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Should we denominate the fee to mint a NAME in USD?

PassedPoll

Proposal Details

Author0xd11a…1f49
PublishedNov 28, 2022 13:11
Voting beginsNov 28, 2022 13:11
Voting endsDec 03, 2022 13:11
Snapshot#fcc0144

Description

**What are NAMEs?** Decentralized NAMES are a key piece of our identity system. They represent our avatar name in the game and in the dapp ecosystem. **How ​​do they work?** NAMES are implemented as subdomains of dcl.eth, thanks to the ENS protocol. Any wallet can spend 100 MANA to mint a unique NAME. The address receives the NAME and with it 100 Voting Power (VP). **What is the problem with setting rates in MANA?** Using MANA as a medium of exchange is a great way to support our internal economy. However, using it as a pricing measure is not a good idea due to its price fluctuations. An alternative is to set the fee in USD and make it payable in MANA using the current exchange rate. [A similar strategy](https://governance.decentraland.org/proposal/?id=b8075360-e8e7-11ec-82d9-d917cdd158ac) has already been implemented for wearable publication fees, defined in USD but payable in MANA. **Should we denominate the fee to mint a NAME in USD?** * Yes, the price must be stable. * No, keep it at 100 MANA.

42 Comments

yemelJan 13, 2023

Thank you all for your valuable input. Based on the different opinions shared and the votation results I decided to not proceed with a DRAFT proposal, because there is no clear sense of alignment on a price point. I suggest re-submitting another poll with a few price points (e.g 30 USD, 100 USD, 100 MANA). Any other ideas on how to proceed on this @Matimio @Fehz ?

ShinyDec 14, 2022

There was a question about L2 names in one of the foundation AMA meetings, first ENS needs to add support for L2, then also DCL can start thinking about L2 names.

JasonXDec 07, 2022

How many times we need to go over this? There has already been multiple proposals on this topic. Rather than trying to lower the name minting cost why not focus on the possibilities of subdomain minting on L2? I promise to give out millions of names from my personal collection. Imagine L2 name mints at few cents. Everyone will have a name, we will no longer see guest users. I feel like we're going back instead of forward. Whale votes manipulating proposals screams centralisation. Ethic that don't age well with Decentraland.

TheCryptoTenguDec 05, 2022

Id say the community made it clear they didnt want this. The whales voted this through. You know it and I know it but what we gonna do about it ya know? In the end tho guess all we can do is work with it and make do to try to make it be benefitial.

SanninDec 05, 2022

4.4M vote, beautiful right? When we look back at this in a couple months would we say community decided/voted for this? Curious as to what the price options will be.

daoDec 05, 2022

Should we denominate the fee to mint a NAME in USD? This proposal has been PASSED by a DAO Committee Member (0xbef99f5f55cf7cdb3a70998c57061b7e1386a9b0)

TheCryptoTenguDec 05, 2022

Dont think it would be retro Peng fren. Think it would just be going forward a dollar amount would still have to be set and voted on. On the plus side the mana would go to fund new ventures. They are currently restructuring the grants tiers and all that. Plus side all those names now have a world associated to them so $$$. Not sure who that 4mil vp wallet it but was interesting see it last minute cap it off. I think this will have more positives in the long run we just have to watch same things we been watching. Only down side i see to this is when we were burning mana that was less mana to be sold or swapped for stables that these grants have been using to pay bills and keep developing. Instead of us burning the mana it will now be stored in contracts and sold in further increments.

ArtReYouDec 05, 2022

Do we get a refund for buying all these names? I spent over $15K for investing in Names....

TheCryptoTenguDec 04, 2022

Shamu came through. Whale games ... 1 mana / 1 mana forever usd

TudamoonDec 03, 2022

We are pegging DCL Names to a certain USD price instead of a certain MANA price, correct? I am not understanding why we would do that if the goal is to allow MANA to be an independent currency of Decentraland. MANA needs to be pegged to things so it can determine it's own value, outside of the USD. Otherwise when the fiat USD fails, so does everything it is pegged to. If we keep the minting of names to 100 MANA, it leaves a benchmark on how much 100 MANA should ideally cost through comparative price analysis. Ideally since there is a total supply of MANA, by pegging things to it, it allows those items to be valued in MANA independently of government run fiat currencies. This is more long-term thinking than this solution proposed.

estebanDec 03, 2022

[quote="Tudamoon, post:31, topic:16827"] *After this proposal enactment*, to buy **DCL Name**, I must now: USD → MANA (Equitable value of USD) → DCL Name *Prior to this proposal enactment*, I would: hold MANA → DCL Name [/quote] I think you are misinterpreting the proposal. It reads: [quote="dao, post:1, topic:16827"] Using MANA as a medium of exchange is a great way to support our internal economy. However, using it as a pricing measure is not a good idea due to its price fluctuations. An alternative is to set the fee in USD and make it payable in MANA using the current exchange rate. [/quote] You will still pay in MANA, it's just going to cost 100 MANA one day, 80 if the price of MANA/USD increased 25% on the other, and so on...

