BGIN Strategy

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Ultimate Goal

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BGIN, short for Blockchain Governance Initiative Network, is shaping the future of blockchain. As this technology transforms numerous sectors, our current financial systems and regulations must adapt. BGIN leads the charge in creating an open, global platform where all stakeholders can engage in dialogue, build shared understanding, and work together for a thriving ecosphere. We are devoted to establishing a common language, fostering academic roots, and consistently providing trustworthy resources for sustainable blockchain development.

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Current Mission Statement

What do we ultimately hope to accomplish by publishing academic papers?

• Do we want to become a new standard-setting body?
• Do we just want to promote corporate and government efforts related to blockchain?

→ Answering this fundamental question is essential in considering long-term strategies to expand BGIN

Program Planning

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Enhance Inclusiveness

(1) Extroverts vs Introverts

Small Group Discussion Format

Discussion time after panel

• A main author presents for 10-20 mins in front of all participants at the beginning
• Participants are divided into small groups of 5-6 with 1 main discussant
• Repeat small group discussion and large group discussion alternatively
• Remote participants form small groups by doing breakout rooms

• Each panelist is on the small table with participants after panel discussion time
• Panel discussion time is shorter and more time is spent on discussion in each small group and presentation by each group

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Presentator/Facilitator

Main Discussants

Facilitator

Main Panelists

Enhance Inclusiveness

(2) Language Barriers

Glossary for second language speakers

Standard language settings

• Make a list of terminologies and abbreviations frequently used in discussions in Block#9 and other resources such as podcasts and other events held all over the world
• Incorporate sales of the glossary on BGIN and Japan Fintech Week websites into the budget
• Introduce the glossary on the 1st day

• Cautions to refrain from speaking in other languages as much as possible
• Should we create a smoking areaーlike section for second language speakers?

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• DOJ (Department of Justice)
• FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network)
• VC (Verifiable Credentials)
• XXXX
• XXXX

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Chat in second language section

Only English

Enhance Inclusiveness

(3) Minorities

More female speakers

More diversity in participants

• Make a list of female candidates and reach out to them for Block#10
• Only 1 female speaker from Japan in Block#9 among many Japanese participants

• More speakers and participants from other regions (especially Europe) and backgrounds

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Enhance Inclusiveness

(4) Sponsors

Current Challenges

• Sponsor presentations on Day 4 result in no participation by non-sponsor participants and no Q&A

Potential Solutions

• Sponsor participants should be assigned to main discussants in relevant discussions or give presentations between discussion sessions in Day 2 or 3
• Sponsor do not have to make a presentation but can facilitate a discussion session that allows participants to Q&A or to discuss their business ideas
• Sponsors might be able to suggest new studies relevant to BGIN activities and their own businesses in their sessions

Points to consider when fundraising

• We need to make sure that sponsors have a clear understanding of BGIN’s studies to date and purposes
• We might allow sponsors to suggest discussion topics for workshop sessions

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Marketing

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Marketing

(1) Value Proposition Statement

• Revision to clearer and more intuitive statements is necessary

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Marketing

(2) Advertisement of published papers

Papers currently discussed in BGIN should be introduced and posted through social media to encourage public comment and contribution (Website, Twitter, Linkedin, Youtube)

• Outline and goal of the paper
• Link to the whole paper
• Link to the history of discussion on the paper (website)
• Methods for Public comments and contribution (Discourse)

The creation of the above content and post is the responsibility of the author of the paper, and the administrators of BGIN will only provide formatting and help with the administrative process of advertisement.

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Goal

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Outline

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Discussion History

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Discussion Points

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Link to the paper

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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Link for public comments

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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Marketing

(3) Outbound marketing to each stakeholder group

• Hire a hub person for each stakeholder group as BGIN Marketing Director and give rewards or benefits including free tickets to Block meetings
• To reduce their workload as much as possible, resources used for marketing such as pitch slides and emails should be prepared in advance by administrators

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Japan

/Asia

Regulators

Developers

Business Persons

U.S

Regulators

Developers

Business Persons

Europe

Regulators

Developers

Business Persons

Fundraising

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Fundraising

(1) Who can we reach out to?

