pool balance is close to the cover-driven MCR. The research conducted in Stage 2 will provide a solution to the potential issues that could arise in low liquidity conditions.
  5. Optimise Cover Router. Optimise the cover router to reduce costs with RPC nodes.
  6. Research into Reducing Gas Costs. Research into reducing gas costs, especially related to calculating the Capital Pool value in ETH, which has implications for all major user flows (i.e. buy cover, mint/redeem NXM, etc).
  7. Research on Account Abstraction. The Engineering and Product & Risk teams will collaborate on an account abstraction project. As the Mutual continues to expand into new markets, the Foundation and DAO teams want to research how account abstraction could be implemented within the Nexus Mutual protocol and UI to create an easier way to onboard new users.
  8. Launch a Notification Framework. Implement a notifications framework that will allow Nexus Mutual members to subscribe to notifications for KYC completion, cover expiration, staking deposit expiration, etc.
  9. Technical Documentation for V2. Work with the DAO Community team to create technical documentation for the Nexus Mutual V2 smart contracts, which can be used by teams looking to integrate with the protocol.
  10. Supporting New Cover Products. When new cover products are developed, the Engineering team is the one who actually puts the new cover product information on chain and provides the UI for members to purchase the cover. As new cover products are developed, the Engineering team will work with the Product & Risk team to list new cover products and update existing cover products, as needed.
  11. Supporting the Investment Committee. As the Investment Committee presents new opportunities to invest the Capital Pool float, the Engineering team will provide the engineering support for investments approved by members.

Foundation Business Development (BD)

Team # of Contributors
BD 2
How the Foundation Business Development team will contribute to core objectives
  1. New Cover Products. Work with staking pool managers and inbound requests to create new cover products. Collaborate with Product & Risk to determine feasibility of new cover products and assess risk factors.
  2. Real World cover initiatives. Conduct research into potential real world markets where the Mutual can expand into. Work with the Foundation and DAO teams to execute the Cover Re deal, per the outcome of NMPIP 212.
  3. Slashing Cover Initiatives. Work with the Engineering team to develop new product MVPs and support existing Slashing Cover partners. Work to close new ETH Slashing Cover deals to drive growth.
  4. Support Staking Pool Managers, Ecosystem Partners. Work with existing staking pool managers to improve their experience and expand cover sales for the Mutual. Support people building on top of the protocol and expanding access to cover.

Foundation Legal

Team # of Contributors
Legal 1
How the Foundation Legal team will contribute to core objectives
  1. Finalise arrangements relating to FTX claims, including assignment of the rights to members claims over to Nexus and subsequently selling the claims. Work with FTX claimants to assign FTX claim right to the Mutual and review potential offers to acquire the FTX bankruptcy claims to finalise reimbursement to the Capital Pool.
  2. Pursue Reimbursement. Per the mandate set out in NMPIP 205, the Foundation Legal team will continue seeking reimbursement, where feasible, for the Custody Cover claims paid to date, and for the outstanding reimbursement for the Euler Finance claim payouts.
  3. Support Cover Re Deal. Per the recently approved NMPIP, the Cover Re deal will create a significant amount of work from the Legal perspective. The Legal team will focus on finalising the terms of the deal and any applicable documentation. The Foundation Legal team will work with Cover Re and the appropriate regulators on the legal and regulatory side of the deal.
  4. Support New Cover Product Development. The Foundation Legal team plays an integral role in the ongoing development of cover products by drafting and reviewing the terms of any newly developed or revised cover wording documents. As the development of cover products progresses, the Legal team remains dedicated to supporting the Business Development and Product & Risk teams.

Product & Risk

Team # of Contributors
Product & Risk 2

The Product & Risk is a hybrid team that consists of @Hugh and @BraveNewDeFi. The Product & Risk team collaborates with the Foundation BD, Legal, and Engineering teams.

