DeFi

Controversial “DeFi Education Fund” Under Spotlight After Misunderstanding Surrounding Fund Management

Controversial “DeFi Education Fund” Under Spotlight After Misunderstanding Surrounding Fund Management

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Research analyst at The Block, Igor Igamberdiev, recently put the DeFi Education Fund in a pickle after pointing out that Larry Sukernik, one of the multi-signers behind the $20 million DeFi Education Fund, dumped UNI hours before the $10 million OTC sale. 

Igamberdiev sought further clarification on transactions, details of which he shared on his Twitter handle. 

Details About The DeFi Education Fund (DEF) 

The DeFi Education Fund is a policy organization supported through Uniswap. It recently announced that it had converted half the assets allocated to it through Uniswap governance (500,000 UNI/ $10 Million) into USDC. The conversion was done through a trade facilitated via Genesis. Member of the group’s steering committee and signatory to the group’s multisig, Marc Boiron, stated that deploying the funds quickly was communicated to the community at the start itself. 

The DeFi Education fund was created to promote policies favorable to Defi. The DEF was formed with an initial outlay of 1 Million UNI (over $19 Million). It received strong support from Uniswap’s governance token holders, with 79.7 Million UNI voting in favor of the creation of the fund. The DEF is only the third proposal to have successfully passed Uniswap’s governance process. 

Getting The DeFi Education Fund Started 

To start, the DeFi Education Fund will be hiring a policy director as its first staffer. With governments planning to regulate DeFi, the DEF plans to put forward the interests of the DeFi ecosystem and DeFi community. 

DEF plans to focus on funding organizations that have expertise in the field of DeFi so that they can advance policy or push the other goals that the fund is focusing on. It also hopes to educate and inform other organizations about DeFi and policies regarding DeFi. 

The UNI Allocation 

The allocation from Uniswap is a one-time contribution, and whether there will be future investment remains to be seen. The DEF’s new policy director will also focus on trying to secure funds from other sources as more and more DeFi communities work with DEF to push for favorable policies. 

Community Seeks Clarification 

Meanwhile, the Twitter community sought clarification from the DeFi Education Funds, with user Chris Blec submitting a “demand for transparency” to the Uniswap governance forum. The demand raised several questions regarding the proposal, such as, 

  • Who were the discussions regarding the proposal carried out with before bringing it before the public
  • Who reached out to committee members to discuss the fund?
  • Was the proposal drafted as a response to any ongoing or expected investigation? 
  • Why was a member of the World Economic Forum on the committee? 
  • How will the committee assure UNI token holders that they will continue to work in UNI’s interest? 
  • Why was 50% of the UNI sold in one go when the initial intention was to sell the UNI over a period of five years 
  • Why did a committee member sell 2612 UNI before the UNI sale? 

Sukernik Issues Clarification 

Larry Sukernik issued a clarification on Twitter stating that the UNI sold from his address was from a grant that was received some weeks back. He further stated that he had just noticed the funds and sold them for USDC. 

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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