I. Proposal Summary
This proposal is an amendment and upgrade to the “HIP-007: HTX DAO Development Fund (Quasi-Treasury Pilot) Proposal” dated April 25, 2025. It proposes that HTX DAO formally launch the HTX DAO Genesis Program and establish an ecosystem development fund to provide funding and ecosystem support for AI × Web3 developers, startup teams, open-source projects, ecosystem applications, and infrastructure projects worldwide.
Artificial intelligence is becoming a core driver of a new wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation. HTX DAO should proactively become a builder and leader of the AI × Web3 ecosystem. The Genesis Program will integrate the Genesis Hackathon, Genesis Grant, and Ecosystem Node to establish a complete ecosystem support framework covering project discovery, professional review, funding support, product integration, ecosystem growth, and value return, continuously attracting outstanding developers and innovative projects into the HTX ecosystem.
This proposal is submitted to HTX holders for a governance vote to determine whether the HTX DAO Genesis Program should be formally approved and moved into the implementation stage.
II. Proposal Background and Strategic Significance
AI is ushering in a new technological era. The internet transformed the way information is distributed, blockchain transformed the way assets are issued and value is transferred, and artificial intelligence is further transforming product development, financial decision-making, user interaction, and business organization.
In the future AI × Web3 ecosystem, users may no longer need to operate complex trading interfaces and on-chain protocols directly. Instead, they may use AI Agents to conduct trading, payments, asset allocation, risk management, cross-chain interactions, and data analysis. Developers may also use AI to accelerate code development, strategy construction, smart contract auditing, application deployment, and product operations. AI will not only create new tools, but may also create a new generation of trading gateways, wallet gateways, payment gateways, and financial infrastructure.
For HTX DAO, this is both a technological trend and a new ecosystem development opportunity. HTX DAO has already begun engaging global AI × Web3 Builders through hackathons, developer activities, and ecosystem partnerships. The next step is to establish a long-term mechanism that brings distributed developers, early-stage demos, and innovative teams into a sustained support framework, helping promising projects complete product development, user growth, and ecosystem integration.
Launching the Genesis Program means that HTX DAO will upgrade into a systematic and long-term developer ecosystem development framework.
The core strategic significance of the program includes:
Proactively entering the AI era and continuously participating in AI × Web3 technology and product innovation;
Establishing a long-term gateway for global developers and startup teams to enter the HTX ecosystem, transforming demos into sustainable real-world products;
Promoting collaboration between outstanding projects and ecosystem resources including HTX, HTX Wallet, TRON, and B.AI;
Continuously introducing users, trading activity, assets, revenue, and application scenarios into the HTX ecosystem, creating a long-term positive cycle of ecosystem investment, project growth, and value return;
Enhancing the industry influence of HTX DAO within the global AI and Web3 developer ecosystem.
III. Overall Objectives of the Genesis Program
The HTX DAO Genesis Program will focus on the following objectives:
- Establish a Global AI × Web3 Builder Network
Connect developers, startup teams, universities, AI communities, open-source organizations, incubators, investment institutions, and regional Web3 communities worldwide to establish a sustainable long-term Builder network.
- Establish a Continuous Project Discovery Mechanism
Continuously identify projects with strong technical capabilities, product potential, and ecosystem synergy through hackathons, online applications, developer activities, Ecosystem Node referrals, and recommendations from partner institutions.
- Establish a Long-Term Project Support Mechanism
Provide differentiated support for projects at different development stages, helping high-quality projects progress from early-stage demos toward product implementation, user growth, and ecosystem development.
- Promote Project Integration into the HTX Ecosystem
Facilitate practical cooperation between outstanding projects and HTX DAO, HTX, HTX Wallet, TRON, B.AI, and other relevant ecosystem resources.
- Establish a Sustainable Value Return Mechanism
Encourage supported projects to create long-term value for HTX holders through users, trading activity, assets, revenue, ecosystem rights, and HTX utility scenarios.
The Genesis Program will gradually establish the following ecosystem growth flywheel:
Discover Builders → Support Product Development and Ecosystem Integration → Generate Users, Trading Activity, and Assets → Create Value Return → Support More Builders
IV. Program Structure
The HTX DAO Genesis Program consists of three core modules.
- Genesis Hackathon: Project Discovery Gateway
The Genesis Hackathon will serve as an important gateway for HTX DAO to discover AI × Web3 projects and developers. HTX DAO may attract Builders to develop products around real ecosystem needs through global hackathons, online developer competitions, university partnerships, regional Demo Days, developer Meetups, and themed challenges.
- Genesis Grant: Project Support and Growth Pathway
The Genesis Grant will provide funding and ecosystem resources to AI × Web3 projects at different stages of development. Support may include development funding, AI computing and on-chain resources, technical and security support, developer tools such as SDKs and APIs, marketing and user growth support, ecosystem product integration, and connections to investment institutions, market makers, and industry partners.
