As previously announced, the Orbs project is in the midst of the process of formalizing its community governance, including by introducing Orbs Improvement Protocols (OIPs) as the official process for suggestions to improve the project.

The Orbs team has now submitted a proposal to assist token holders impacted by the recent events at FTX. The details are below. The draft OIP can be found here: https://github.com/orbs-network/OIPs/issues/5.

We welcome you to review the draft and make comments and suggestions, whether by adding comments in Github, or discussing on Telegram or in the governance page of the Orbs discord.

Once rough consensus has been reached on final language for OIP-4, the team will present the final draft as a governance vote on Snapshot for the approval of the entire Orbs PoS Universe.

We look forward to another great discussion!

OIP-4: Allocate 6.3M ORBS to Assist Holders Affected by FTX

Description

As everyone knows, the collapse of FTX has created significant losses around the blockchain world. The primary victims are, of course, retail customers who held funds on the FTX exchange that now appear to be inaccessible.

Several projects have come to arrangements or set aside resources to compensate those holding their tokens on the FTX exchange.

This OIP proposes that the Orbs community take similar action, and set aside 6.3 million ORBS tokens from the long-term reserve pool to replace ORBS tokens lost to their holders on FTX. Actual reimbursement and the timing will be determined as the bankruptcy case continues and the affected parties and proper procedures become more clear.

Benefits

The Orbs project is, at its root, community driven. When something happens that harms many community members, the project community should do what it can (within reason) to help. This will benefit the project as a whole by demonstrating that the Orbs project community takes care of its members and is a good actor in the space.

It will also allow for continued participation from those holders who for whatever reason had their ORBS trapped on FTX, instead of allowing these potential participants to become separated from the project and unable to contribute.

The number of ORBS tokens trapped on FTX is not large and releasing the same amount from the reserves should not have a major impact on the supply dynamics.

Risks

This action could lead to others who lose tokens, for whatever reason, demanding to be similarly compensated. If something similar were to happen on an exchange where more Orbs tokens are held, this might not be a viable option and could harm the viability of the project.

Specification: The FTX bankruptcy case is only beginning, and it is unclear how or when it will be complete or how this compensation would interact with bankruptcy claims. This OIP is establishing the principle that the community is committing to compensate those who hold ORBS on FTX for their losses. The details will be worked out in communication with the affected holders, as well as the current and future management and administration of FTX and, potentially, the courts.

The reservation of 6.3M ORBS tokens will be open for 18 months. If this window expires and there are still unresolved issues or users who have not been able to recover, the program can be extended by an additional community governance vote.

Any compensation offered from the pool should have certain limitations, which include: 1. Individual retail traders only, no institutions or entities. 2. Not more than $5,000 worth of Orbs to any individual recovery. 3. To receive compensation, holders will need to prove the presence of ORBS tokens on their FTX accounts at the relevant times, within procedures to be determined as the bankruptcy case continues. The Orbs team will have final determination of the final terms and conditions.

Responsible Parties

The Orbs team should take an administrative role in implementing this proposal.

Voting

Standard rules of the Orbs Snapshot.org space.

Conclusion

The Orbs project should take proactive steps to reserve 6.3 million Orbs tokens to help reimburse those individual retail investors whose funds were misappropriated or locked on FTX.