Welcome!

Summary
We propose  to create a wrapped DASH asset on Ethereum using the most decentralized approach available - integration with the Ren blockchain and protocol.  This proposal is to cover the development and liquidity mining costs required by Ren. 

This integration is the result of positive feedback from the community, and it is a unique new proposal approach as it is a combined effort of the two DFOs Dash Incubator and Dash NEXT making such integration possible.
Dash can create additional value propositions by integrating them into the fast-growing DeFi space. The first essential building block to achieve this is to create a wrapped asset - an ERC-20 version of DASH - that can be used in the Ethereum ecosystem and easily adapted to other ecosystems such as Binance Smart Chain. We see huge potential for new partnerships, use cases, options for our users, and new possibilities for devs to build on Dash Platform. Moreover, this initiative is bringing Dash to decentralized exchanges for the first time. This will likely increase trading volume significantly, increase demand for Dash, and have the potential to address new user groups. In short, it pushes Dash to new horizons.

After months of conversations with Ren, we are now in the pipeline for the next round of integrations expected in Q2/2021; but the creation of renDASH comes with a few requirements from Ren. 

First, we are responsible for building a bridge between Ren and Dash.  Second, we are required to fund a liquidity mining program to ensure a successful launch of renDASH at a decentralized exchange by incentivizing users to become a liquidity provider (LP). The plan here is to initially launch the trading pair renDASH/renBTC. We are aiming to do this at the largest DEX, Uniswap. Having the pair enables users to swap one asset to another, it is key to have enough liquidity, meaning we need users to lock renDASH/renBTC in a 50:50 ratio into the Uniswap pool. The way to do this successfully is to incentivize users to provide funds.. This is called yield farming or liquidity mining. Ren requires 50,000 USD worth of liquidy from all projects that integrate with them.

Value proposition of wrapped Dash
Several teams within the Dash ecosystem have begun to explore the value DeFi can bring for Dash. Feel free to check out our latest blog posts at Dash Incubator regarding the potential of a wrapped Dash and the use of decentralized oracles to fuel Dash’s further growth. 

To summarize, there are many reasons why a wrapped asset is beneficial for Dash.

• From a business perspective, Dash on other chains such as Ethereum offers many new potential partners in the Ethereum and other Blockchain ecosystems. In fact, many partnerships around lending, borrowing, yield farming, liquidity pools on different exchanges and protocols or a Dash backed stablecoin are already in the making but waiting for a wrapped version of Dash. As the DeFi space is growing rapidly, we can also expect many new business opportunities in the near future.
• From a user perspective, a wrapped Dash increases Dash’s utility and visibility. The new partnerships and integrations will provide users with more options and flexibility, fueled by decentralized finance. Users will be able to collateralize Dash, borrow against it, stake Dash to earn yields, provide liquidity to automated market makers (AMMs), and many more. Users will be able to additionally use Dash in a new decentralized fashion.
• From a trading and investors perspective, a wrapped Dash has the potential to fuel the market sentiment on Dash and promise real value. First of all, renDASH enables us to be listed at decentralized exchanges that have taken off massively since 2020. One of the key value propositions of those DEXes is that users can earn trading fees generated from exchange fees in return for providing liquidity to trading pairs. Furthermore, as renDASH is pegged 1:1 to DASH, we can expect new arbitrage opportunities from price differentials between different DEXes and from price differentials between centralized and decentralized exchanges.
• From a marketing perspective, we will be able to tell great new stories and create new narratives around the topics mentioned above. Furthermore, every new partnership gives us the opportunity to create marketing campaigns that multiply our reach to other communities.
• From an ecosystem perspective, we expect great benefits for the Dash Platform. What we want here is to excite and incentivize developers to build on Platform, to come up with new ideas, or to leverage platforms for their own projects, regardless of which platform they are building on.  The amount of Ethereum and DeFi developers is enormous.  Having Dash participate in this space means many more developer eyes on Dash.  Many should be curious enough to look at what Dash Platform and projects like Dash Incubator have to offer.  Additionally, we are already exploring use cases around Dash’s decentralized API and blockchain-based cloud storage to make DeFi more efficient and effective, and invite everyone to come up with new ideas.

Why renDash?
There are different ways to create a wrapped asset. What all of them have in common is that in order to issue a wrapped Dash, an original Dash has to be locked away. A key question is how custody is designed within the system. While many wrapped assets rely on centralized third parties to custody assets (e.g. wBTC through BitGo), Ren is designed as a decentralized, trustless, and permissionless custodian. Details can be found in this blog post and this video.

One advantage of this design is the speed at which assets can be swapped back and forth without going through onboarding or other third-party procedures. Apart from its huge community and a great reputation, Ren’s solution has been tested and assets have been proven successful, and many other projects are actively seeking integration. The best example is renBTC with a market cap of over $850m, ranking 75th in market capitalization on Coingecko at the time of writing this proposal.

Integration plan
Detailed requirements as provided by Ren can be found here. The expected integration timeline is in Q2/2021 and has to be done by Ren. 

Together with Dash Incubator, Dash NEXT has established the requirements, budget, and tasks for the REN integration from our side.

To summarize the requirements provided by Ren:

• Complete the Multichain pull request (PR): https://github.com/renproject/multichain. This has already been completed by dashameter’s PR. 
• Agree to a binding $50k USD for liquidy mining to ensure proper liquidity bootstrapping within DeFi. This is to inceltivize liquidity providers to kickstart the liquidity pool on an AMM of our choice with a renBTC/renDASH pair. We are planning to start with Uniswap and are evaluating other options such as Sushi.
• LP staking UI to enable users easy access to the yield farming program
• Destination blockchain (L1) agrees to create and maintain a fully functional RenBridge like UI for users (prior to release). We can simply fork RenBridge as needed, or utilize RenJS.
• A marketing campaign for the launch of renDASH that includes a blog post and shared announcements within Ren and Dash communities.

How will we use the funds

1. We are asking for 50,000 USD worth of DASH plus a buffer of 10% to avoid price movements for liquidity.
2. Dash NEXT is handling custody of the funds provided by the DAO until REN requires us to provide funds for the liquidity farming . Dash NEXT will exchange Dash worth 50k USDT on the same day that funds are transferred to the Dash payout wallet. The rest will immediately be transferred to the Dash Incubator wallet:XbFb9b1qaoLykngDbUwBVBFwSHuwQRhSqc
3. If Dash price rises, additional funding above the USD 50k + 10% buffer level will be sent to Dash Incubator as additional funding for their development, if the Dash price falls below the USD 50k - 10% buffer, a second proposal would be raised to make up the difference under the same terms.
4. The costs for developing the integration are added to the proposal ask, and deposited to the Incubator wallet upon receipt.  They will manage the implementation as bounty tasks.  Costs will include an additional 20% management fee, which covers the Incubator’s project admin and QA activities.

Risk Mitigation
There is always a risk that integration may not work out as planned. If for any reason the integration does not happen as planned or if the integration is not done by end of Q4/2021, the funds from this proposal will be transferred to Dash Incubator and made available for funding of their development projects. 

As always, we are happy to hear your feedback!