Executive summary
This proposal seeks funding for Season 2 of the Lisk DAO, aimed at accelerating the growth of the Lisk ecosystem across four strategic Social and Economic Intents. Season 2 will commence immediately upon approval and conclude on December 17, 2025. The total funding request is 2,300,000 LSK, in addition to the 1,700,000 LSK remaining from Season 1. Of the 4,000,000 LSK total budget, 3,750,000 LSK will be directly allocated to support builders and dApps on the Lisk Mainnet.
Motivation
This proposal aligns with the Lisk DAO Seasons Strategy and builds upon the success of Season 1. It marks a continued step toward the gradual decentralization of Lisk, transitioning operational responsibility and reporting from the Lisk core team to the Lisk DAO, thereby fostering a more open and collaborative ecosystem.
Rationale
Approval of Season 2 will ensure a structured and predictable six-month operational framework for the DAO, aligned with Superchain priorities, and will actively contribute to the ecosystem’s expansion and maturity.
Specification
Following the Lisk DAO Seasons Strategy, we propose the following setup and procedures for Lisk DAO Season 2.
Theme
The second season of Lisk DAO will focus on further aligning and expanding the ecosystem of Lisk builders and contributors while providing key resources and support to builders aiming to grow the usage and TVL of Lisk by building on existing and new initiatives.
We propose adopting the following theme: Lisk Season 2: Collaborations that drive real-world development and sticking to comperable intents as used in Season 1.
Intents
| Intent | Category | Key Measurables |
|---|---|---|
| 1) Make contributing to Lisk DAO engaging and rewarding. | Social | (A) Make Lisk ecosystem funding more transparent, (B) Increase governance participation and rigor, (C) Educate about the economics of L2s and the operations and benefits of a Community Treasury |
| 2) Accelerate Lisk programs and builders. | Economic | (A) Support key programs and builders, (B) Make it simple to discover and engage with Lisk programs and apps. |
| 3) Grow the TVL of Lisk | Economic | (A) Growth of non-LSK TVL during the season. |
| 4) Increase Lisk’s contribution to the Superchain. | Economic | (A) Total revenue contributed to the Optimism Collective. (B) The total volume to and from Lisk in the Superchain. |
Season Structure
We propose for two councils to exist in the first season of LiskDAO:
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LiskDAO Grants Council: Tasked with operating two programs, the Builder Grants and Ecosystem Incentives.
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LiskDAO Steering Committee: Tasked with advising, evaluating, and reporting on the Program Results.
Budget
The total budget for LiskDAO Season 2 is 4,000,000 LSK. The budget will be managed through this 3 out of 5 Superchain Safe with the 3 Steering Committee members and 3 Grants Council members as signers. Below is a breakdown of the budget per item.
| Item | Budget | Fund | Who selects projects? (Module I) | Who evaluates impact? (Module H) | When is impact evaluated? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development and Infra Grants | 1.25M LSK | Lisk DAO Treasury | Lisk DAO Grants Council | Steering Committee | Regularly throughout Season |
| Incubation and Acceleration Programs | 750K LSK | Lisk DAO Treasury | Program Team | Lisk DAO | At the end of the Season |
| Ambassador Program | 250K LSK | Lisk DAO Treasury | Program Team | Lisk DAO | At the end of the Season |
| Ecosystem Incentives | 1.5M LSK | Lisk DAO Treasury | Steering Committee | Lisk DAO | At the end of the Season |
| Lisk DAO Operations | 250K LSK | Lisk DAO Treasury | Steering Committee | Lisk Team and Lisk DAO | At the end of the Season |
Season 2 Initiatives
LiskDAO Season 2 will focus on four initiatives.
Lisk DAO Development and Infra Grants: milestone-based grants of up to 150,000 LSK for projects developing new solutions and features for Lisk. The review will be based on the specific category of a project: Small Development Grant (under 50,000 LSK), Large Development Grant (up to 150,000 LSK), and Infrastructure Grant (up to 150,000 LSK). A rubric and review process will be created for each project. Grants requesting over 50,000 LSK will be subject to additional scrutiny and will require 3 out of 3 approvals to proceed.
Incubation and Acceleration Programs: A budget earmarked for contributing to the operating costs of the incubator and acceleration programs supporting the Lisk Ecosystem in Season 2. This budget will be allocated in collaboration with the Lisk team to optimize spending and build on existing partnerships.
Ambassador Program: Building on the success of the Lisk Pioneers program, Lisk DAO will take an increased role in enabling and supporting Lisk Ambassadors, a task previously executed solely by the Lisk team.
Lisk DAO Ecosystem Incentives: Onchain KPI-driven LSK incentives for live applications on Lisk. This can include programs such as Lisk Surge that reward dApp and users’ TVL deposits, and programs such as the Lisk Builder Rewards that reward dApp developers for the onchain usage of their applications. To be designed and reviewed by the LiskDAO Steering Council.
Grants Council Members The Grants Council of Season 1 will consist of the following members.
| Role | Member | Prev Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Lead | JashFi | Lead at Superchain Eco |
| Member | Ibrahim | Lisk Builder who graduated from CV Labs |
| Member | Filipe | BD Manager at Lisk |
Steering Committee Members The Season 2 Steering Committee will consist of the following members.
| Member | Current Role |
|---|---|
| LuukDAO | Strategy at Superchain Eco |
| Jan | Research at Lisk |
| Mona | Governance at Lisk |
Timeline
Start Date: Upon proposal approval
End Date: December 17, 2025 (aligned with Optimism Season 8)
Mid-Season Report: Due September 30, 2025
Post-Season Report: Due December 22, 2025
Action plan
Upon approval:
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The Grants Council and Steering Committee will begin their workstreams.
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Within one week, an updated Lisk DAO Hub will be launched to enable proposal submissions.
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Regular updates and evaluation processes will be implemented throughout the season.
If the proposal is not approved, the remaining Season 1 funds after completion of approved payments will be returned to Lisk DAO.