How the Product & Risk team will contribute to core objectives
  1. Support Cover Re Deal. Per the recently approved NMPIP, the Cover Re deal will require support from the Product & Risk team. In collaboration with the other teams involved, the Product & Risk team will provide support as needed.
  2. Support New Cover Product Development. The Product & Risk team will collaborate with the Foundation BD and Legal teams to review proposed cover terms, assess feasibility, and contribute to the cover wording development process. Once new cover wording has been finalised, the Product & Risk team will work with the Engineering team to implement the Cover Product Type on chain.
  3. Research Project: Account Abstraction. The Engineering team and Product & Risk teams will collaborate on an account abstraction project. As the Mutual continues to expand into new markets, the Foundation and DAO teams want to research how account abstraction could be implemented within the Nexus Mutual protocol and UI to create an easier way to onboard new users.
  4. Research Project: Membership Benefits Programme. Many discretionary mutuals provide supplementary services to their members as an added benefit. The Product & Risk team will conduct research at potential benefits the Mutual can provide to members to make membership in the Mutual more valuable for existing members and to appeal to broader audiences.

DAO R&D

Team # of Contributors
R&D 1
How the DAO R&D team will contribute to core objectives
  1. Tokenomics Part 2. The R&D team will lead the Stage 2 of the tokenomics revamp project and work with the Foundation Engineering team. Stage 2 will be concerned with how liquidity is managed through the RAMM when the Capital Pool balance is close to the cover-driven MCR. The research conducted in Stage 2 will provide a solution to the potential issues that could arise in low liquidity conditions.
  2. MCR Revamp Project. Create an improved process for refreshing the cover-based MCR calculation parameter on a regular basis. Combine the current identified set of risks into a coherent, quantifiable framework. The first milestone is to create a v0 model for the MCR calculation the output of which can inform the existing on-chain parameters. Define a regular process for updating the on-chain parameters, working with the Foundation Engineering team, before putting it to the members for approval.
  3. Support Investment Committee. The R&D team will continue to act as a liaison between the Investment Committee and the Nexus Mutual DAO and Foundation, especially around the prioritising and technical integration of upcoming investments.

DAO Community

Team # of Contributors
Community 2
How the DAO Community team will contribute to core objectives
  1. Update Zerion, Debank, Zapper and other portfolio management sites with the Nexus Mutual V2 contracts. The DAO Community team will work to get Nexus Mutual V2 contracts supported on portfolio management sites, so members can see their cover and NXM deposits in the protocol when reviewing their portfolio. This will enhance discoverability and can lead to further initiatives with portfolio aggregator platforms.
  2. Develop Discord Stages, Twitter Spaces series with ecosystem leaders. The Community team will begin hosting bi-weekly events in Discord and Twitter Spaces, where the team has a conversation with teams from listed protocols, notable builders and security experts, active contributors within the Nexus Mutual ecosystem, etc. The team’s goal is to drive greater engagement within the Discord server and on Twitter, so we can help educate more people about the Mutual’s mission.
  3. Create Nexus Mutual Governance Hub. The Community team has taken inspiration from one of SafeDAO’s initiatives to create a Governance Hub, so anyone can learn how to contribute to the governance process and stay up-to-date with the latest governance proposals. In the next six (6) months, the Community team will create a governance hub on the Nexus Mutual DAO website, which gives any member an overview of how to contribute to Nexus Mutual’s governance process, the latest governance proposals and their status, and more.
  4. Create Nexus Mutual Staking Pool Managers Hub. In an effort to expand resources for Staking Pool Managers or prospective Staking Pool Managers, the Community team will also make a Staking Pool Managers Hub on the Nexus Mutual DAO website, where an overview of the different kinds of staking pools, staking pool managers powers and responsibilities, the process for developing new cover products, links to relevant technical documentation, and more.
  5. Collaborate with Engineering on governance research project. As discussed at Nexus Mutual’s recent onsite, the Engineering and Community teams, as well as other teams, will begin a research project on potential governance models in use that could serve as the framework for a potential upgrade to the Mutual’s governance contract to allow more members to participate and contribute in core activities within the Mutual.
  6. Technical Documentation for V2. Work with the Foundation Engineering team to create technical documentation for the Nexus Mutual V2 smart contracts, which can be used by teams looking to integrate with the protocol.

