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This post was originally published on August 13, 2024, and updated on November 25, 2024. The original version of this post contained information on bridging rewards that were available through October 31, 2024. Changes to the post are noted with inline comments below.
Throughout the summer, Unlock Labs has been helping put in place the necessary components for the Unlock Protocol DAO’s migration from Ethereum mainnet to Base.
This is one of a series of regular updates on the progress and steps being taken for this important initiative.
There are multiple phases in migrating the Unlock DAO from mainnet to Base.
Phase 0, the “Blueprint” phase, has now been completed. Phase 0 included:
Creating an entity that can issue the new governance token
Creating that new governance token for the Unlock DAO on Base
Deploying protocol governor contracts on Base
The Blueprint phase has been completed.
Similar to the governance process on mainnet, the Unlock DAO on Base will be governed by way of governance tokens. Governance tokens need to be created by an entity, typically a foundation. The Unlock Labs team has helped to instantiate a foundation to issue the new token, and the foundation has issued a new token, the Unlock Protocol (UP) token.
The token on Base is called the Unlock Protocol (”UP”) token
The UP token on Base has a supply of 1,000,000,000 (one billion) tokens
The UP token implements the ERC-20 specification. The UP token contract can be viewed here.
Holders of the UP token will be able to create and vote on protocol proposals on Base by way of a set of governor and timelock smart contracts.
Historically, creating and voting on Unlock DAO proposals on Ethereum mainnet has been an expensive proposition, primarily due to mainnet gas fees. Unlock Labs believes the move to Base will greatly improve the accessibility of governance to members of the Unlock Protocol DAO, making it significantly faster and more affordable to create and vote on DAO proposals.
In essence, the UP token on Base is an analogous version of the UDT token on mainnet. (In order to eliminate potential confusion between the two tokens, a different name — UP — was chosen on Base.)
Existing UDT holders will be able to exchange their UDT for UP tokens at a 1-to-1000 ratio, as a result of the different supplies of the two tokens. Every UDT token swapped will receive 1000 UP tokens in return, and may be eligible to receive additional bonuses.
At swap-time, UDT-holders will also be directed to explicitly delegate their voting power for their new UP tokens, in service of the goal of active participation in the Unlock DAO. Individuals will be able to self-delegate (i.e. vote their own tokens). If an individual wishes to hold the UP token but delegate their votes to another member of the community, they will be able to do so.
The swapping of UDT for UP is handled by a swapping smart contract. The swapping smart contract can be viewed here.
This swapping contract was created by Unlock Labs, and has been audited by Code4rena.
The Unlock Labs team has created a website at https://up-swap.unlock-protocol.com/ where anyone holding UDT can bridge their UDT from mainnet to Base and swap that UDT for UP governance tokens.
The Unlock Labs team has created a website at https://up-swap.unlock-protocol.com/ where anyone holding UDT can bridge their UDT from mainnet to Base and swap that UDT for UP governance tokens.
Head over to https://up-swap.unlock-protocol.com/. Double-check the URL to ensure you are on the correct site.
The above screenshot was updated on November 25, 2024 for clarity.
Connect your wallet, and you’ll see details on the bridging step.
The bridging step can be done using Superbridge. The video below shows the details of the bridging step, which takes about three minutes. At the end of this step, your UDT from mainnet will be bridged to Base. Note that the UDT on Base is only “bridged” at this point — it has not yet been swapped into UP yet. That will happen in the subsequent steps.
Superbridge - 6 August 2024 - Watch Video
The Superbridge bridging process typically takes about three minutes. Once the bridging is complete, return to https://up-swap.unlock-protocol.com/ and proceed, to Step 2: Delegate.
Delegation is an important part of the Unlock Protocol Locksmith community and DAO. The voting (aka governor) smart contracts require tokens to be “delegated” to someone in order for those tokens to be used in voting.
If you intend to be an active member of the Unlock Protocol DAO (i.e. creating proposals, discussing proposals, regularly voting on proposals, etc.), then definitely delegate your votes to yourself!
On the other hand, it can sometimes be challenging to stay informed and active in DAO matters; it is a commitment. If you’re not sure you’ll be able to regularly participate, you can delegate your voting power to another member of the DAO while retaining complete control over your UP tokens. There is a list of active delegates here who you can choose from if you wish to do so.
You can also delegate to any other valid address on Base, and you can change or update your delegation at any time.
Choose a delegate, and then continue to Step 3.
Here’s the fun part. Now that your UDT is bridged to Base and you have chosen a delegate (yourself or someone else), it’s time to swap. Every UDT you have bridged can be swapped for 1000 UP tokens.
Read the disclaimer, approve the swap, and then click the “Swap” button!
You did it! You now hold UP tokens on Base, and you are part of the future of the Unlock Protocol DAO on Base.
To encourage DAO members to migrate their UDT to UP, there will be incentives distributed during 2024, and possibly beyond.
Additional incentives may be introduced at any time, and you understand that the incentives, timing, and terms noted here may be subject to change at any time.
The first incentive was paid out on or around October 31, 2024. Individuals who had swapped and held (that is, not transferred) UP in their wallets on Base received additional UP tokens based on how long the UP tokens were held. The bonuses were based on the qualifying balances and timing as of October 31, 2024.
The above section was updated on November 25, 2024 for clarity.
The swapping of UDT on mainnet to UP on Base is just Phase 1 of this process. As noted in the roadmap above, there are many more things to come!
Thank you for being part of the journey and we’ll see you onchain.
Unlock Protocol
