Proposing the renewal of the Orbit program for recognized delegates, compensating them with GHO, associated with their governance activity during Q2 2025 ( From 2025-04-01, last date, until 2025-06-30).
Motivation
Orbit recognizes the added value of the Delegates in the decentralization & diversity of the Aave DAO. This compensation allows them to focus on Aave and keep their contribution efforts to our governance. The ACI proposes the extension of Orbit for a new quarter, Q2 2025, from 2025-04-01 to 2025-06-30.
As a reminder, a new cutoff had been set on previous renewal, starting at AIP 224, to apply again previous rules of a minimum of 20k voting power and 85% vote ratio on all Snapshots and AIP to be considered elegible to Orbit.
Specification
Period Coverage: Q2 2025 from 2025-04-01 2025 to 2025-06-30
As a reminder, Service Providers will not be considered elegible to Orbit Program.
Funds are distributed based on 90 days, as seen on budget.
Next Steps
Gather community feedback on this ARFC.
If consensus is achieved, escalate this proposal to the ARFC snapshot stage.
If the ARFC snapshot outcome is YAE, proceed to the AIP stage for implementation and funding allocation in cooperation with Aave Finance service providers via an ad-hoc AIP vote or bundled in one of their treasury management AIPs.
Disclosure
The ACI is independent and has not received any form of compensation from related parties for the drafting of this proposal.
There has been relative stability among our Orbit delegates since the launch of the program.
I think we can safely extend the period coverage to bring more reliance and predictability for delegates platform,
I suggest we switch to a 6-month period coverage on the same terms from now on, which will also reduce governance bloat by doing two votes per year instead of 4.
First of all I’m an Orbit delegate getting compensation.
Now, I do support Marc’s comment. It’s reducing governance and as he mentioned there aren’t significant changes for delegates eligible.
Just a small question. What if someone else would join the DAO within the 6 months period with enough voting power and voting activity. Would that person be eligible as well let’s say after at least 1-3 months of activity?
And should there be a retroactive claim or just the rest of the period this person would be eligible?
Given the maturity of the delegate landscape and the relatively small subset of eligible platforms, I believe that if a candidate arises in the next semester and stays eligible for a quarter continuously, we can surely bundle their temporary inclusion with a @TokenLogic treasury management AIP until the end of the semester and their official inclusion.
We’ve had meaningful and positive interactions with each of the eligible delegates. They have the DAO’s best interests at heart, and keeping up to date with the different changes and proposals is nothing short of a full-time job that warrants compensation. LlamaRisk is supportive of the renewal of the Orbit program.
Love seeing Orbit getting renewed, consistent delegate incentives are essential for sustainable DAO governance. The clarity around eligibility and performance standards (20k VP, 85% vote ratio) keeps the program credible and merit-driven. Props to ACI for keeping it sharp.
One humble suggestion: over time, it might be worth exploring non-voting metrics to supplement recognition, like delegate transparency, forum engagement, or proposal feedback quality. Voting is crucial, but so is the context and narrative-building that shapes voter sentiment.
That said, Orbit is a solid foundation and GHO-backed rewards make this even more aligned with Aave’s ecosystem growth. Fully in support. Let’s keep leveling up governance together
Supporting the idea of moving to a 6-month Orbit period, as suggested by @MarcZeller, since it reduces extra voting and makes governance more efficient.
Also, Aave DAO has been battle-tested, so it makes sense to prolong the period and reduce unnecessary votes. Even if it’s not too much trouble.