Mobula is a web3-native cryptocurrency aggregator that analyzes crypto data, information, and insights. ^[1][2]

Overview

Mobula uses the blockchain to decentralize the listing & editing process, it only aggregates on-chain data and distributes ownership of the app through Mobula’s token (MOBL). Users can earn MOBL tokens which can be used to govern. Mobula decentralizes the listing & reviewing process with an on-chain protocol by making sure users can request crypto-assets listings, review pending listings, edit listed assets, and also ensure that protocols can automatically list and edit assets on Mobula via public on-chain APIs. ^[3]

History

Mobula (initially named Whaler DAO) was founded by Sacha Marcus^[5] in December 2021 as a decentralized alternative to CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap. It was named after the aquatic creature Mobula that swims in the ocean's depths, uncovering hidden treasures. ^[4]

In February 2022, the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) of the listing and editing system was developed, enabling the Protocol DAO (the governance DAO for Mobula used to achieve transparency and accuracy) to begin functioning effectively. At that stage, scores were not integrated as the team had yet to fully comprehend the trust concerns associated with listing various types of tokens. ^[4]

In March 2022, following the development of the MVP, the founders recruited four skilled core team members to accelerate the product's progress. The development team expanded from one to three members, while the operations team grew from one to two members. Additionally, a design team was established during this period. ^[4]

In May 2022, Mobula Alpha went live, with most of the core features present currently. At the time, no dynamic data fetching system existed, and The Graph was being used under the hood. ^[4]

By September 2022, Mobula Beta was built. During the Mobula Alpha phase, the core team received substantial feedback from the community. This feedback was used to deliver a polished Beta version. Prior to that, the release of the Mobula bot significantly contributed to the growth of the Mobula community. In November 2022, Mobula V1 was released with the most time-consuming tasks being building a data aggregation system from scratch and collecting and processing all the feedback from the community into actionable items. ^[4]

Mobula Governance

Mobula Governance is open to all Mobula users and is a complete governance over Mobula’s ecosystem. To create a proposal, users can submit a variety of topics related to Mobula, including design, operations, and treasury management. Proposal templates include a one-liner, pros and cons, and details about the proposal. ^[6]

When a proposal is submitted, it is open for a vote for a period of 3 days. Members can vote Yes or No on the proposal, and the majority of veMOBL voting power will decide the outcome. If a proposal is accepted, the executive team is responsible for communicating any delays in implementation. If the community is not satisfied with the delays, the issue can be debated. To join the Governance, users have to hold veMOBL, which acts as voting power for proposals. To get veMOBL, users have to stake MOBL. ^[6]

Protocol

The Protocol helps Mobula to achieve 2 of its 3 missions: transparency and accuracy. It uses skin-in-the-game and blockchain concepts to create a decentralized and reviewing system for data collections, applied to meta-data about crypto-assets. ^[7]

Protocol DAO

Hierarchy

The Protocol DAO within Mobula operates with a closed structure, comprising two hierarchical ranks. Rank I consists of Mobula users chosen by a Rank II council and granted access to First Sorts. Rank II members, on the other hand, are elected from the Rank I members by other Rank II members. They possess the authority to conduct First Sorts, hold veto power in the Final Decision, and make decisions regarding promotions or removals of lower ranks. ^[7]

Manpower

Management of manpower and the organization of "elections" is determined by the Governance DAO. If it is noticed that there is a lack of manpower for data processing, the Governance DAO will decide to organize a Rank I promotion. Meta-protocol DAO decides how many new people to promote but has no control over who will be selected - this choice is reserved for Rank II members of the Protocol, to avoid any centralization bias. ^[7]

Skin in the game

A performance score is assigned to all Rank 1 members within the Mobula Protocol DAO. The score is initially set to 0 and is adjusted based on the quality of decisions made by the member. For example, if a Rank 1 member validates inaccurate data of a crypto-token during a First Sort, resulting in a veto from the Rank 2 board against adding the crypto-token, their score will be decremented. This scoring system facilitates the decision-making process for Rank 2 members in determining promotions and removals within Rank 1, ensuring the overall data processing quality. ^[7][8]

Protocol Listing/Editing System

Request Submission

To submit a listing or editing request, a user must upload a file containing the meta-data to be submitted, and call the Protocol smart contract. It is subject to a fee to avoid any flood, and the profit generated is subsequently redistributed to the members of the Protocol DAO. ^[7]

Request Review

Upon submission, requests enter a waiting pool for the First Sort in the Mobula Protocol DAO. Members of the Protocol DAO can validate or reject each request based on listing/editing criteria. After a request has been reviewed by a sufficient number of DAO members, it is rejected if positive votes fall short or forwarded to a council of Rank II members in the Protocol DAO. ^[7][8]

Rank II council holds the veto right to reject a request, even if it was initially validated during the First Sort. If no veto is exercised, the request is validated and included in the data collection. However, if a refused asset is deemed valid by Rank 1 members, their efficiency score, initially set at 0, is reduced. This score, adjusted based on performance, aids the hierarchy in assessing the quality of Rank 1 members. ^[7][8]

MOBL

MOBL is a cross-chain token at the center of the tool and the ecosystem. It is key for the on-chain functioning of the ecosystem. ^[8][9]

Utility

• Governance**:** MOBL is the governance token of the project, from treasury management to Protocol-related decisions.
• Incentive**:** It is a reward token for the DAO members for their work (filtering the for crypto-assets).
• Profit-sharing**:** It is a way to redistribute the profit generated by the platform to holders via staking pools.

Tokenomics

Distribution

5% of the supply was distributed to early users, MOBL airdropped to users is the share of the profit generated by the user. It is also used as an incentive to accelerate growth and distribute governance^[9]

50% of the supply was dedicated to the community**,** to the community accounts for bug bounty programs, features grants, content writing - anything delivering value to Mobula. This supply is managed by the Mobula DAO, and any member can propose new grant programs, bug bounties, etc., and will be distributed on a 7 years linear vesting. ^[9]

20% of the supply was dedicated to a core-team holding which is subject to associated vesting. 20% to fund Mobula Foundation, divided into 2 phases: 10% to the supply and 10% to the public round. The remaining 5% is used to provide initial liquidity for DEX & CEX public listings. ^[9]

Vesting