DAO Operations

Team # of Contributors
Operations 1
How the Operations team will contribute to core objectives

While Kayleigh is on maternity leave, the DAO Community team is handling the priorities for the Operations team, which include:

  1. Expand the Nexus Mutual DAO website. The DAO Community team is working to further expand the DAO website and provide members with more transparency. In the Community team roadmap, you can find the Governance Hub and Staking Pool Manager Hub initiatives. The Community team will also expand other information on the DAO website.
  2. Consider the DAO operating model, identify gaps, and propose new ways of growing the scope of the DAO team within budget and with our current skills. As the DAO is lacking a Marketing team lead, the Community team will work with other teams to put together a job posting and assess potential applicants. The DAO teams will also continue to review expenditures and initiatives to ensure project timelines are met.
  3. Operationally support DAO-funded teams with payments and processes. The Community team will coordinate payments to DAO team members and contractors.
  4. Provide summaries of on-sites and updated roadmap posts on the forum. As the Foundation and DAO teams adjust our strategy and deliverables on a quarterly or bi-annual basis, the Community team will share updates until Kayleigh returns from her leave.

Review of the Foundation and DAO teams progress in Q3 & Q4 2023

Foundation Engineering team

Q3 & Q4 2023 Review
  • Protocol Features. The Engineering team completed development of the RAMM and went through the audit process with the codebase. After members voted to approve NMPIP-209, the Engineering team worked with the Advisory Board to implement the RAMM with the approved parameters. The Cover Edits feature still needs to go through audit, but is expected to launch in Q1 / Q2 2024.
  • Security. The team has implemented updated security measures, especially around the RAMM’s launch with circuit breakers and smart contract monitoring. The team continues to work through tech debt and plans to expand their bug/hack detection system.
  • Docs, UI Features, and Developer Experience. Because the tokenomics revamp project was the top priority, there wasn’t significant progress made on these priorities, but they will be carried forward into Q1 & Q2 2024. The team began the UI/UX project and currently has an MVP for the Cover Buy UI update. This will be shipped in Q1 2024. The update to the Staking section of the UI will be shipped in Q2 2024.

Business Development

Q3 & Q4 2023 Review
  • Cover Sales. During Q3 & Q4, the Business Development (BD) team closed deals that resulted in cover sales of $86.7m. The BD team also closed the Cover Re deal, which is not included in the aforementioned total. The Cover Re deal will be executed in Q1 2024 and will contribute significantly to the Mutual’s cover sold and cover fees earned, as outlined in the NMPIP-212 proposal on the governance forum. While Protocol Cover represented 49.52% of the BD team’s cover sales in Q3 & Q4 2023, The Retail Mutual, ETH Slashing, Sherlock and UnoRe deals represented 50.28% of total cover sold—through their work, the BD team is helping to further diversify the Mutual’s risk exposure. The BD team focused on ETH Slashing Cover sales and the Cover Re deal, while existing partnerships were nurtured to drive sales. The BD team will look to prioritise real world cover deals, support distributors and staking pool managers building on top of the protocol, and further ETH Slashing Covers in the next six (6) months.
  • Develop new LSD cover product. The BD team conducted market research and iterated on risk and pricing models for new LSD cover products. While significant progress was made on developing the product spec, the Engineering team was focused on the tokenomics revamp project and this initiative requires engineering resources. The BD team will work with the Engineering team in the next two (2) quarters to develop product MVPs and launch these new LSD cover products.
  • Establish underwriting process for D&O cover. The BD team also conducted market research on the D&O cover product and worked with the Product & Risk team to develop the underwriting process. The Product & Risk and Legal teams have finalised the D&O Cover wording, which will allow the BD team to launch and market this product in the next two (2) quarters.

Legal

Q3 & Q4 2023 Review
  • Establish Legal infrastructure. After joining Nexus Mutual, Ania conducted a review and assessment of the Mutual’s existing legal infrastructure. In the first two (2) months, Ania created standard processes to start pursuing reimbursement for the claim events where reimbursement was made available. The Legal team worked with various Foundation and DAO teams to develop NMPIP-205, which granted the Advisory Board with the power to pursue reimbursement on behalf of Mutual members.
  • Review legal aspect of cover wording. The Legal team conducted a review of the existing cover wording documents and collaborated with the Product & Risk team to create a standardised cover wording framework.

Products and Risk

Q3 & Q4 2023 Review
  • Create a standard claims process and claims tracker. The Product & Risk team finalised and created the Nexus Mutual Claims History database on the DAO website. They also established an internal claims procedure, where the review, notification, assessment, and follow up process were all outlined. This ensures the Foundation and DAO teams, especially the DAO Community team, can alert members and help affected cover holders begin the claim filing process when a loss event occurs.
  • Create cover wording templates and guidelines. In collaboration with the Legal team, a comprehensive cover wording framework was created in Q3 2023.