TudamoonDec 03, 2022

@esteban I found a better image for the value of MANA. ![image|585x499](upload://pnpwmaIZI7jG6Pf2NFU0AEvZ8wm.png)

TudamoonDec 03, 2022

@Esteban Why did you create MANA if we are going to base everything on USD prices? Can you share how this "optimizes" the user experience? *After this proposal enactment*, to buy **DCL Name**, I must now: USD --> MANA (Equitable value of USD) --> DCL Name *Prior to this proposal enactment*, I would: hold MANA --> DCL Name People would exchange USDC for MANA and hold it because 100 MANA would get you a name, but now since 100 MANA doesn't get you a name, why would I buy MANA, until I actually need it since it is based on USD amounts? (Obviously Voting Power is another reason) [quote="esteban, post:30, topic:16827"] economists love to talk about variations on things like “P” and “Q” [/quote] Economics is the study of relationships. Yes "P" and "Q" are relevant, but the DAO just lowered the Demand for MANA with this proposal and increased the supply of MANA with this proposal https://forum.decentraland.org/t/dao-afda06b-should-we-stop-burning-mana-when-a-name-is-minted/16826 ![20221203_110630|666x500](upload://uWMSsWcXhTm3XOOY5tBaU9v9mUB.jpeg) You just de-valued MANA, not made it stronger. (Sorry for my sloppy drawing)

estebanDec 03, 2022

[quote="Tudamoon, post:29, topic:16827"] I am not sure which authorities this idea appeals to. However, when you create a fiat currency, in order for it to continue working or have value, it must be backed by commodities, goods, services, debt contracts or other things. Without that, the currency is worthless. If we want to stabilize a currency, is the idea to make it used for as many things as possible and then using price discovery of that currency to find the current value of goods and services. Current value of goods and services can be found because there is a Total amount of MANA tokens, so value can be found. Now that we removed one more good from being pegged to MANA, you weakened the currency of MANA even more. [/quote] Dear Tudamoon, please quote some reference bibliography to back these statements so I can read more about this, so that I can understand the principles behind your opinions, which seem pretty strong. In my opinion, you're conflating different behaviors of MANA, and focusing on the negative consequences of "not using MANA as a unit of account", which is not a fundamental driver of MANA in its infancy (Bitcoin is still impossible to use as a unit of account, and it's a lot larger). MANA is a medium of exchange (check out https://market.decentraland.org where people buy and sell goods in exchange for MANA). It's useful to have prices fluctuate according to the market realities, economists love to talk about variations on things like "P" and "Q"

TudamoonDec 03, 2022

[quote="esteban, post:27, topic:16827"] Could you share some bibliography or references about the economic theory behind your thinking? [/quote] I am not sure which authorities this idea appeals to. However, when you create a fiat currency, in order for it to continue working or have value, it must be backed by commodities, goods, services, debt contracts or other things. Without that, the currency is worthless. So let's put a microscope on MANA right now: **MANA backed by:** Voting Power Purchasing Wearables In-world purchases (Not many currently) **The pegs were removed for:** Wearable Submissions Name minting (now removed) If we want to stabilize a currency, is the idea to make it used for as many things as possible and then using price discovery of that currency to find the current value of goods and services. Current value of goods and services can be found because there is a Total amount of MANA tokens, so value can be found. Now that we removed one more good from being pegged to MANA, you weakened the currency of MANA even more. Why hold MANA if everything is in USD prices? As a user, I need MANA to purchase wearables or emotes, well with so little things to purchase MANA with, why speculate on it, I might as well keep USDC and then convert it, but that's really not optimal for the consumer. However, when you have a whole entire Decentraland that revolves around using MANA and everything is in MANA prices, I would think most people would purchase MANA for speculation that it is going to increase in value (and in the beginning of it's life, it will - as long as we continue content creating in DCL). When MANA is used for more and more things over time, it becomes it's own currency. [quote="esteban, post:17, topic:16827"] I bet you my house that Disney World ticket prices are very carefully optimized to maximize revenue and **a ticket to Disney World is not pegged to the price of [$DIS](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DIS)**. That would be ridiculous. That would get someone fired. This current price strategy for a NAME is outrageous and should change. [/quote] May I ask you why MANA was created in the first place? If we feel so inclined to use DAI or USD, why should I take an extra step to convert it to MANA? Doesn't sound to optimal to me?

