The first iteration of the POP was launched nearly 6 months ago. In that time, we’ve seen 10 POPs submitted through the Forum, from an array of industries and geographies, seeking to finance RWAs through the Centrifuge Protocol.
We have seen interesting new Issuers arrive through the Forum, make Introductions, and hosting Pool Parties, and of course submit POPs. Despite this initial interest from potential Issuers, no POPs made it through Stage 1.
Feedback has been both public and private, coming from existing and prospective issuers, current and potential lenders, and of course from Community members. The overarching takeaway is that a more inclusive and participatory design process should underpin the next version of the POP – POP V2. This will give us the best chance at collectively governing which Pools are added to the protocol.
Thus we have the opportunity to ensure the POP V2 delivers a robust and decentralized onboarding of RWAs via a public Governance process. Rather than pontificate through a Forum post, I’m hosting a POP Workshop, where we’ll brainstorm the POP Process to-date, collect more feedback, and articulate a vision for POP V2 - together.
Here’s the agenda:
What did we learn over the last 6 months?
What ideas do we have to improve the POP?
What could POP V2 look like?
The POP Workshop will be held on Thursday, October 27th at 1800 CET.
@ctcunning I’m sorry I missed this event! Is there a recording or a post summary I could review? We would like to submit a POP however I wanted to make sure I was up to date with the newest procedures. Thanks!
@ctcunning@Tjure07 hey guys just wanted to follow up here. Has there been a recording posted of the new updates? I’d love to submit a POP but want to make sure I am following the most up to date procedure.
Hi Will. Thanks for your interest in the POP. If you want to post your submission you need to follow the current version of the process. As Colin already wrote, there is a lot to be updated and the new process needs to be approved by governance first which requires some time
I found it informative as we had a good mix of Issuers, Community members, and ambassadors.
The POP V1 I believe has been successful to the extent that it’s created a template by which the community can now improve on the original template, debate / discuss what V2 should look like, and finally bring the POP through governance and be voted on-chain as a process going forward that the community relies on for onboarding new RWAs through Centrifuge.
This workshop uncovered a couple of major points:
Better set expectations around capital funding, how capital flows into Pools, and what Issuers should include in their POP.
Create a simpler process, with far fewer asks to the Community, to ensure they can understand and engage with the POP in a meaningful way
Generate a higher level of conversation on the Forum where people can begin to engage with information about RWAs and share insights / knowledge
FAQs and documentation can still be improved and be more insightful for the general public and those unfamiliar with the Centrifuge brand / community
Here’s some more granular feedback and insights from folks that attended the Workshop.
Feedback on Question: What did we learn over the last 6 months through Version 1 of the POP.
Feedback
Not enough engagement
Criteria could be improved
We should be thinking about how we weight them
In order for a POP to pass the first stage, need to be more clear
Process - too many votes
Eliminate the number of polls
Hard to know if it’s a go or no-go on specific Pools
Feedback
Quite disappointed in the level of engagement; Not enough folks giving enough feedback; Good example: if it’s an asset class I don’t understand, then I don’t want to speak on it, I don’t understand it
Structure is incredibly easy to understand (of POPs), written standard is quite good
Feedback
Unclear on certain criteria what the POP was looking for
Origination fees, reasonable proposal to put here…POPs cannot finalize cash flow model because they couldn’t calculate NAV or cost of senior capital
Not a clear point of contact on the POP
Where does Q&A exist
POP Ambassador may be needed?
Tools & Utilities
Rate calculator for costs / benefits
Borrower’s perspective on what they’re trying to achieve
Feedback
Still unclear about process, a guide, with each step clearly drawn out of a simplified version for following the POP for Issuers
Community participation - high subject matter expertise - different asset classes, how would that work?
Outstanding Questions
How do we get the Community more engaged?
How do we help Issuers be better prepared for when they submit a POP?
How do we make the Forum THE place for RWAs discussion in DeFi?
Miscellaneous Feedback
Breaking down the barrier between institutional and retail is difficult, which seems to be the current setup - user friendly investment/yield product for individuals, supplied by institutional managers/originators.
To get large reliable capital investment in senior tranches (which is what originators need l when committing to relying on a capital source) you need institutional buyers/investors (of tranches)
I think that FAQ will be very useful for all. I noticed that the community and potential issuers/investors don’t understand some of the aspects like: Who could launch the pool? When should they do this or maybe they should contact already existing pools and provide assets in the pool? Min requirement, Fees, And etc…
Maybe it would be useful to have a community call where you take one company that went through POP 6 months ago and all other steps in launching a pool. and we wiil look what numbers they set in POP and what they achieve – then the numbers will become vivid and more understandable
We don’t need everyone to participate in the Forum. We need people to participate in snapshot voting. We want the community to have dialogue and vote, once subject matter experts have given their input.
As a recent POP submitter, having the opportunity for a Q&A with a previous successful issuer would be much welcomed, especially to help understanding best practices, lessons learnt etc
