I’d like to preface this by stating that this is in no means financial advice, nor is it meant to criticize the decentralized application in discussion. The following article is a collection of objective observations (of which have been objectively verified by the Seers Foundation), in regards to the Accumulator Neurons SNS Voting Criteria, which can be found in the resources below.
Resources
Accumulator Neuron SNS Voting Criteria
SNS Proposal Discussion
Protocol Documentation Relevant to Analysis
https://immediate-guilty-135.notion.site/Seers-Web3-Social-Network-25fa0f505b0141cabb5d7d68a11f572b
Protocol Abstract
Seers is a decentralized social network built atop the Internet Computer. Drawing inspiration from Twitter’s intuitive design, Seers improves user interaction with exclusive crypto features like prediction markets.
Analysis
Main Net dApp
Is the dApp live and operational? Has the development team demonstrated technical competence specifically regarding the Internet Computer Protocol?
Yes, the Seers main net dApp is currently live & operational. As such, I believe it is reasonable to say the team has demonstrated a degree of technical competence in relation to the Internet Computer.
Is the dApp fully on-chain, meaning both the front end and back end of the protocol are hosted in Canister smart contracts?
Yes, both the frontend & backend of the Seers application are hosted within Canisters on the Internet Computer - meaning the application is fully on-chain.
-Frontend canister (oulla-fyaaa-aaaag-qa6fa-cai)
-Backend canister (otknu-iaaaa-aaaag-qa6fq-cai)
Does the dApp rely on third-party dependencies, such as off-chain providers, fee-gated APIs, or other mechanisms that rely on intermediaries? If so, is there a plan to transfer these dependencies to Canisters and the SNS? Additionally, is there a plan to fund these mechanisms independently, without solely relying on the SNS Treasury?
Yes, the Seers dApp has minor dependencies, being it’s oracle canister to fetch prediction market information (of which APIs are not listed, therefor, it is not possible to gauge potential fees associated with), the file storage system “OpenStorage”, Authentication Providers such as “Internet Identity” & “NFID”, as well as Usergeek to provide analytics. It is worth noting that all of the listed dependencies are governed by canisters & in turn the SNS DAO.
With this being said, it should be noted that the Prediction Market, OpenStorage & UserGeek are temporarily disabled to make the transition to decentralization a smoother process.
Can the dApp, in its current form, be considered a complete product that fulfills its intended purpose? If the development team were to suddenly stop building, would the dApp still be able to function and achieve its objectives?
Yes, I believe it is reasonable to say that in its current form, the Seers dApp fulfills its intended purpose as a social media application if the development team discontinued work on the protocol.
Protocol Overview
Is the protocol open source?
Yes, the protocol is opensource, making alternative contributions plausible.
The source code can be found within the Github Repository & Canisters of the dApp for review;
-Frontend canister (oulla-fyaaa-aaaag-qa6fa-cai)
-Backend canister (otknu-iaaaa-aaaag-qa6fq-cai)
Has the team provided a clear white paper that details the protocol comprehensively? Additionally, is there technical documentation available that explains the underlying mechanisms, functionalities, and concepts of the protocol?
I believe it is reasonable to say that the Seers Foundation has provided a clear & comprehensive overview of the dApp itself within the white paper.
However, the currently provided technical documentation does not offer much clarity or insight regarding the underlying mechanisms, functionalities, and code base of the protocol - potentially posing entrance barriers for alternative contributors.
Is there an insightful overview of the tokenomics provided? Is token allocation responsible & proportionate?
I believe that the Seers Foundation has provided an insightful overview of tokenomics & allocations for the most part. However, something that is lacking clarity is the “Seed Funder” Category within allocations. It is currently unclear as to whether this includes solely Crowdfund NFTs or other forms of Seed Funders (and the corresponding break down of allocation).
Currently, the $SEERS Token allocation is depicted as follows;
Treasury - 52%
SNS Sale (Public) - 16.7%
SNS Sale (Neuron Fund) - 8.3%
Seed Funders - 8%
Founding Team - 15%
This can be further broken down into 3 categories; Protocol, Community & Insiders
Protocol - 52%
Consists of Treasury Allocations
Community - 33%
Consists of SNS Sales (Public & Neuron Fund) & Seed Funders Allocations
Insiders - 15%
Consists of Founding Team Allocations
With this breakdown, we can determine that the “Insider” Allocation is 45% of what is being sold to the “Community” (15% / 33% = 45%).