SanninDec 03, 2022

[quote="esteban, post:25, topic:16827"] The added value from worlds probably allows for a higher price (and maybe also demands it because of hosting costs) [/quote] To this, personally I’d rather see funds from minting NAMEs be used this way rather than for Grants https://twitter.com/eellillee/status/1598499888739794944?s=46&t=1x5oLEGSYg-tcjMfqS3WnA

estebanDec 03, 2022

[quote="Tudamoon, post:21, topic:16827"] Are we going to continue to de-peg MANA from being used as a currency? We need to peg MANA to be used to purchase as many things as possible. [/quote] I think that before we get there we should have a healthy and working economy that rewards content creators for the awesome things they're building in our virtual world. I'd like to ensure we have that first. I am not sure I follow your line of thought. Could you share some bibliography or references about the economic theory behind your thinking?

SanninDec 03, 2022

My point exactly I believe x amount is crucial for the spamming issues, my point is 100 MANA is a pretty cheap price now considering NAMEs are the only L1 dcl asset that can still be “minted”.

estebanDec 03, 2022

[quote="Sannin, post:19, topic:16827"] 100 MANA = $41 usd right now ser. Pretty cheap imo better than 100 usd(currently 240 MANA) I would say, why didn’t we do this when MANA was trading around $2-$5 usd? [/quote] I think the outcome of this proposal doesn't clarify the price of NAMEs. Subsequent proposals should. I'm not really convinced whether a NAME should be $10, $40, or $100. There are good arguments for each price level. * The cheaper a NAME is, the more likely new users can get a NAME * The added value from worlds probably allows for a higher price (and maybe also demands it because of hosting costs)

SanninDec 03, 2022

I read this, Ty for sharing and I agree.

estebanDec 03, 2022

[quote="Sannin, post:19, topic:16827"] So genuinely asking, is the real goal growing DAO funds on the bear or making prices for NAMEs attractive to new users? [/quote] In my opinion people that want to have a NAME should be able to get a NAME. I agree with what @cazala said: usernames should be free (as is the case in twitter or instagram), but in this blockchain context, some anti-spam measure is needed. Genuinely answering: IMHO growing the DAO funds in this context is secondary to user happiness.

estebanDec 03, 2022

[quote="Sannin, post:19, topic:16827"] stop the burning and direct those funds to DAO [/quote] The rationale of this is explained in detail here: https://www.placeholder.vc/blog/2020/9/17/stop-burning-tokens-buyback-and-make-instead TL;DR: * **In the short term, burning or send to DAO have the same effect** The MANA is effectively taken out of the market (DAO funds can be considered as "out of the market" because it's hard to coordinate how to take it out). * **In the long term, it's better to have flexibility to increase the supply** Having a permanent drop in supply prevents the possibility to increase the circulating supply in the future, and inflation could be beneficial in the future.

TudamoonDec 03, 2022

Have you seen how many names have been minted lately since the announcement of DCL Worlds Alpha? Yeah we should optimize it. Too cheap at the moment - is that what you are saying? Are we going to continue to de-peg MANA from being used as a currency? We need to peg MANA to be used to purchase as many things as possible. Otherwise why accept MANA, start accepting USDC or DAI.

SanninDec 03, 2022

lol guess we’ll have usd prices, yippie so excited lol

SanninDec 03, 2022

100 MANA = $41 usd right now ser. Pretty cheap imo better than 100 usd(currently 240 MANA) I would say, why didn’t we do this when MANA was trading around $2-$5 usd? When it was - wearable submissions was pegged to 150 usd from a 500 mana flat rate - people still complain 150 usd is a lot. I agree that MANA at the prices it is currently plus the current state of market this would make sense while combining with the other proposal to stop the burning and direct those funds to DAO. So genuinely asking, is the real goal growing DAO funds on the bear or making prices for NAMEs attractive to new users? Because it seems we trying to get DAO some mana on bear honestly.