Moonbeam Strategic Direction Update

[aaron.mbf]

Thank you to everyone for taking the time to leave your comments - there’s some great discussion here and some valuable points for us to take into consideration.

We’ll continue to review feedback across channels for a bit and put together a list of common questions and/or areas needing clarification to circle back with…

[legendnodes]

Thanks @aaron.mbf for bringing this great discussion to the table. To me it always felt like we’re doing more of the same and expect a different outcome that never comes. This suggestion is definitely out of the box thinking that I’m sure will be net positive to the ecosystem, and I’m happy we finally acknowledged that we have to expand from Polkadot regardless of Plaza’s expected launch.

As mentioned above by @Trilemma & @ogre44444 - Polkadot isn’t the place for DeFi. Even with a 28 days unbonding period (which is A LOT), people still prefer to stake safely on-chain for 17% rather than to be liquid but with DeFi risks.

Maybe it’s out of topic, but how does the Moonwell team expect GLMR holders to lock their tokens there when the APR is ~3% while on chain it’s more than double and without DeFi risk?

Back to the topic, I’d just focus on the following issues:

1. Not launching a new token. It’s already confusing when we have MOVR & GLMR, and I hope there won’t be another token to be issued or to replace one of the current ones.
2. Not abandoning MOVR - MOVR already by definition suffers from the “test network” reputation that no one really uses, so any utility added to GLMR should be added to MOVR as well, or at least emphasizing the need of MOVR for GLMR.
3. Personally I believe that transactions are more important than TVL. Therefore, I’d focus on that aspect in the expansion. It also can help with turning Moonbeam deflationary
4. Collator decentralization - exactly as @Trilemma described.

I want to thank you again for bringing this topic up - makes me really excited about it!

[code4953]

Hey everyone! So this quote stood out to me!

@aaron.mbf

Moonbeam brought Ethereum to Polkadot. Now, it’s time to bring Polkadot technology to Ethereum.

Moonbeam was initally created to bring the Ethereum virtual machine to Polkadot. EVM is the staple of smart contracts. The original inception leaned on the belief that copying and pasting smart contracts from Ethereum to Moonbeam will capture all the users and volume. I think it was assumed most Ethereum developers would switch because of the low gas fees and benefit from the superior ecosystem Polkadot offers.
I am not sure it was completely successfull but here are some of my thoughts:

• Some mentioned a new token? I dont think another token is a good idea. In fact the double token standard on Polkadot seems fragmented. We need to become more user friendly. We need to have less siloed areas.

• A canary network is a test net right? Is it redundant having both Moonriver and Moonbase Alpha? What if we trade all the Moonriver for Moonbeam, and then burn Moonriver? Crazy idea maybe?

• Giving crosschain, openGov, and other Moonbeam functionalty to Ethereum seems like a great idea.

• I always like to simplify things, so I made a meme:

[Trilemma]

@legendnodes

Maybe it’s out of topic, but how does the Moonwell team expect GLMR holders to lock their tokens there when the APR is ~3% while on chain it’s more than double and without DeFi risk?

It’s slightly off topic, but if there were more organic borrowing demand for GLMR then the rate to supply it would be higher, but in order for this to happen we need a vibrant economy. More trading on DEXes would drive higher fees, and borrowers would want to borrow GLMR to pair with other assets on DEXes.

A more vibrant economy with more trading activity could drive higher returns, but it’s very hard to do when you’re competing with 17% DOT staking rate…

[micheleicebergnodes]

@turrizt

Moonbeam’s plan to bring the best of Polkadot’s capabilities: such as cross-chain interoperability, fast finality, and advanced governance - into the Ethereum ecosystem makes strategic sense and could offer significant differentiation in a crowded L2 market

by leveraging Ethereum’s validators through a restaking / AVS model while maintaining Moonbeam’s core substrate architecture, Moonbeam can avoid becoming just another vanilla L2. instead, it can act as a bridge between ecosystems, offering seamless cross-chain functionality and interoperability that neither Polkadot nor existing L2s can provide

Totally agree with this great summary, thanks @turrizt.

I simply add some considerations:

• Polkadot is here to stay, Moonbeam&Moonriver also;
  Foundation strategic proposal is about an Expansion to ETH, not a moving out from Polkadot. On the opposite, by this expansion MB could truly connect ETH/DOT ecosystems making them both grow and thrive
• Sounds quite easy to understand the key concept of this strategy: ETH brings users&liquidity, DOT (MB) brings tech advantages/innovations. Potentially this is the perfect Marriage. Let’s try to organize it in the proper way.
• ETH L2s as of today are like Islands (with no ferry boats or flights connecting them😅).
  MB has clearly the capability to link them creating new economic flows and opportunities… the growth potential here it’s simply… Huge.

All in all, thanks @aaron.mbf and Foundation for 2 reasons:

• For being Brave and Visionary
• For being Consistent with MB original concept about Governance: Community is the core of the Project

Let’s proceed then, United as the Great Community we are!!!

[aaron.mbf]

One other comment related to Moonriver although slightly off topic - although delayed, the deployment of Axelar Amplifier to Moonriver is still being worked on and following this, grants will be distributed to build some momentum. Nothing has changed in this regard.

See here for more info.

[maximv88]

Would be a great idea for Moonbeam to come up with a way to create a huge TVL for LST’s from outside of the Polkadot ecosystem using the original Moonbeam dapp. I would like to see the focus on BTC & ETH and maybe onboard big L1 chains in the future as a partnership with incentives from these ecosystems to boost liquidity on Polkadot. This idea comes with some issues that are very common for Polkadot;

-Market the product right so that it is being used and known in the industry
-Make it accessible in all ways and forms by doing a deep dive in users’ needs
-Make sure rewards are competitive

This would also mean a bigger focus on the financial aspect, something that is being neglected for a long time but has had some impact lately on the “I’m in it for the tech” hardcore Polkadot community.

It’s time we think more about Polkadot for what it is right now and utilize it rather than focusing on shooting for further stars all the time. We might not be the preferred chain for memes, NFTs or TVL but all of that can change depending on the direction that we push this ship together.

I have huge faith in the competence of Moonbeam and Polkadot as a whole. We have THE BEST tech and devs on the planet. Let’s show the world how it’s done!