• The discussion regarding the ultimate goal of BGIN should take place first, since the selection of organizations or companies as sponsors is closely related to the ultimate goal of BGIN.
• We can discuss points below to reconsider who we can react out to?
• Neutrality vs Expansion：Can’t we reach out to different kinds of organizations to expand BGIN, while BGIN should have absolute discretion in the selection of sponsors to receive funding?
• Layer 1 blockchain foundations (Ethereum, Cardano, Polkadot, etc)
• DeFi protocol DAO developers (Uniswap, Aave, etc)
• Essential benefits for sponsors：What would be the benefits for existing corporate sponsors of participating or presenting at BGIN? Do they really fulfill their purposes?
• If BGIN aims to be a standard-setting body, then wouldn’t the true multi-stakeholder conversation only happen by adding layer 1 blockchain foundations or DeFi protocol DAO developers that are subject to standardization as sponsors (or at least as participants)?

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Fundraising

(2) How can we fundraise?

• See Appendix for details of our research on fundraising methods
• We might need a person (the same person with Marketing Director) in each stakeholder group to communicate with potential sponsors

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Japan

/Asia

Regulators

Developers

Business Persons

U.S

Regulators

Developers

Business Persons

Europe

Regulators

Developers

Business Persons

Fundraising

(3) How much should we raise?

• Calculate unit economics and determine how much more we need for marketing and sponsor communication

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How much we spend for each Block meeting?

How much we collect from existing sponsors and ticket sales?

How much we need for marketing and sponsor communication?

How much more we need to fundraise?

Procedure and Timeline

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Recap: Organizational Structure of BGIN

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General Meeting (Block)

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Chaired by Co-Chairs and consist of those who have indicated their intention to participate

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Matters to be Resolved

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• Election of Steering Committee Members
• Procedures for fundraising
• Amendment of Bylaw
• Amendment of BN Bylaw
• Creation or amendment of each policy
• Dissolution of BGIN and/or BN

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Steering Committee

The SC manages the logistical matters of the BGIN, and facilitate the discussion on business development of the BGIN and management of logistic matters including:

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SC Members

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• The number: 3 or more excluding non BN employees
• Appointment: elected in a balanced manner by the resolution of the General Meeting
• authorities , (2) engineers, (3) businesses, (4) academia, (5) standard-setting bodies

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Co-Chairs

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• The number: 1 or more selected from the SC Members
• Appointment: elected by the resolution of the SC

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BN

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Chaired by Co-Chairs and consist of those who have indicated their intention to participate

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Representative Directors

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• Perform legal acts (incl. contracts on behalf on BN)

Directors

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• Make business decisions at meetings
• Appoint and dismiss representative directors
• Report on financial mgmt to the General meeting

Secretary Office

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Perform administrative work necessary for the operation, etc. of the SC under its direction

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Secretary-General

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• Appointed through consensus at the SC if necessary
• Supervise the duties of the secretary office)

Secretary Staff

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• Appointed by the Secretary-General
• Assist him/her in their duties

Timeline after Block#9

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1st Steering Committee after Block#9

Discussion Contents

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• Ultimate goal of BGIN

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• Present long-term strategy

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• Establish a sub committee for fundraising

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• Election of Co-Chairs

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• Election of Steering Committee Members

Early January

Before Block#11

We should have done these elections in Block#9, a general meeting, but we postpone them till Block#11 since we don’t have time to decide on items written on the right

Block 11

General Meeting

(Block#11)

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• Election of Co-Chairs
• Election of Steering Committee Members
• Confirm fundraising methods
• Confirm Marketing Sponsor Communication Directors
• Amend BGIN Bylaws

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Project Management

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Learnings from ‘Unconference’

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• Agenda not set until the day of the conference
• All participants sit in a table and present topics they wish to present/ discuss with themselves as the session leader (photo①)
• On a large board, place a topic post-it in one of the frames of the time of your choice (photo②), along with a room number post-it (photo③).
• All participants will use this large board as the agenda for the day and participate in discussions in the rooms of their interest

