Quick recap

The Steering Committee held a meeting to review updates from worker proposal leads and discuss key organizational matters. Nicolas provided infrastructure updates, reporting that February's budget was under target at $1,800, with zero incident rate and 22,700 crypto handles processed. The team discussed extending important domain renewals for Trust Wallet and other partners, with Wayne agreeing to handle the $10 renewal for 10 years. A significant portion of the meeting focused on the FIO handles subsidy issue, where Nicolas reported the current free handles bucket would run out in about 4 months. After extensive discussion involving Pawel's technical expertise and input from Wayne and Emily, the group decided to reallocate 50 million tokens from the TPID rewards bucket to extend the free handles program. Emily presented preliminary information about a potential .fio top-level domain application from U Registry, which would require a significant upfront fee and ongoing costs, though concerns were raised about the financial impact given current treasury constraints.

Next steps

• Nicolas: Prepare and submit a FIP (FIO Improvement Proposal) to reallocate 50 million FIO tokens from the new user bounty bucket to the free FIO handle registration bucket, including analysis of runway and impact, and collect community feedback (especially from block producers and wallet partners).

• Nicolas: Document the Steering Committee's recommendation to reallocate funds for free FIO handles in JIRA for transparency and to solicit board input.

• Nicolas: Consult with the board via email or meeting to inform them of the Steering Committee's recommendation regarding the reallocation of funds and the FIP process.

• Nicolas: Reach out to block producers to determine if any are willing and able to code and test the required chain changes for the FIP, and coordinate the technical implementation if possible.

• Emily: Clarify with U Registry whether their proposed .fio TLD integration includes all necessary chain development work and confirm the technical approach for linking ICANN domains and on-chain FIO domains.

• Emily: Compile and share a detailed analysis and slide deck on the U Registry .fio TLD proposal, including costs, risks, and projected revenues, for Steering Committee and board review.

• Nicolas: Create a Steering Committee decision in JIRA regarding the U Registry .fio TLD proposal and ensure all relevant documentation is shared with the board for feedback and voting.

• Wayne and Nicolas: Review and propose updated worker proposal budgets for May–July cycle, targeting a 15% reduction to achieve an 18-month runway, and submit justifications if proposing budgets above the target.

• Nicolas: Initiate and coordinate a group discussion involving representatives from the foundation, block producers, and major wallet integration partners (e.g., Trust Wallet, Edge Wallet) to discuss the future strategy of the FIO protocol and foundation.

• All Steering Committee members: Continue the strategic discussion about the future of the foundation and protocol in the Steering Committee Discord channel before the next call.

• Wayne: Renew key partner domains for 10 years using the appropriate wallet and ensure wallet is topped up for this purpose.

• Nicolas: Communicate with Libert (or legal) to confirm the procedure for transferring board/Steering Committee seats and authorized signatory roles, and report findings to the group.

• Emily: Take over responsibility for managing payments to worker proposal leads, as discussed with Luke.

• Wayne: Consider taking over Luke's board seat and/or authorized signatory responsibilities, pending legal confirmation of process.

Summary

One Piece Series and Updates

The meeting began with Nicolas led the meeting, providing updates on core infrastructure, treasury, and team activities. The team reported a decrease in budget and domain registrations compared to previous months, but noted an increase in domain renewals. They also discussed recent software updates and a spike in FIO token transactions. Nicolas reminded the group about available seats on the Steering Committee and Board of Directors. The conversation ended with a question about confirming a transfer via BVI, which Luke was asked to follow up on.

Organizational Responsibilities and Board Planning

Luke expressed concerns about his continued involvement in the organization, particularly regarding his responsibilities and the board's composition. He discussed the possibility of transferring some of his responsibilities, including payments, to others, but emphasized the need to address the uncertainty surrounding the board's future. Wayne offered to take on some of Luke's responsibilities, including potentially becoming an authorized signatory. The group also discussed renewing domain names for important partners and the need to decide on the future of free FIO handle registrations, considering the financial implications for the foundation.

Crypto Handle Registration Budget Discussion

The team discussed the current state of the free crypto handle registration bucket, which has approximately 4 months of runway at the current rate. Emily suggested stopping funding for free handles to transition away from reallocating funds between buckets, while Pawel and Luke emphasized the importance of consulting block producers about the potential impact on their compensation. The group agreed that the Steering Committee should first decide on a recommendation, potentially involving the board, before creating a FIP and engaging with the community and block producers. Nicolas, being new to the governance process, sought clarification on the steps involved, which Pawel outlined.

Handle Registration Fund Reallocation Plan

The group discussed reallocating funds from free handle registrations to other purposes, with Pawel clarifying that the Foundation actually benefits from these registrations through TPID rewards. Nicolas and Wayne agreed that reducing the free handle rewards to 10% from 50% would be appropriate, as this was the original intention, and would allow for the funds to be reallocated while maintaining the 40% bonus for integration partners. Emily noted that most partners already have mechanisms in place for users to pay for handles, so the transition would be manageable.

Token Transfer and Maximum Limit Update

The team discussed updating the chain to transfer 50 million tokens to the foundation account and change the maximum number from 77 to 27. Pawel suggested documenting the Steering Committee's agreement in JIRA and consulting the board. He explained that the technical changes would be similar to a previous FIP, involving minting tokens and updating a hard-coded number. The team considered asking block producers to implement the changes, as they did not have chain developers. Pawel noted that while the coding was straightforward, the deployment process could take two months. Luke questioned whether to decide on the exact number of tokens in this call or have a separate discussion with block producers and wallets. Pawel recommended starting with 50 million and leaving room for adjustment during consultations.

FIP Process and Partnership Updates

Nicolas will prepare a formal proposal for the FIP process, which will include analysis and numbers regarding the runway for user bounties and integration partners. Wayne presented the February maintenance work proposal, highlighting that revenue targets were met, but no new partnerships were formed. Wayne discussed ongoing partnership discussions with various companies, including BitLock, Celine Wallet, and Asterium, and mentioned that Maria is in talks with Sideshift. Wayne also noted that Emily has not received any updates from Kwonami after the meeting at East Denver.

.FIO TLD Proposal Discussion

Wayne, Emily, and Nicolas discussed a proposal for obtaining the .fio TLD, which includes estimated revenue projections and costs. Emily shared that the projections look expensive, with ICANN application expected in April and a potential 50% revenue share with U online. They plan to schedule an off-cycle call to further discuss the proposal, as the costs are significant and require careful consideration.

Domain Registration Pre-Registration Model

Emily presented a pre-registration model for domain registration, which involves a refund process if the application doesn't go through. The team discussed the financial risk of this model, with Nicolas and others expressing concerns about risking 50% of the treasury. Pawel raised questions about on-chain development and domain registration. The group agreed to create a JIRA ticket for the Steering Committee to make a decision after Emily adds all the information.

Foundation Budget

The meeting focused on worker proposal budgets. Nicolas presented calculations showing that to achieve an 18-month runway, worker proposal budgets need to be reduced by 15%. Wayne agreed to review this with his team and provide a proposal by the end of the month.

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