Research and Development

Q3 & Q4 2023 Review
  • Tokenomics Design. Successfully launched the Ratcheting AMM mechanism for swapping NXM tokens directly with the protocol in November. Worked with the Community and Foundation Engineering teams to coordinate the governance process and finalise details of technical implementation. Created the structure for the community parameterisation process and made suggestions supported by economic simulations. Also used the economic simulation environment to test that the final solidity code conforms to expected behaviour. Completed the economic audit with Chaos Labs. Worked to build their understanding of the mechanism, guided them towards our main areas of concern, and interrogated their results.
  • Dune Dashboards Launched the Staking dashboard, which was the final dashboard within the initial scope of the project. Created a new Dune dashboard for the Ratcheting AMM, which has been trending on Dune since its launch. Updated the previous Dune dashboards to work with the upgraded contracts.
  • MCR Update. Scoped out and prioritised the project with the Foundation teams. Worked with the Foundation & DAO teams to identify and document the key risks faced by the mutual. Currently combining the individual identified systemic and specific risks into a coherent, quantifiable framework.

Community

Q3 & Q4 2023 Review
  • Regular updates on the new tokenomics project. The Community team worked with the R&D and Engineering teams to ensure regular updates were posted on the governance forum under the Nexus Mutual Updates section to keep members informed on the tokenomics revamp project’s progress. The Community team also wrote and published an educational guide ahead of the RAMM parameter discussions and facilitated the parameter discussions on the forum.
  • Increase visibility, transparency and engagement between staking pool managers and community. This is an ongoing priority and a continued work in progress. Over the last two quarters, the Community team received capacity requests through the Nexus Mutual Notifications Bot and DMs, which were then forwarded on to staking pool managers. This resulted in new covers being sold, albeit a small but growing amount. The Engineering team is working on a longer-term user interface update, and the Community team has suggested adding a contact option on the cover buy page, which would forward capacity requests to the relevant staking pool managers to improve the efficiency of the risk marketplace. The Community team will continue to work on this priority in the coming quarters, as well.
  • Update and improve the Discord experience. After a research and design process, Sem put together a test server to create an alpha version of the new Discord server. After internal testing, the new design was implemented in late September. The updated design introduced new channels, renamed old ones, and added new roles within the server. The Community team also updated the bots in the server and configured the Captcha bot so it no longer DMs server members. Now, people can verify themselves using Captcha bot directly in the Discord server. The new design and configuration has helped reduce spam and scams by a significant margin. Server membership has remained flat, but we’re seeing growth in engagement, which is likely due in part to the tokenomics discussions and the RAMM’s launch.

Operations

Q3 & Q4 2023 Review
  • In Q3 2023, Kayleigh, the Head of Operations, went on maternity leave. Various Foundation and DAO teams have been managing the Operations tasks and priorities throughout Q3 & Q4 2024.

Marketing

Q3 & Q4 2023 Review
  • Our previous Head of Marketing notified the Foundation and DAO teams that he would be moving on to another position in October 2023. He was active for the first two months of Q3 2023, but the DAO teams currently have a vacancy for the Marketing team. At the current time, the DAO Community team is providing marketing support, as needed, until a hire is made for the Head of Marketing position.

Team and transparency

Our team is made up of DAO-funded and foundation-funded people who work full-time to contribute to our mission to build an ecosystem in which anyone can protect anyone else by sharing risk.

Over the past four years we have grown from 2 to 15. We’ve attracted skilled and dedicated folks to contribute to the protocol, who bring their knowledge and expertise to create safe, secure, and member-focused smart contracts, cover products, and community spaces.

One of the goals for the DAO Operations team has been to improve transparency between the Nexus Mutual Foundation team and the community. It is sometimes difficult to quantify some of the work that is being done but we hope that this goes some way to helping our members understand what we’re planning and how we’re aiming to achieve the goals and grow the mutual for everyone.

If you have any questions, comments, or feedback we would love to hear and answer them. We hope this roadmap helps to increase the transparency between our teams and community.

Future roadmap update

The next roadmap update and review of the progress made on this roadmap will be shared at the end of Q2 2024.

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