Pros and Cons of Unconference

Pros

Cons

• Each participant voluntarily proposes a topic, which creates a culture of enthusiasm and independence among the participants.
• Reduce the stress of not being able to talk about what you want to talk about as a result of having to travel all the way to the venue
• Useful as a place to be used as an opportunity for new discussions and team building for next steps as well as to receive feedback on papers and outcomes that have already been completed

• Participants do not know the agenda in advance and cannot prepare for it, making in-depth discussions somewhat difficult especially for newcomers

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Application to Block Conference

• Apply the unconference format to better project management
• In the past Block Conferences, all of the session chairs would give a summary of the sessions held that day at the end of each day of the conferences within 10-20 minutes.
• At least 40 minutes should be secured, and based on the discussions that have taken place, the person organizing the new project should give a brief presentation using post-its, and those interested in each project should form a round table to discuss next steps. Next steps include:
• Who will be the project leader and which members will participate
• Which working group will the project be under?
• Form communication channels for the team on Discourse and Telegram
• Determine a date to discuss the table of contents if the team produces a new paper

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Appendix

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BGIN Endowment Research

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Thank you for your support for Block#9

Governance Structure

Case Analysis 1 - IETF Endowment

The Board of Trustees of the IETF LLC ※1

IETF基金

Adopt the Endowment Policy

Manage Investment and Expenditure

※4

Professional Investment Experts ※3

Endowment Council

Provide advice and guidance

※2

　※

Approve

Delegate fiduciary responsibility

Asset Management

※1 The IETF has fiduciary duty for managing the IETF Endowment. The IETF has also adopted the Endowment Policy to provide guidelines for effectively managing, monitoring, and evaluating the investments of funds held in the IETF Endowment. The policy is based on the principles of the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act as adopted in the District of Columbia (“UPMIFA”). The IETF Board of Trustees used to be legally owned by the Internet Society (ISOC), but is currently not under the control of the ISOC and operates independently.

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※2 The Advice and guidance includes matters for which the Board of Trustees of the IETF LLC is solely responsible, such as setting performance benchmarks for the investment of the Endowment, selecting and reviewing the performance of the Investment of the Endowment, annually establishing the appropriation of Endowment funds, and making changes to the Endowment Policy.

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※3 Professional Investment Experts include investment advisors (e.g., establishing investment policy, objectives and guidelines, selecting investment), investment managers (e.g., having discretion within policy guidelines to purchase, sell, or hold the specific securities)), custodians (e.g., regular accounting of all assets owned, purchased or sold, as well as movement of assets within the accounts), and ISOC officers and staff (e,g., directing the day-to-day investment of the IETF Endowment).

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※4 The Board makes decisions regarding investment guidelines (e.g., selection of investment targets), investment criteria (investment strategy based on economic conditions and other various factors), and expenditure policy (allocation of funds to support activities). In addition, the Board periodically review the Endowment Policy through voting.

Figure1 :　Governance Structure of the IETF Endowment

Means of Donation

Case Analysis 1 - IETF Endowment

• Online Donations
• Donations through Charitable Trust or Donor Advised Fund

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Figure 2: Online Donations

Figure 3: Direct Donations through CT or DAF

※１ Charitable Trust

A trust that provides support and funding for charitable activities and organizations. Donators transfer assets (cash, real estate, securities, other properties, etc.) to the trust for charitable purposes, and can receive tax benefits (income tax, estate tax, gift tax deductions and exemptions, etc.) for their donations.

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※２ Donor Advised Fund (DAF)

A public benefit corporation that effectively connects donations to non-profit organizations that solve social issues . Donators receive tax benefits by contributing assets to the DAF, and the DAF manages the assets in a fund of the donator’s choice and donates the asset to the non-profit organization in accordance with the donator’s instructions.

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Case 1）Fidelity Charitable : Accepts contributions of a variety of assets, including cash, unlisted stocks, and crypto assets, and donates them to over 180,000 non-profit organizations.

