Douro Labs Proposes to Acquire Express Relay

[zenyas]

TL;DR

Douro Labs is offering to purchase Pyth Express Relay (ER) at $300,000, with 100% of proceeds going to the Pyth DAO Treasury. At current revenue levels, it would take 12+ years for ER to generate what this sale delivers immediately, even assuming operating costs were reduced to zero.

We’re proposing this sale because ER’s revenue no longer justifies its operational costs. This deal lets the DAO exit cleanly and be fairly compensated.

Background

Express Relay was designed to help DeFi applications auction off transaction ordering rights, creating a new revenue stream for the Pyth ecosystem. Douro Labs has operated ER on behalf of the DAO since launch, handling infrastructure, engineering, and integrations.

After evaluating ER’s performance over the past 18 months, we believe the DAO’s resources are better allocated to Pyth Pro, which is now the primary revenue driver by a significant margin.

For context, the Pythian Council recently withdrew accumulated ER fees to the DAO Treasury via OP-PIP-107, OP-PIP-108, OP-PIP-110, and OP-PIP-111.

ER Economics

2026 (YTD): ER generates less than $2,000/month for the DAO Treasury.

This revenue does not cover:

• Douro’s infrastructure costs to run the service
• Douro’s engineering time for maintenance and support
• Douro’s opportunity cost of resources that could otherwise support Pyth Pro

2025 context:

ER generated ~$60,000 total (~$5,000/month average), but this was heavily skewed by two anomalous months at ~$15,000 each, driven by temporary distribution advantages and market opportunities that resulted in unusually profitable trades.

With usage normalizing, the product is now a net cost to operate.

Proposal

Douro Labs is willing to acquire Express Relay for $300,000.

Deal terms:

• $300,000 to the Pyth DAO Treasury
• Any remaining balance in the ER fee account will also be transferred to the DAO
• Douro ensures continuity for existing users during the transition
• Douro fully exits ER operations on behalf of the DAO

How it works:

Douro proposes to:

• Receive the ER program via on-chain vote (program authority transferred to a Douro-controlled address)
• Transfer $300,000 to the DAO Treasury within one week of the CO-PIP passing

Implementation

This will be proposed as a Constitutional PIP (CO-PIP) because:

1.Materiality: This is a significant strategic decision for the DAO

2.Constitutional amendment required: ER is currently referenced in the Constitution under Pythian Council delegated powers and in the terminology section. These references must be removed.

Scope of constitutional changes:

• Remove “Pyth Express Relay (ER)” from the Terminology section
• Remove the following 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

The full amended Constitution is available here: Copip er by YaserJazouane · Pull Request #576 · pyth-network/governance · GitHub

Program transfer process:

Following a successful vote, the Pythian Council would have to execute a contract upgrade to transfer the ER program authority. Douro Labs will provide the receiving address for the Council to complete the transfer as part of the CO-PIP execution.

We welcome any feedback or questions from the community.

[Mersault]

Overall, I support this. Maybe it’s worth directing 100% of the funds to buybacks. If it’s no longer profitable, why does Douro Labs want to buy it?

[Ricardo]

If Express Relay is currently a net drain on operational resources, what made us lean toward a permanent sale and transfer of the program authority rather than simply mothballing or pausing the service?

[Wattson]

I’d like Douro to address this directly

if ER is genuinely a net cost with no real value, the cheapest outcome for everyone is to sunset it, Douro stops operating it, costs go to zero, and the DAO gives up only ~$2k/month.

Instead, Douro is offering to pay $300,000. A rational buyer doesn’t pay $300k for an asset they could let lapse to zero for free.

So my question is: what value does Douro see in ER that justifies paying $300k, and why isn’t that value reflected in the price being offered to the DAO?

To be clear, I’m not arguing against exiting ER, and I recognize there are fair reasons to sell rather than sunset existing users stay supported, and $300k beats $0. My concern is purely the price. Douro’s willingness to pay anything at all signals the asset is worth more than the “net cost” framing implies and as the sole operator, Douro is the only party that can actually see that full value. Before we vote to remove ER from the Constitution permanently, the DAO should understand what it’s selling.

[zenyas]

Douro Labs has received an offer from a Solana protocol to acquire Express Relay at the same price of $300k. The $300k reflects what that protocol is willing to pay for the product. Douro Labs will not profit from the proposed transaction, and all fees shall to go to the DAO’s treasury as per the proposal above. If any higher offers are made publicly during this process, the DAO should consider them.

Douro Labs is proposing this structure to simplify the process for the DAO rather than burdening it with a multi-party negotiation and complicated signing process while ensuring continuity for existing users during the transition.

