Opening:
As a lead investor who believed in Lava’s potential from the earliest stages, we have witnessed firsthand the incredible growth this project has achieved in a relatively short time. With a substantial stake in Lava, we share in both the success and risks, and we strongly believe that aligning our token unlock schedule with Lava’s ongoing development is essential for maximizing value and fostering stability.
Story of Lava’s Launch and Early Growth
- Initial Funding: The private TGE in January 2024 marked a key milestone in establishing Lava’s vision, enabling the development of the core technology further.
- Testnet Success: Lava quickly gained traction on Testnet, securing multiple partnerships and generating nearly $2M ARR, before full Mainnet launch.
- Demand for Token Utility: As usage grew, it became clear that Lava needed a Mainnet token to unlock its token utility and enhance network security. Operating on an insecure testnet environment highlighted the necessity of migrating to Mainnet.
- Pre-Launch Decision: To address this need, the Foundation executed a pre-launch on DEXs in August 2024. This kickstarted the migration from Testnet to Mainnet and allowed for early Mainnet pools deployment. The migration is still in process and more pools are expected to be deployed on mainnet in the coming months.
Achievements and Growth Potential
Lava’s achievements to date and potential for continued growth give us confidence that, with more strategic timing on token unlock, they can find great success:
- Infrastructure Backbone: Lava powers 40+ blockchains and supports over 6 million unique users each month, seamlessly integrating into everyday interactions across the ecosystem.
- Revenue Growth: Already generating around $2M ARR, and distributed over $250k to the pools on Testnet. Lava’s Mainnet expansion is set to further strengthen its financial standing and distribute chains’ native tokens as rewards to contributors.
- Key Partnerships & Adoption: The migration to Mainnet has paved the way for critical integrations, expanding Lava’s reach and influence among ecosystems
- On top of the 40+ supported chain, over $1M in network revenue across 12 incentive pools, so far with 100% retention
- Serving hundreds of dapps and over 8m unique users last 7 days, serving over 90b relays
- Collaborating with leading enterprises, including Google, Fireblocks, eToro, and more.
- Increasing Token Utility: With introduction of pools.lavanet.xyz & bundled staking rewards, Lava token holders are increasingly better rewarded for their contributions. Staking and restaking LAVA helps secure the network and boost RPC for different chains, while earning tokens from those chains. LAVA token utility is improving every month.
Rationale for Lockup Extension
For the ecosystem and the open market, the August pre-launch should have effectively marked the start of the vesting period, which would have provided Lava with 8 additional months before the first unlock. Without an extension, the upcoming unlock in January may hinder Lava’s ability to reach the most favorable listing venues, potentially affecting its long-term distribution.
Extending the lockup by 1 year until January 2026 not only gives Lava the necessary time to secure the best possible market position but also signals a strong vote of confidence from the community. This show of support can help build momentum and strengthen market perception, ultimately benefiting all token holders as Lava advances through this critical phase.
This 12 month extension would:
- Ensure Market Confidence: Demonstrates long-term commitment, reassuring the community and showcasing Lava’s ongoing traction.
- Enhance Network Stability: Supports a more stable token environment, preventing undue short-term sell pressure.
- Enable Full Mainnet Rollout: Provides the necessary time to solidify Mainnet deployment, ensuring Lava’s capacity to support a robust infrastructure backbone.
Next Steps
This discussion is non-binding and intended to gather community feedback. As an early supporter with a vested interest in Lava’s success, I encourage all members to share their thoughts. Our collective input will help shape the final stages of this proposal to reflect our shared vision for Lava.
In addition to gathering feedback, the next stage will involve submitting an on-chain proposal to formally support this initiative. This will provide the community with the opportunity to vote directly on the proposed lockup extension, ensuring transparency and decentralized governance in line with Lava’s ethos.
About Tribe
Tribe Capital, founded in 2018, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm managing over $1.6 billion in assets. We invest across various sectors and stages, from seed to growth, focusing on identifying and amplifying early-stage product-market fit to discover companies with the potential to become unique market leaders
Tribe Crypto has been actively investing since 2021, aiming to bring our data-driven processes to early stage crypto investing. You can find out more about us here: Crypto - Tribe Capital