This spring and summer, we had the pleasure of collaborating with Michael Naftaliev from Scytale on the Mythos airdrop. Michael stands out as one of the most genuine and engaging individuals we’ve encountered in the Polkadot ecosystem. Although Scytale isn’t structured as a DAO, their approach to decision-making (coordinated by Michael) closely mirrors one: collects group feedback as one much in the same way as ChaosDAO does and posts detailed feedback like Saxemberg, which is clearly valuable to all.
It’s no secret that there are significant divisions within the ecosystem—whether across geographical lines, between whales and smaller participants, or in the differing strategies of tech versus marketing. These rifts are daunting but Scytale stands as a thoughtful centrist in political philosophy in all these divisions, it seems.
In particular, Scytale’s long-term, investor-centric commitment to Polkadot represents the most mature and thoughtful approach we’ve seen this year. We consider them to have true “skin in the game,” far more so than many others, because their dedication runs deep into the past and the future. They don’t just take voting seriously—they approach the community with a strong sense of humanity, always considering the broader implications on people.
It’s unfortunate that more entities don’t embody both the commitment and maturity that Scytale brings to the table, especially when it comes to bridging divides within the ecosystem. If the Decentralized Voices (DV) program continues, we believe it’s essential to have a long-term, investor-focused perspective with the maturity and commitment to bridge the divides. We are optimistic that Scytale, along with other entities of similar caliber, can help heal some of these rifts in 2025 and beyond.
While we’ve enjoyed participating in OpenGov voting this year, it has been a significant workload, and we cannot compete with the level of engagement and thought like other DAOS and DAO-like voters. Among the few DVs/ecosystem players we would eagerly delegate to, Scytale ranks at the top of our list.