[totti]

This feels fair to me.

If ER is doing under $2k/month for the DAO, then $300k upfront seems like a solid valuation, especially with costs and maintenance considered.

Also, is it possible to share which Solana protocol made the offer, or is that confidential for now?

[SkyZ]

Now its clearer i agree. Wonder what protocol it is

Full Send on Pyth Pro and long live the DAO​

[bparlan]

Hi everyone
I appreciate Douro Labs bringing this forward and outlining the current economics of Express Relay (ER). The low revenue (<$2k/month recently) versus ongoing operational costs makes a strong case for the DAO to stop carrying this burden. Focusing resources on Pyth Pro and higher-margin areas is operationally sensible.

That said, I have a few thoughts on the proposed structure and the bigger picture:
DeFi primitives like ER can have real long-term value. Even if current numbers are disappointing, these tools help with execution quality, MEV mitigation, and better outcomes for users and protocols. Exiting makes sense for focus and margins right now, but it also reduces product diversity and potential future cross-synergies with other Pyth offerings (like better data + execution combinations).
Given that Douro has operated ER since launch and has the deepest view into its real costs, usage patterns, technical potential, and possible future synergies, the $300k flat offer raises a natural question:
How can the DAO capture more of the value here?
Why go with a simple one-time $300k purchase instead of structured terms that let the DAO participate in any future upside? Examples could include:

• A higher upfront payment
• Ongoing revenue share (e.g., a percentage of future fees or tips)
• Some form of equity-like or milestone-based upside

A few constructive suggestions:

• Direct the full $300k (or any improved amount) straight to the PYTH Reserve for buybacks — this directly benefits token holders.
• Consider an open process (even a short window) to see if other parties are interested in bidding or licensing ER. This could surface a better deal.
• Keep some optionality for the DAO: for example, the ability to license elements back or revive parts of ER in the future if market conditions change.
• Ensure the codebase remains accessible (open or easily licensable) so the broader ecosystem isn’t locked out.

Overall, I’m supportive of moving on from ER in its current form if the economics don’t work. But I’d like to see the DAO get the best possible outcome rather than the simplest one. More transparency on why this specific structure and price makes sense from Douro’s perspective would help the community evaluate it fairly.

Thanks for the proposal and for the work on Pyth Pro. Looking forward to the discussion.

[KemarTiti]

I’m supportive of this proposal.

Focusing resources on Pyth Pro makes sense. ER’s current numbers (sub-$2k/month against ongoing infra and engineering costs) don’t justify continued Douro/DAO involvement. I believe $300k upfront is a fair exit for the DAO, and @bparlan, those funds will sit in the DAO Treasury, available for future PYTH purchases @bparlan (as specified by the previous PIPs).

I appreciate Douro’s transparency on the third-party interest and the clarification that they won’t profit from this.

[lowkeigh]

Supportive this. Makes sense given Pyth’s resources are stretched and focus is on Pyth Pro.

Want to float an idea though, what if we use the $300k to buy and burn $PYTH instead of just adding it to the treasury? Feels fitting given it’s proceeds from sunsetting an OG product, and it’s a solid way to test the community/market’s appetite for burns before going for something more permanent like @scp earlier proposal.

[zenyas]

Update: Express Relay Acquisition Withdrawn

Both CO-PIP-122 and CO-PIP-122.V2 failed to reach voting quorum, though notably, the votes that were cast showed strong support (majority YES).

However, circumstances have changed.

The third-party Solana protocol that had expressed interest in acquiring Express Relay has withdrawn from the transaction. Without a downstream buyer, Douro Labs no longer has a reason to acquire ER from the DAO.

What this means going forward:

As outlined in the original proposal, Express Relay remains a net cost to operate, generating less than $2,000/month while requiring ongoing infrastructure and engineering resources. This economic reality hasn’t changed.

Douro Labs proposes to wind down active support for Express Relay. The product will continue to function for existing users during a transition period, but we will not be investing further resources into its development or expansion.

Next steps: An Operational PIP (OP-PIP) will be submitted to formally ratify the sunsetting of Express Relay. This gives the DAO a clear vote on the path forward.

The Pyth DAO Constitution will remain unchanged. ER references stay in place, and the Pythian Council retains its delegated powers over the program. The DAO continues to own Express Relay; it simply enters maintenance mode. Should a buyer emerge in the future, we can revisit a sale via CO-PIP at that time.

We remain committed to focusing our resources on Pyth Pro, which continues to be the primary revenue driver for the ecosystem.