🗡️Excalibur Proposal

The Excalibur Proposal is Project Merlin DAO’s strategic decision-making and high-impact funding process. It is designed for:

  • Larger, one-off grants for selected startups (Excalibur Grant)

  • Major platform-level governance decisions (Excalibur Governance Proposal)

While Camelot is a recurring monthly grant program open to all qualified startups, Excalibur focuses on special cases—projects or decisions that require significant community attention, higher funding, or long-term strategic alignment.


Purpose & Benefits

Purpose: To give the DAO the ability to fund strategic projects and make big-picture decisions that shape the entire ecosystem.

Benefits for Startups (Excalibur Grant):

  • Opportunity to secure future-bound grant agreements with the DAO

  • Priority access to the community’s attention and resources

  • Selection through both Core Team review and community voting—ensuring quality and alignment

Benefits for the Community (Excalibur Governance):

  • Power to vote on key platform changes such as:

    • Adding new ecosystem platforms

    • Allocating special budgets for events or campaigns

    • Changing operational mechanics

    • Introducing new governance rules

  • Influence over strategic partnerships and DAO treasury usage

  • Earn Vote2Earn points for participation, similar to Camelot


How it works – Step by step

A. Excalibur Grant (Funding Component)

  1. Application

    • Startups apply through the Excalibur Grant Submission Form (not Raven Message).

    • This form is specifically for projects aiming for strategic, high-impact funding rather than the regular monthly grants.

    • A submission fee in MRLN tokens equivalent to 100 USDC is required to complete the application.

  2. Core Team Review

    • All submitted proposals go through a manual review by the Project Merlin Core Team.

    • The review checks strategic alignment, project readiness, and long-term potential.

  3. Conditional Agreement

    • Selected applicants sign a future-binding grant agreement that becomes active only if the project wins the community vote.

  4. Community Voting

    • Holders of Project Merlin Community NFTs vote Yes / No / Abstain on each Excalibur Grant proposal.

    • Voting takes place on-chain via the DAO’s governance interface.

  5. Grant Award

    • If approved, the project receives funding from the Merlin Grant Pool.

    • The funding amount is determined in the proposal and may be supplemented by the DAO Treasury if needed.

  6. Frequency

    • A maximum of one Excalibur Grant per quarter is allowed.

    • It may not occur every quarter—only when qualified proposals are submitted and pass review.

B. Excalibur Governance Proposal (Decision Component)

  1. Proposal Creation:

    • Originates from the Core Team or from community suggestions posted in the DAO forum.

  2. Voting Process:

    • Community NFT holders vote on-chain.

  3. Execution:

    • Approved proposals are binding for the Project Merlin team.

  4. Examples of Decisions:

    • Adding a new platform like a DeFi lending module

    • Changing reward formulas for Vote2Earn

    • Allocating budget for special events


Advantages over Other DAO Governance Models

  • Dual Purpose: Handles both funding and high-level governance in one mechanism.

  • Quality Control: Includes an initial Core Team review for strategic alignment, unlike purely open proposals that can flood the system.

  • Binding Decisions: Approved governance proposals must be implemented—ensuring community votes have real impact.

  • Reward Incentives: Voters earn Vote2Earn points, turning governance participation into a rewarding activity.


Rewards & Distribution

  • For Startups (Excalibur Grant winners): Funding from the Merlin Grant Pool (amount varies depending on the proposal and budget).

  • For Community Members:

    • Vote2Earn points for each voting action.

    • Points are converted into MRLN tokens quarterly if the Treasury exceeds 30% of total supply.

    • Priority access to presales or token/NFT rewards from winning projects.


💡 In short: The Excalibur Proposal is the DAO’s strategic sword—used when the community needs to make high-impact funding decisions or shape the future direction of the ecosystem. It complements Camelot’s recurring grants by focusing on quality over quantity, ensuring that the DAO’s biggest moves are deliberate, well-reviewed, and truly community-driven.

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