Summary
This proposal seeks DAO approval to transfer an additional 5% of the NTRN token supply to the Neutron Ecosystem Foundation (NEF) to replenish and expand its Long-Term Incentive (LTI) reserves. This transfer will ensure Neutron remains a competitive ecosystem in attracting and retaining top-tier core contributors and ecosystem project founders in a market where token-based compensation is a critical tool for recruiting and alignment.
Context and Justification
At genesis, 23% of the NTRN supply was allocated to Founding Entities, of which 15% was allocated to P2P for incubating the project and 8% of the NTRN supply was allocated to fund Long-Term Incentives (LTIs) for core contributors such as Hadron Labs and future ecosystem participants. This allocation has served as the backbone of Neutron’s contributor compensation model, helping to secure critical technical, operational, and go-to-market talent.
However, industry benchmarks suggest that 15–30% of token supply is typically allocated to contributors and investors combined, with contributor-specific pools often falling in the 10–15% range for comparable infrastructure projects (Pulley, 2023; Dragonfly, 2023). Neutron’s current LTI reserve—8% of supply, all-time—falls materially below this range.
If Neutron is to continue attracting and retaining world-class contributors and builders, its LTI pool must reflect both the competitive market for talent and the long time horizons required to realize the protocol’s strategic goals.
Proposal
We propose to transfer an additional 5% of the NTRN token supply from the DAO-controlled treasury to the Neutron Ecosystem Foundation (NEF). This would bring the total LTI allocation to 13% of total supply, still below industry upper bounds but meaningfully closer to parity with high-performing infrastructure projects.
Structure and Controls
The NEF is a Cayman-based, insolvency-remote Foundation. Its sole director is the Neutron Foundation. NEF’s charter restricts it to allocating grants and LTI awards exclusively for ecosystem development purposes, which includes core contributors as well as ecosystem project founders.
All LTI grants are subject to long-term vesting and community transparency standards. LTI allocations are visible on-chain and the relevant contracts are listed on Neutron’s public documentation: https://docs.neutron.org/resources/contracts/mainnet#neutron-vesting
Governance votes
The following items summarize the voting options and what each vote means for this proposal:
YES – You support transferring an additional 5% of the total NTRN token supply from the DAO Treasury to the Neutron Ecosystem Foundation (NEF) to replenish the Long-Term Incentive (LTI) pool and ensure Neutron can continue to attract and retain top talent.
NO – You oppose the transfer of additional NTRN tokens to the NEF for long-term contributor incentives.
ABSTAIN – You wish to contribute to the quorum but formally decline to vote either for or against the proposal.