Pythian and Price Feed Councils Budget Request

Ideas Bank
1

Abstract

Following this request from @chop, a Community Council member, to secure funding for upcoming activities and council stipends, I propose extending the budget allocation to include the two existing governance councils within the Pyth DAO: the Pythian Council and the Price Feed Council.

This proposal requests allocating 415,000 PYTH tokens to compensate the next 15 elected council members for their upcoming six-month tenure (April 25 – September 25):

  • 100,000 PYTH for the next Pythian Council (8 members)
  • 315,000 PYTH for the next Price Feed Council (7 members)

Payments to future elected council members would performed at the end of each councils term (when being replaced by the future elected council).

Rationale

The Pythian Council and Price Feed Council play a critical role in executing governance functions delegated by the Pyth DAO. Until now, councilors have not been compensated for their work, but this should change.

Being a councilor requires both time and expertise to assess the value of proposals (e.g., whether a change improves the Pyth Network) and review the on-chain implementation of proposed upgrades.

Providing stipends will:

  • Compensate councilors fairly for their contributions.
  • Enhance participation and commitment by making the role more attractive.

Description

Pythian Council

The Pythian Council consists of 8 members elected for a six-month term. Their responsibilities include:

  • Upgrading the oracle program.
  • Setting data request fees per blockchain.
  • Managing other protocol and network fees.

Each councilor contributes ~1 hour per week, totaling 25 hours over six months.

Compensation Proposal:

  • 500 PYTH per hour (equivalent to $50-$75 at current rates).
  • Total: 100,000 PYTH per term (500 PYTH × 25 hours × 8 members).
  • Councilors must vote on >33% of OP-PIPs to be eligible.
  • Stipend per councilor: 12,500 PYTH (paid at the end of tenure).

Price Feed Council

The Price Feed Council consists of 7 members elected for a six-month term. Their responsibilities include:

  • Managing the list of available price feeds.
  • Selecting data publishers.
  • Setting the minimum number of publishers per price feed.

Each councilor contributes ~30 minutes per day, totaling 90 hours over six months.

Compensation Proposal:

  • 500 PYTH per hour (equivalent to $50-$75 at current rates).
  • Total: 315,000 PYTH per term (500 PYTH × 90 hours × 7 members).
  • Councilors must vote on >33% of OP-PIPs to be eligible.
  • Stipend per councilor: 45,000 PYTH (paid at the end of tenure).

Implementation Plan

  1. Gather feedback from the Pyth community and current councilors on the proposed stipends.
  2. Budget approval would be bundled with the onchain vote for the Council Election Approval
  3. Stipend disbursement would be performed as the future (4th) councils get approved onchain
9 Likes
2

Absolutely on board with this.

Both of these councils are essential for Pyth and they deserve to be rewarded for their time.

4 Likes
3

Sounds like a totally fair plan considering the work Pythian and Price Feed councils are doing! Fair stipend to fair people!

3 Likes
4

Fair request, both Councils are doing an important work to sustain functionality of PYTH ecosystem.

It’s a firm yes from me!

2 Likes
5

That’s definitely fair for new ones! But totally unfair for the previous committees. They believed in Pyth early, joined knowing it was unpaid work and put the hours. I think they would also deserve a retroactive stipend to thank them for the hours put.

3 Likes
6

100% agree that this is needed to compensate. I would even argue this is on the cheaper side for fulfilling critical roles, but it’s a great start!!

3 Likes
8

This is a great initiative, the councils are meant to attract good talent that should be rewarded for the time and effort invested.

1 Like
9

Both the Pythian and Price Feed Council indeed plays a very important role and together with the Community Council should be incentivized as well.

Would love to hear thoughts from the current councilors and those who are running for next term regarding this idea.

10

I don’t mind this idea also. The previous members have done a great job to date and I feel this could be easily justified considering Pyth’s development during this time.

2 Likes
11

I fully support the proposal.

And I respectfully disagree with this statement:

The previous council members willingly stepped up and accepted their roles based on the terms at the time. That was their choice, and I don’t see it as unfair. For example, if someone takes a job at a certain salary and later the company raises pay for new hires, it doesn’t mean the earlier employee is being treated unfairly - they agreed to the deal they got.

I’m not opposed to the idea of showing gratitude to our past council members, but I think it is unfair to call the proposal unfair.

1 Like