[COMING SOON] CO-PIP-122: Douro Labs Acquisition of Express Relay

About the Pyth DAO
1

Abstract

This Constitutional PIP proposes to:

  1. Approve the sale of Pyth Express Relay (ER) to Douro Labs for $300,000 USDC

  2. Transfer ER program authority to Douro Labs

  3. Amend the Pyth DAO Constitution to remove all ER references

Rationale

Express Relay was designed to help DeFi applications auction transaction ordering rights. After 18 months of operation, ER generates less than $2,000/month for the DAO Treasury — insufficient to cover infrastructure, engineering, and opportunity costs.

At current revenue, it would take 12+ years for ER to generate what this sale delivers immediately.

Douro Labs has received an offer from a third-party Solana protocol to acquire ER for $300,000. Rather than burden the DAO with multi-party negotiations, Douro Labs proposes purchase ER from the DAO for $300,000 itself, then sell it to that third-party Solana protocol at cost.

This allows the DAO to:

  • Exit cleanly with fair compensation
  • Focus resources on Pyth Pro (the primary revenue driver)
  • Ensure continuity for existing ER users

Specification

Sale Terms:

  • Price: $300,000 USDC
  • Recipient: Pyth DAO Treasury
  • Timeline: Payment within 7 days of CO-PIP passing
  • Additional: Any remaining balance in the ER fee account transferred to DAO

Constitutional Changes:

Remove from Terminology section: Pyth Express Relay (ER): protocol instance that enables DeFi applications to auction off the rights to swap tokens

Remove from Pythian Council delegated powers:

  • the upgrade of the ER program for each of the blockchains where ER is available
  • the assignment of the relayer function for ER and monitoring of the performance of such assignment
  • the setting of the ER fee distribution

Full amended Constitution: GitHub PR #576

Implementation Plan

  1. On-chain vote passes (67% threshold for CO-PIP)
  2. Douro Labs transfers $300,000 USDC to Pyth DAO Treasury within 7 days
  3. Pythian Council executes program upgrade to transfer ER program authority to Douro Labs-provided address
  4. Constitution updated via PR #576 merge

References