Shutter Champions: Melee 2

Aaaaaaand, we’re back with another round of Shutter Champions!

Melee 2 is focused on holistic visions for advancing Shutter Network and onboarding new participants to Shutter DAO 0x36 governance. It introduces significant changes regarding slate creation and slate voting. Please read this whole blog article thoroughly and post any questions in the Shutter Forum.

TL;DR

Melee 2 is a $10,000 Shutter Champions funding round focused on one question: What is the best way to advance Shutter with $10,000?

This round has two main roles:

• Delegates, Security Council Members, and Keypers create funding slates that propose how the $10,000 should be used to grow Shutter.
• Anyone who buys and holds SHU vote on the best slates. Anyone who buys SHU on the SHU/USDC Uniswap v2 pool on Ethereum Mainnet between May 21 and June 10 and holds it through July 10 is eligible to vote.

To participate as a voter:

1. Buy SHU between May 21 and June 10
2. Hold it through July 10
3. Vote on Snapshot from July 14 to July 17

What is Shutter Champions?

For those of you who are just joining us…

Shutter Champions is a new ecosystem growth program funded by Shutter DAO 0x36. It’s designed to support people contributing to the Shutter ecosystem - researchers, builders, dApp developers and creators - with funding, support, and marketing.

Shutter Champions is powered by Shutter DAO 0x36 and Octant v2. In mid March 2026, Shutter DAO 0x36 deposited 1.2M USDC into an Octant v2 ERC-4626 audited vault configured with Morpho’s “Steakhouse” USDC yield strategy. The yield generates approximately $5,000 in yield per month, which will be distributed to Shutter Champions in a series of rounds called “Melees”.

What Happened in Melee 1? 

Melee 1 was an incredible experiment. We thank everyone who made an effort and took time to participate.

We received 14 wonderful applications on the Melee 1 section of the Shutter Forum, ranging from in-depth content creation to DAO governance workshops to novel technology integrations. brainbot gmbh selected eleven of these applications to be included in four slates. Eleven members of Shutter DAO 0x36 cast their votes on Snapshot, deploying 21.3M SHU voting power.

However, the vote did not reach the specified quorum of 30M SHU. As a result, there was no winner of Melee 1 and the $5,000 worth of SHU will be added to the distribution pool for Melee 2.

We made two observations regarding Melee 1: 

First, all of the applications were made on behalf of the recipient - never on behalf of someone else. The applications seem to have been driven primarily by the applicants’ desire to receive funding rather than a holistic vision for how to best advance Shutter Network. 

Second, existing members of Shutter DAO 0x36 (especially large token holders and delegates) did not fully participate in the vote. The failure to reach quorum may be due to long-term members experiencing governance fatigue and/or apathy. 

What is Changing in Melee 2?

Melee 2 will distribute $10,000 as specified by the winning slate.

The scope for this melee is “What is the best way to advance Shutter with $10,000?”

Melee 2 will also divide responsibilities between different members of the Shutter Network:

Slate Creation

Only Shutter DAO 0x36 listed Delegates, Security Council Members, and Keypers may create a slate.

These longstanding members possess the in-depth knowledge to think deeply about Shutter Network and the vision to propose holistic and strategic slates which will advance the project.

A slate must:

1. Directly address the question: “What is the best way to advance Shutter with $10,000?"
2. Provide an explanation of the slate, including the goal and rationale behind the recipients and funding amounts.
3. Set out a list of recipients (individuals, organizations, contracts) and corresponding funding amounts. Funding amounts must be denominated in “$X worth of SHU” (if possible) or USDC (if necessary), and must be equal to or less than $10,000.
4. Only propose proactive funding - i.e. funding for future contributions, dependent on the fulfillment of specified milestones (when relevant). Slates may not propose retroactive funding.

The creator of a slate may not propose funding for him/herself or for any organizations with which they are affiliated.

The creator of the winning slate will receive a bounty of $200 worth of SHU, paid to the creator or their chosen public goods project.

