Special Report: Dash Boost - Green Candle Funding Dispute Proposal Link: https://www.dashcentral.org/p/gc-dash-boost

Geographic Location: Online

Proposal Summary

This proposal seeks to develop, implement, and manage a micro-proposals treasury for the Dash community. Dash Boost will receiving funding from leftover Green Candle funds.

Dispute Summary

For the month of May, Dash Boost did not have any funding and as a result did not run any micro-proposal cycle. The Dash Boost team has expressed that this is due to Green Candle not fulfilling their agreement to fund Dash Boost.

Dash Watch Executive Summary

Dash Boost expected that Green Candle funds held in trust for the network would be given to Dash Boost. Specifically, Dash Boost expected the 330 Dash excess from the Great American Pilgrimage (GAP) proposal would be used for micro-proposals. The Green Candle audit trail says “Green Candle holds the following in trust for the Dash network: 330.4055768 Dash - remaining funds from GAP”. After consulting with a prominent accounting firm, Green Candle was told that this 330 Dash was likely to be considered as income, and taxable as such. Green Candle has subsequently decided that any excess funds after paying their taxable obligations will be the property of Green Candle to do with as it see fit. Dash Watch could not find an explanation as to why the funds went from completely “held in trust for the network” to completely the property of Green Candle. We welcome further explanation from Green Candle who have been communicative up until this point.

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Dash Boost - Green Candle Funding Dispute Arguments

Dash Boost Supporting Arguments The GC-Dash-Boost proposal passed with 704 Yes: 210 No votes. This signifies the approval of the Masternode of the objectives and deliverables outlined in the proposal. The proposal was posted by Green Candle and states “Puts unused GreenCandle funds into the community for the community voting with lower thresholds and more community involvement”. The pre-proposal, posted by Dash Boost team also states “Micro proposals will be funded by surplus funds in the GreenCandle escrow services wallets.” Dash Boost also outlines that the proposal will be self-sufficient through 1 Dash micro-proposal fees. Dash Boost has expressed that through their public and private conversations with Green Candle, Dash Boost was conclusively led to believe that Green Candle would fund multiple cycles of micro-proposals. Dash Boost believed that they would be given support through the 330 Dash leftover from the Dash proposal. Because Green Candle is no longer funding the entirety of the Dash Boost proposal, the Dash Boost team is looking for other sources for micro-proposal funding. One such source is directly submitting a proposal to the treasury. Green Candle Support Arguments Green Candle asserts two major points: (1) there are no excess Dash funds for disbursement and (2) Green Candle has not ever agreed to support the full Dash Boost budget. To the first point, Green Candle asserts that the 330 Dash excess from the Dash proposal cannot be touched due to tax liabilities. The 330 Dash must be liquidated into fiat by Canadian law in order to handle the tax liabilities. Green Candle hired a prominent accounting firm and their recommendation was that the 330 Dash is a tax liability and must be handled as such. Dash Watch has confirmed that Green Candle has an agreement with a prominent accounting firm and that a draft letter was given to Green Candle which advises that the Dash received for the GAP proposal is a tax liability. These documents cannot be shared publicly due to confidentiality agreements. Green Candle intends to declare the 330 Dash as income at the end of the financial year and use the fiat funds for Green Candle expenses and operations. Green Candle

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has expressed that the only measure that can redirect their handling of the 330 Dash is a Masternode vote. Beyond the 330 Dash, Green Candle has no other excess Dash in any funding lanes. To the second point, Green Candle asserts that they have never agreed to support the full Dash Boost budget. Green Candle supports the Dash Boost project but is concerned about the proposal transparency and long-term feasibility. Green Candle is going to wait until Dash Boost has a long-term goal for sustainable funding before contributing any additional Dash to the project. Dash Watch Analysis After discussing with both involved parties, Dash Watch has a better understanding of how both parties could have misunderstood or misinterpreted their sides of the agreement. In retrospect, a clearly written out document or contract regarding the GAP proposal, proposal funding and long-term funding strategy should have been drawn out between Green Candle and Dash Boost. It appears that the majority of the community’s understanding of the Dash Boost proposal was that it would be fully funded by Green Candle excess funds.

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