This piece outlines the $110,000 grant allocation to Blockful for a Governance Security Review aimed at strengthening the resilience of the Uniswap Protocol's governance systems. Blockful will analyze critical governance data, identify potential vulnerabilities, and create a public dashboard to monitor governance security metrics for greater security for both the Uniswap community, and the broader DeFi space.

At the Uniswap Foundation, one of our primary objectives is to enhance the resilience of the Uniswap Protocol's Governance systems. As part of that mission, we have invested resources in strengthening our current governance systems by fortifying our delegate community. To continue to add to that effort, we are thrilled to announce the allocation of a $110,000 grant to Blockful for a comprehensive Governance Security Review.

To execute this initiative, Blockful will study a wide range of data and apply their “anti-capture” framework, a method they have developed to identify signs that an onchain governance system may be susceptible to attack. They will use the results of this research to identify potential attack vectors, suggest mitigations and response plans, and build and host a public dashboard to monitor the various metrics, onchain and offchain, that can be used as predictors of an attack.

Blockful's research will focus on collecting and analyzing critical data related to the Uniswap Governance system. The data to be examined includes:

• Token and Voting Power Distribution: Analysis of current and historical trends to understand shifts in voting dynamics.

• Cost and Profit of Attack Metrics: Assessment of the financial requirements needed to pass potentially harmful proposals at various points in time.

• Funding Rates, Liquidity and Borrowing Costs: Examination of current and historical UNI funding rates on centralized exchanges, along with other metrics indicative of the cost to borrow UNI.

• Participation Rates in Governance Votes: Review of historical participation rates to identify patterns that might influence governance security.

Using this comprehensive dataset, Blockful will develop actionable recommendations aimed at enhancing the resilience of Uniswap’s Governance’s security stance. These recommendations may include adjustments to governance parameters, changes to procedural aspects at the social layer, or other strategic modifications based on their findings.

Blockful’s final deliverables will include a detailed report summarizing their research, the indexing tools utilized for data analysis, and a publicly accessible monitoring dashboard designed to track governance security metrics continuously. For further details on the expected outcomes of this initiative, please refer to Blockful’s full grant proposal.

About the Grantees

Blockful brings a unique blend of technical expertise, theoretical knowledge, and practical experience to this initiative. By identifying a high-risk attack vector against the ENS DAO and working to implement a solution through updates to the governance contract structure, as well as providing actionable insights for the Compound community, Blockful's team of mechanism designers has demonstrated capability in conducting in-depth governance security analysis.

“The goal of the Uniswap Foundation Governance Security Review is to make the whole industry safer. At Blockful, our broader mission is to establish a public good that elevates overall security standards in the space, encouraging competition towards heightened security,” says Alexandro Netto, Executive Director at Blockful. He continues, “We’re pushing decentralization, and making DAOs as secure as possible by presenting data that leads people to take action.”

Securing the Future of Governance

This initiative is not just about protecting Uniswap Protocol Governance; it's about setting a precedent for the entire industry to follow, ensuring that governance systems are robust enough to support the thriving communities they govern.