Slate Voting

Melee 2 will continue our experiment with slate voting.

Melee 2 voters will vote on slates (rather than individual applications) using ranked choice voting.

Only addresses which buy SHU during May 21 - June 10 on the SHU/USDC Uniswap v2 pool on Ethereum Mainnet and hold it until at least the end of July 10 will be given a special non-transferable Melee 2 Voting Token, which allows them to participate in the Melee 2 vote but has no financial value.

Like many DAOs, Shutter DAO 0x36 has a high gini coefficient. As a result, potential new members may feel disincentivized from participating in Shutter DAO 0x36 governance because they feel their voice / vote pales in comparison to larger members. By restricting voting to addresses which buy SHU and hold it, we hope to carve out a space for new people to join Shutter DAO 0x36 and meaningfully participate in governance.

Melee 2 Voting Tokens will be distributed in proportion to the amount of SHU bought during May 21 - June 10 and held until at least the end of July 10. For example: An address which buys and holds 1 SHU will receive 1 Melee 2 Voting Token, and an address which buys and holds 1M SHU will receive 1M Melee 2 Voting Tokens.

Existing members of Shutter DAO 0x36 are able to participate in the Melee 2 vote by buying and holding additional SHU - from a new or an existing address.

If an address sells any amount of SHU May 21 through the end of July 10, it will not receive any Melee 2 Voting Tokens.

The slate vote will have a quorum of 1M Melee 2 Voting Tokens. 

Activities & Dates

1. Buy SHU: May 21 - June 10

Anyone: Buy Shutter token (SHU), the governance token of Shutter DAO 0x36 via the on the SHU/USDC Uniswap v2 pool on Ethereum Mainnet.

2. Hold SHU: June 11 - July 10

Buyers of SHU (in Step 1): Hold your SHU until the end of July 10.

3. Slate Proposals & Feedback: June 16 - 30

Shutter DAO 0x36 Delegates and Security Council Members: Create a slate outlining how you would use $10,000 (in SHU and/or USDC) to advance Shutter. Post your slate in the Shutter Champions: Melee 2 channel on the Shutter Forum. Use this template (link to be added).

Shutter Community: Provide feedback and ask questions regarding the slates proposed in the Shutter Forum.

4. Slate Selection: July 1 - 7

brainbot gmbh (a core contributor to Shutter) will select up to 4 funding slates for “Melee 2 Voting Token” holders to vote on.

5. Voting Token Distribution: July 11 - 13

brainbot gmbh (a core contributor to Shutter) will distribute Melee 2 Voting Tokens to addresses which completed Steps 1 & 2 (above).

6. Vote: July 14 at 9:00 UTC - July 17 at 9:00 UTC

Melee 2 Voting Token holders: Support your favorite slates using ranked choice voting on Snapshot.

7. Results and Recognition: July 17 at 9:00 UTC

Community Members: See the voting results. Celebrate the new Shutter Champions, who will receive funding and support from Shutter DAO 0x36.

About Octant

Octant's mission is to foster a thriving Ethereum ecosystem where critical projects receive sustainable funding. Octant v2 continues this mission by providing tools and products that are accessible to any Ethereum-based project.

Since its inception in 2023, Octant v1 has launched 90-day “epoch” funding rounds to explore new models for funding and community governance. Over $18 million in grant funding has been distributed to impactful projects on Ethereum across 10 epochs. The funding model was simple: lock $GLM, earn ETH every 90 days, and let the community decide how matching funds are allocated. These epochs supported Ethereum’s builders, core developers, creators, and public goods — powered by 100,000 staked ETH from the Golem Foundation.

Today, Octant operates as an independent project dedicated to building tools that help ecosystems earn, allocate, and grow through DeFi. Octant v2 includes institutional-grade vaults and a comprehensive funding management toolbox — featuring Octant Atlas, the Regen App, and Funding Round Operator tooling.