As such, I can see not agree that this is a fair token allocation.
Has the team articulated why the SNS is the ideal decentralization solution for their application at this time?
Yes, I believe Seers has reasonably articulated their pursuit of an SNS DAO, being a necessity for decentralization to foster trust & resilience within a social media platform.
Is the team publicly known within the ecosystem? Do they have a visible presence in the crypto community or relevant industry events?
While the Seers dApp itself is known within the ecosystem & has a visible presence (as depicted by the twitter link below), it is worth noting that the Seers Foundation seemingly do not have any Public facing personal accounts.
https://x.com/seers_app?s=21&t=p9K9YrK2DF2OD_cPX2QYTA
Is the team’s dynamic transparent? Do team members openly communicate and collaborate with the community?
No, the teams inner workings & dynamic are not transparent. There is no gauge to the quantity of contributors to the Seers Foundation based off publicly provided information, and the members of the Foundation are not public aside from Founder Marcio Diaz.
With that being said, it should be noted that the Seers twitter account is very active within the ICP community.
What is the team’s track record and experience in the relevant field? Has the team made notable contributions to the ecosystem or relevant projects?
Marcio Diaz
Marcio is the CEO and founder of Pense Technologies, an innovative software development company that is dedicated to creating cutting-edge dApps to solve real-world problems using the Internet Computer technology. With over 15 years of experience as a Software Developer, Marcio has worked with a number of major companies including Parity developing Polkadot under the guidance of Dr. Gavin Wood. During this period, he developed an immense passion for the web3 movement and its potential to revolutionize the world. Before joining Parity, he dropped out of a PhD program in Verification of Concurrent programs using Automata. Additionally, Marcio holds a master’s degree in Computer Science from a prestigious university in Argentina.
https://de.linkedin.com/in/marciodiaz
Proof of Valuation
Has the team shown comparable raises within the industry sector?
No, the Seers Foundation has not referenced comparable raises within the industry in correspondence with their SNS Sale Valuation.
Is the valuation method disclosed, and is the math behind it available for review? Does the valuation accurately address the current and potential market shares?
The Seers Foundation has not provided any indication or transparency regarding the valuation of the dApp. This makes it impossible to gauge whether the valuation accurately reflects current & potential market shares.
Security Audit
Is a security audit necessary for the application?
Given the application has the potential to manage sensitive user assets (both monetary & data), I believe it is reasonable to expect the application to undergo external code review.
Has the code received at least some degree of review? Is there transparency and disclosure regarding the security measures taken?
Based off publicly provided information, the Seers application has not yet undergone an external code review.
Neuron Fund Allocation
Is the Neuron Fund utilized? If so, what percentage of the sale is the Neuron Fund? If so, what is the size of the contribution in respect to the size of the Neuron Fund?
Yes, it is requested that the Neuron Fund participate in the sale - contributing 333,333 ICP of a minimum of 500,000 ICP or a maximum of 1,000,000 ICP. In correlation to the total size of the Neuron Fund, this translates to 333,333 ICP of 3,827,486 ICP (assuming 1:1 Maturity:ICP conversion for simplicity), or 8.7% of the Neuron Fund, falling within DFINITY’s recommended guidelines.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while I value the protocol that the Seers Foundation has laid out, and support their application, the Accumulator Neuron will be voting to “reject to postpone” for the following reasons, as detailed above;
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The lack of clarity within the technical documentation presents a significant hurdle for potential contributors, curtailing the open collaboration necessary for innovation of a DAO.
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Disparity between the allocations designated for the community and insiders raise valid concern. This arrangement, where a substantial 45% of what’s offered to the community is reserved for insiders, challenges the notion of a fair and inclusive distribution.
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While the Seers dApp manages to establish a recognizable presence, the lack of transparency revolving around the core team hampers trust-building.
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The absence of a comprehensive audit casts a shadow of uncertainty over Seers’ capacity to ensure robust security. This presents potential risk to the confidentiality and safety of user information.
Written by accumulating.icp August 22nd
Submit for review August 22nd