I’m Bernard, one of the co-founders of Areta, and I’m excited to share our mission and work for the ZK Nation community.
What is Areta?
Areta Governance is a leading governance strategy firm focused on ecosystem growth. We have had the privilege to serve industry leaders such as Uniswap, Safe, Aave, and dYdX.
You can think of us as the strategy and execution counterparty working hand-in-hand with tech providers. I.e., we design and operate programs with a dedicated team.
Our mission is to grow the number of high-quality apps in decentralized ecosystems. To address this, we tackle the biggest challenge faced by DAOs and Foundations — ineffective capital allocation. Our connected investment bank with deep strategic expertise, enables us to serve our partners holistically, rather than working in isolated governance silos.
Services
We focus on smartly allocating capital across the builder funnel, i.e., getting capital, distribution, and support services to builders. This means:
- Growth-Stage Incentive Programs providing sustainable, KPI-driven rewards for later-stage projects directly aligned with onchain performance.
- Builder Support Programs, such as subsidy funds for security audit costs, RPC services, and essential infrastructure, tooling, or support mechanisms that enhance developer participation;
- Funding Competitions with elimination-based funding rounds, providing support to early-stage projects and accelerating the maturity of the best-performing projects;
Current Work
- ZKsync Catalyst Proposal: We developed TPP #2 with a focus on the application layer to reward and expand consumer-facing apps on ZKsync-powered chains. This is the first TPP initiated by the community, and we finalized the proposal in collaboration with Matter Labs and the Foundation (Forum Proposal). The program is currently in its final iteration with Matter Labs and will move onchain soon.
- Uniswap - Uniswap Capital Allocation Program: We developed and led the first cross-ecosystem grant program for Uniswap and Arbitrum. From program design to execution and reporting. Following an onchain vote approval, we led the grant program for the 12 months, and are currently working on an extension that has been asked for by key delegates and the foundation. (Forum Proposal & Onchain vote)
- SafeDAO - Development of DAO Contributor Efficiency System: In an effort to support SafeDAO’s key contributor initiatives, we developed a contribution efficiency system that enables the DAO to operate seamlessly, enhancing transparency and elevating process standards to an institutional level. (Forum Proposal & Snapshot Vote)
- Uniswap - Uniswap Foundation Subsidy Fund (UFSF): The Uniswap Foundation Security Fund (UFSF) is a $1M initiative created to strengthen security across the Uniswap ecosystem by subsidizing security audit costs for projects building Uniswap v4 hooks. In partnership with Axis Advisory and Daimon Legal, the fund provides access to a customized, proprietary marketplace of vetted security providers, ensuring that projects within the Uniswap Protocol receive tailored support for secure development. (Official Announcement)
Contact
Always happy to chat, feel free to reach out via TG to Bernard or Sid!