Bootstrap Agreement v3
TL;DR: This proposal seeks to extend the bootstrap agreement for up to one year.
Background:
tBTC launched with three bootstrap providers: Boar, P2P, and Staked as described in TIP-045 ā Bootstrap Proposal v2. The DAO then extended the original term by TIP-074 in January 2024.
Purpose:
to authorize the expenditure of DAO funds to maintain bootstrap node agreements with aforementioned providers.
Written by: @Vict0r
DAO sponsors: @JohnPackel
Discussion:
Bootstrap nodes serve several vital functions but primarily support peer-to-peer node discovery and provide electrum connectivity for the network. Detailed explanations of hardware requirements are listed in each of the prior TIPs, and not repeated for brevity, and are incorporated by reference.
A recent proposal TIP-092 proposed ending inflation, and acknowledged that the bootstrap nodes are a significant expense costing the DAO $360K annually. Considerable thought has gone into exploring options to reduce or eliminate this expense by various means.
However, since no decision has been reached in one direction or another, I have come to the conclusion that extending the existing proposal is the best course forward for the time being to ensure stability and continuity.
All three of the original bootstrap providers agreed to continue to provide this service to Threshold Network under the same terms and cost to the DAO.
Proposal:
Extend the terms of TIP-045/TIP-074 for 6 months, starting February 2025 until July 2025, at which point the DAO may extend the agreement up to two times by an additional 3 months each. Each provider, Boar, P2P, and Staked, will continue to receive $10,000 per month in T.