Posting this application on behalf of Polkadot Hungary DAO which I’m part of.
Our political philosophy
We envision Polkadot becoming the Web3 standard that Bitcoin set out to be a decentralised, unstoppable force driving positive global change. By leveraging our industry expertise, we aim to support both technical and venture-focused referendums that align with these goals. Our decisions will prioritize the stability and sustainable growth of the network, ensuring the benefits are shared across the community rather than catering to individual interests.
Polkadot Hungary embraces the vision of a solarpunk future, where everyone has a voice, and technological progress enhances individual freedoms. We believe that Web3 technologies should empower individuals by giving them more choices and reducing dependency on centralised systems. This philosophy is core to our governance agenda: creating a decentralised ecosystem where innovation and inclusion drive collective success.
We advocate for a more sustainable and strategic approach to network growth. We disagree with the current marketing spending happening on Polkadot. We believe in funding sustainable and growth business models instead of sporting club sponsorships which have questionable results for network growth. These one-off marketing payments are crucial and should be evaluated on a case to case basis. We support Heroic.gg style partnerships over questionable sport partnerships. Those can come later.
About our DAO
Our Twitter: Polkadot Hungary Community (@PolkadotHungary) / X
Our Telegram: https://t.me/polkadothungary
Our webpage: polkadothungary.net
Address to be promoted on Polkadot: 13z9CiETVYCrxz3cghDuTyRGbaYQrwSyRnRcJX5iFbXvrwhT
Address to be promotes on Kusama: Hgm7ELPfRmPKbHgGZCYEZGTjJX8VicXEnFKec7YAeFgAd4d
Polkadot Hungary is a closed DAO that on certain occasions votes new members in based on contributions. Our core members have been part of the ecosystem since the beginning, notable members of our wider community include Six, Gabo, Wigy, Vikk, Zsófi, Eapo, Spectra and Vonyi.
It is important to note that Eapo, Wigy, and Gabo are key figures in the Hungarian Polkadot community, but they are not part of our multisig. Their contributions are more ad-hoc, providing advisory support when needed. Wigy was a core member of the Substrate team at Parity, bringing extensive experience from his work there. Eapo, with a long history in decentralized technologies, is a strong advocate of Web3 values. Gabo, as a seasoned Polkadot Ambassador, has organized numerous events and co-founded G6 Network with Six.
Polkadot Hungary has been running a nomination pool for roughly 1 year now and planning to do the same after some reorganisation. Our core members attend the Decoded conference every year and smaller nearby venues when possible. We write weekly news articles based on Polkadotter’s blog published both on our website and on a local news site Cryptofalka which helped us gain more Hungarian readers. We always educate our community and push the message of Polkadot.
We are holding in-person monthly meetups at our local place which became an official Polkadot hub, where we always teach people about different mechanisms of Polkadot. We have experience in organising in-person events, hackathons, building projects and running DAOs. Our biggest event so far was Polkadot Day in 2024 March which was part of Budapest Blockchain week which had ~120 people attending (pictures). We also know the importance of having on-chain IDs so all our members in the multisig and our DAO have one.
Our multisig members involved with this proposal have experience in voting on referendums:
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the previous multisig of Polkadot Hungary has voted 60 times since 2024 January. (On-chain ID of this previous multisig has been removed as we created the new one in a pure proxy structure)
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Six’s address has voted 97 times
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Vikk recently co-authored an article for Centre of Social Sciences about OpenGov and voted 22 times
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Spectra joined us with experience in managing DAOs coming from Aragon, the DAO creator tool and he is also the Board Member of the Blockchain Hungary Association, an NGO founded to advocate for blockchain and Web3 technologies in legislation, business and governmental circles.
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Vonyi was running a community channel for Moonsama and was elected as Vice President by the community. He has moderated multiple unofficial parachain channels on Telegram and joined the ecosystem when Kusama was the only live chain.
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Zsófi has over a decade of experience in managing tech focused events at Drupal. She was working at Parity Technologies as hackathon and program manager in the DevRel team for 2 years.
Our process in voting:
In an internal weekly call, we always discuss our next plans for the week and review interesting proposals and technical developments. We have already provided feedback to other referendum writers and communities who have asked for our help. We will be posting these feedbacks on referendums we vote on.
We have friends in the ecosystem and recognise the importance of networking however we think parts of OpenGov became a popularity contest where simply those who had public influencer style profiles and stuck around became faces of the ecosystem. We think the rewarding of anyone for anything period should end and it’s time for being selective.
While meritocracy plays a crucial role in OpenGov decision-making, our focus will not be on popularity or reputation. Instead, we aim to prioritise expertise. For us, the proposer’s track record is secondary, as placing too much emphasis on it fosters populism rather than competence. Moreover, populism often stifles competition. Favouring only one player in certain areas can kill healthy competition. Instead, we are keen to support multiple industry participants working in the same field to foster a competitive environment.
We also aim to get involved in the operational processes of both existing and newly established bounties, offering them support. We believe that well-managed bounties can significantly reduce the burden on OpenGov decision-makers. Therefore, reviewing and supporting bounties is a key pillar of our candidacy.
We want to see more experiments on Kusama so we plan to support all referendums testing the limits of the network. Furthermore we would like to see more teams utilising the fun and experimental nature of Kusama with testing new features there first and not on Polkadot.
Considering the learnings from the past year. We are voting based on these criterias on Polkadot referendums:
I. Retroactive funding > upfront funding with milestones > upfront funding
Reasoning: Retroactive funding ensures that value is delivered before payment, minimising risk.
II. Native apps with multi-chain features > non-native multichain apps
Reasoning: Native apps that prioritise multi-chain compatibility show commitment to interoperability within and outside of the ecosystem.
III. Proposals with competition price research > without research
Reasoning: Proposals backed by competitive price research demonstrate market awareness, reducing risk of overspending or underestimating costs.
IV. Proven team with track record > new team with potential
Reasoning: A proven track record of success provides confidence in a team’s ability to execute. While emerging teams can show promise, the risk is higher without tangible results.
V. Transparent reporting & KPIs > lack of clarity on progress
Reasoning: Proposals that include detailed, trackable KPIs and a commitment to transparent reporting ensures accountability and adaptability.
VI. Ecosystem synergies > isolated project impact
Reasoning: Projects that create synergies with existing platforms, protocols, or communities in the Polkadot ecosystem will drive more sustainable growth than isolated initiatives with limited integrations.
VII. Proposals with clear revenue models > without clear monetization
Reasoning: Sustainable growth often requires a clear plan for financial independence. Projects that have a well-defined revenue or sustainability model are more likely to contribute long-term value.
VIII. Emphasis on security and audits > lack of security measures
Reasoning: Proposals that prioritise audits, vulnerability assessments, and security layers are preferable, ensuring the stability and reliability of the ecosystem.
IX. Open-source development > closed-source development
Reasoning: Open-source projects offer transparency and encourage community involvement, long-term growth and innovation. Closed-source projects can limit contributions and sustainability.
To avoid conflicts of interest, our collective’s multisig will abstain from voting on proposals involving the workplace teams of any of our members. Currently, the following teams within the Polkadot ecosystem fall under this category: Tanssi Network, G6 Network, Mosaic Chain, and, of course, any proposals submitted by our own collective.
