Flexible Payment Currency for Pyth Pro, LaaS, and Marketplace Revenue

Ideas Bank
1

Summary

Douro Labs proposes enabling PYTH token payments (in addition to USDC) for all DAO revenue distributions from:

  • Pyth Pro subscriptions

  • Listing as a Service (LaaS)

  • Pyth Data Marketplace

As part of this change, we also propose formalizing Pyth Pro governance within the DAO Constitution, bringing it to parity with the existing Marketplace Governance section.

Motivation

Current State

Today, all revenue distributions from Douro Labs to the Pyth DAO are paid in USDC:

  • Pyth Pro: 60% of subscription revenue → DAO (per CO-PIP-9)

  • LaaS: 90% of listing fees → DAO (per OP-PIP-98)

  • Marketplace: 60% of proceeds → DAO (per CO-PIP-99)

The DAO then uses a portion of its USDC treasury to acquire PYTH tokens through a multi-step process:

  1. Monthly OP-PIP to authorize 1/3 treasury transfer to Pythian Council multisig

  2. Pythian Council executes DCA purchases via Squads

  3. Squads charges fees on trades (~0.1%)

  4. Purchases execute against onchain PYTH liquidity

The Opportunity

Allowing Douro Labs to also pay in PYTH (or a USDC/PYTH combination) would benefit the DAO by:

  • Smaller token purchases — When revenue arrives directly in PYTH, the DAO executes smaller purchases against thinner onchain liquidity

  • Reducing intermediary fees — Lower Squads DCA fees on the portion received directly in PYTH

  • More accurate pricing — Pyth Pro’s aggregated PYTH/USD price reflects broader market liquidity vs thin onchain pools

What About the PYTH Reserve Program?

The existing PYTH token purchase program (OP-PIP-87) continues unchanged. The 1/3 monthly rule stays the same — it simply operates on a smaller USDC base as more revenue arrives in PYTH. Revenue from Pyth Core, Entropy, and Express Relay continues to flow in as USDC, maintaining the token purchase program. It is important to note Douro Labs may still continue paying Pyth Pro, LaaS and/or marketplace in USDC.

Proposal

  1. Payment Flexibility

Allow Douro Labs to pay DAO revenue distributions in:

  • USDC; or

  • PYTH tokens; or

  • A combination thereof

When paying fully or partially in PYTH:

  • Pricing: The PYTH amount is calculated using the average daily price closest to midnight of the Pyth Pro PYTH/USD price feed across all calendar days in the payment month.

  • Minimum Value Guarantee: The PYTH amount delivered cannot be less than the USD-equivalent value calculated above.

  • Combined Payments: When paying in a combination of USDC and PYTH, the total USD value owed to the DAO is first determined. The USDC portion is paid at face value. The remaining balance is converted to PYTH using the pricing mechanism above. For example: if the DAO is owed $100,000 and Douro pays $40,000 USDC, the remaining $60,000 is converted to PYTH at the monthly average price.

This applies to:

  • Pyth Pro subscriptions (60% DAO share)

  • Listing as a Service proceeds (90% DAO share)

  • Pyth Data Marketplace proceeds (60% DAO share)

2. Constitution Amendment — Pyth Pro Governance

Currently, the DAO Constitution includes detailed governance for the Pyth Data Marketplace . We propose adding a detailed Pyth Pro Governance section that:

  • Formalizes the operator assignment

  • Codifies the revenue distribution (including LaaS)

  • Establishes payment terms and currency flexibility

  • Defines reporting requirements

  • Specifies termination provisions

This brings Pyth Pro to constitutional parity with the Marketplace.

What This Does NOT Change

  • Revenue share percentages remain unchanged (60/40 for Pro/Marketplace, 90/10 for LaaS)

  • Monthly payment cadence remains unchanged

  • Operator assignment (Douro Labs) remains unchanged

  • DAO termination rights remain unchanged

  • PYTH token purchase program (OP-PIP-87) remains unchanged

Implementation

This would be submitted as a Constitutional PIP to:

  1. Add Pyth Pro Governance section to the Constitution

  2. Amend Marketplace Governance section to allow PYTH payments

  3. Supersede CO-PIP-9 payment terms with the new constitutional framework

Next Steps

  1. Community Feedback — Gather input on this proposal from DAO members

  2. Refinement — Incorporate feedback and finalize the constitutional language

  3. Constitutional PIP — Submit formal CO-PIP for on-chain vote to amend the Constitutio

6 Likes
2

Giving Douro the ability to Pay in PYTH is a great step towards unlocking more token utility and potentially reducing our exposure to slippage and trading fees when executing trades for the Reserve. I ultimately see this as a net positive for flexibility with our Organisation and our Contributors.

However, as a member of the DAO, I would prefer to see a minimum 1/3 of the DAO’s share in $PYTH (For the Reserve) enforced instead of “the ability to”. This would eliminate the need to perform trades by the Council, and therefore, the risks and costs associated therein.

[quote=“zenyas, post:1, topic:2470”]
Minimum Value Guarantee: The PYTH amount delivered cannot be less than the USD-equivalent value calculated above.
[/quote] the averaging method is also very practical during times of volatility, and the above quote ensures fairness and transparency.

It would be good if we included “Douro shows their working” for the averaging calculations. This would potentially help DAO members compare at a glance rather than individually going through the data. Perhaps we could also consider the use a median approach rather than a strict mean average.

Just my thoughts!

1 Like
3

Thanks for the thoughtful feedback @Derrp!

Just want to make sure I understand your second point correctly — are you suggesting that Douro should be required to distribute at least 1/3 of Pyth Pro/LaaS/Marketplace revenue in PYTH tokens each month (with flexibility to go higher)?

If so, I’d note that even with such a requirement, the monthly DAO token purchases via the Pythian Council would still continue. Here’s why:

The Pyth DAO has multiple revenue streams beyond Pro/LaaS/Marketplace:

  • Pyth Express Relay contract fees

  • Entropy fees

  • Pyth Core update fees

These fees are repatriated to the DAO treasury on Solana and arrive as USDC. So even if 100% of Pro revenue came in as PYTH, the DAO would still accumulate USDC from these other sources — and the monthly purchase program (OP-PIP-87) would continue operating on that base.

This proposal isn’t aiming to change the monthly purchase mechanism itself, just to add flexibility on how Douro can settle its share obligations.

On your transparency point — absolutely, Douro is happy to provide the underlying data for the monthly TWAP calculation. We’d share:

  • Daily PYTH/USD prices from the Pyth price feed (one per calendar day at midnight

  • The simple average across all ~30 data points for the month

This way any DAO member can independently verify the math.

Appreciate the engagement!

1 Like