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Case 2）Silion Valley Community Foundation : Donates to non-profit organizations that provide public services related to education and healthcare

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Donators

Case Analysis 1 - IETF Endowment

• US$3M+ contributions by major companies and organizations in 2016

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• AFRINIC （African Internet Numbers Registry）
• ARIN（American Internet Numbers Registry）
• The Internet Society
• RIPE NCC（Internet Numbers Reigstry for Europe, Middle East, and Central Asia）

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• Collected $3.4M as of 2021 and currently targeting $50M by 2027

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Table 1：Major Donators List

Incentive Design

Case Analysis 1 - IETF Endowment

• Clear disclosure of what donators will be supporting

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• Building a community where the opinions of a broad range of participants are heard and establishing open standards
• Developing infrastructure building blocks to facilitate future technology development
• Preserving RFCs permanently and documenting the technical building blocks of the Internet
• Ensuring the long-term stability and financial independence of the IETF

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• Matching pledges

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• By matching entities (organizations, corporations, foundations, individuals who pledge to match contributions from others or an amount based on a certain ratio), the first $12M is matching pledged at a 2:1 ratio and the next $6M at a 1:1 ratio.

Governance Structure

Case Analysis 2 - OpenID Foundation（OIDF）

• OIDF has established the OIDF Direct Funding Program, in accordance with the OIDF Direct Funding Policy, as amended regularly, to (1) fund projects for specific purposes designated by OIDF members or (2) to fund conferences or similar events held by OIDF to further specific purposes designated by OIDF members.

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• OIDF is a non-profit organization as defined in Section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code and is exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(a) of the code. Direct funding through the IODF Directed Funding Program must be consistent with its legal obligations as a non-profit organization, which may require additional restrictions.

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• OIDF is not responsible for the deliverables or results of projects using direct funding, and members are not entitled to a refund of their contributions. All deliverables are the property of OIDF and are freely available on the website.

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• OIDF is entitled to deduct reasonable amounts incurred for out-of-pocket expenses and reasonable administrative expenses up to 20% of direct funds to underwrite and manage the project when implementing a project using direct funds.

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• All contributions of designated funds for the project will be received and retained by OIDF and will be separately recorded in OIDF’s books and records as designated funds. Surplus funds will not be refunded unless otherwise specified in the MOU. In the interest of transparency, reports on expenditures of designated funds are available to OIDF members upon reasonable request.

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OpenID Foundation

OpenID Member or Chapter

Decisions on fund acceptance

Direct donation of funds

Proposal of project or purpose

Proposal to cancel a project

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Basically, OIDF has sole and absolute discretion to accept and implement a project or proposal and is not subject to review.

Figure4：OIDF Directed Funding Program (OIDF)

Government Structure of OIDF

OIDF Members：All companies and organizations that agree to the OpenID Foundatiion Member Agreement and Intellectual Property Rights Policy and pay a membership fee can become members.

OIDF Officers & Community Board Members：They make a decision on project operations. OIDF members can monitor board discussions and communicate with the board via a mailing list

OIDF Directed Funding Program (OIDF)

Means of Donation

Case Analysis 2 - OpenID Foundation（OIDF）

• Membership fee（⅓ of funding source）
• Direct Funding through OIDF Directed Funding Program（⅓ of funding source）

　 ※ remaining funding comes from certification fees

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Table 2: Membership

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Donators

Case Analysis 2 - OpenID Foundation（OIDF）

• See previous slide for membership contribution amounts
• Amount of direct financial contributions by each OIDF member company or organization is not disclosed

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Figure 5 :　OIDF Members List (not all)

Incentive Design

Case Analysis 2 - OpenID Foundation（OIDF）

• Membership Benefits

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• Influence on the identity ecosystem
• Proof of compliance with global standards
• Reduced security and interoperability risks through conformance testing
• Discounts on self-certification
• Certification mark available and all certifications are public
• Global expert community
• A seat on the OIDF board (only sustaining members)
• Influence OIDF’s decision to accept project proposals and funding from members received through the OIDF Directed Funding Program

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• Benefits of Direct Funding Contributions

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• Entitlement to propose specific projects or objectives

Recommendations

BGIN Endowment