Specific funding amounts and cooperation structures will not follow a uniform predetermined standard. Each project will be evaluated individually based on its development stage, product characteristics, delivery capability, actual needs, and expected ecosystem value.
- Ecosystem Node: Global Ecosystem Partnership Network
HTX DAO will establish a global Ecosystem Node partnership network involving universities, developer communities, AI communities, incubators, Builder organizations, regional Web3 communities, KOL communities, hackathon organizers, and investment institutions.
Ecosystem Nodes may participate in the Genesis Program by connecting developers and startup teams, recommending high-quality projects, organizing Builder Meetups, Hackathons, or Demo Days, assisting projects in applying for Genesis Grants, and facilitating ecosystem cooperation.
Incentives for Ecosystem Nodes will be determined based on actual contributions, project quality, and ecosystem outcomes, encouraging long-term alignment of interests between the Nodes and HTX DAO.
V. Key Areas of Support
The Genesis Program will support innovative Web3 projects with clear product capabilities, user value, commercial potential, or ecosystem synergy, while placing particular emphasis on new products, user gateways, and financial infrastructure created through the convergence of AI and Web3.
The scope of support is not limited to AI projects. It also includes DeFi, TradFi, prediction markets, on-chain securities, payments, wallets, and infrastructure projects capable of bringing users, trading activity, assets, revenue, liquidity, product capabilities, or strategic ecosystem value to HTX.
Key areas of support include:
- Trading, DeFi, and Liquidity
Including AI trading Agents, quantitative and strategy tools, decentralized trading, lending, derivatives, liquidity protocols, prediction markets, and related trading infrastructure.
Key evaluation factors include trading users, trading volume, fee revenue, liquidity, asset deposits, and the ability to create synergies with HTX, TRON, and HTX Wallet.
- Payments, Consumption, and Real-World Financial Assets
Including stablecoin payments, AI payment tools, Agent services and subscription scenarios, digital asset consumption applications, tokenized U.S. equities, RWA, TradFi, and connections between traditional finance and on-chain finance.
Key evaluation factors include payment and asset scale, user conversion, real commercial demand, revenue potential, and HTX utility scenarios.
- AI Agents and Intelligent Applications
Including intelligent financial assistants, AI investment research, data analytics, automated operations, risk management, multi-Agent collaboration, and other AI-driven Web3 applications.
Key evaluation factors include product usability, usage volume, active users, retention rates, and practical contributions to trading, payments, and user growth.
- Wallets, Accounts, and User Gateways
Including AI wallets, smart accounts, Mini Apps, identity and permission systems, task platforms, and cross-chain interaction gateways.
Key evaluation factors include new users, new addresses, asset deposits, user retention, trading conversion, and ecosystem product integration.
- Infrastructure and Developer Tools
Including SDKs, APIs, open-source tools, AI infrastructure, security tools, governance tools, on-chain data services, and financial infrastructure.
Key evaluation factors include developer adoption, number of integrated projects, usage volume, open-source contributions, maintenance capability, and long-term ecosystem value.
In addition to the areas listed above, other innovative projects capable of bringing clear user, trading, asset, revenue, product, or strategic synergy value to HTX DAO may also be considered for evaluation.
VI. Project Review and Fund Utilization Mechanism
The Genesis Program will adopt a funding and resource allocation mechanism that combines professional review, community governance, milestone-based acceptance, and value return.
1. Two-Tier Review Mechanism
HTX DAO will establish a Genesis Grant Committee, composed of experts with experience in AI, Web3, technology, product development, investment, and ecosystem building, to oversee the professional evaluation and overall management of supported projects. Members of the HTX DAO community will participate in project voting through the governance process and jointly determine the direction of project support.
The Genesis Grant Committee will be responsible for:
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Project sourcing, application verification, preliminary screening, and project communications;
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Conducting comprehensive evaluations of project teams, product technology, market demand, ecosystem synergies, and risk profiles;
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Reviewing project funding plans and establishing support plans, project milestones, and acceptance criteria;
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Reviewing milestone deliverables and, based on project progress, making recommendations regarding subsequent fund disbursement, adjustment, suspension, or termination.
HTX DAO community members may participate in key project decisions through project showcases, community discussions, consensus scoring, or governance voting. Community participation will serve as an important reference in the project evaluation process.
- Core Evaluation Criteria
Team Capability: Whether the team possesses the ability to continuously develop, operate, grow, and deliver, and whether core members have relevant experience and a willingness to make a long-term commitment.
Product Capability: Whether the project solves a real problem, has a demo, MVP, working product, or technical validation, and demonstrates differentiation and competitive barriers.
Ecosystem Synergy: Whether the project can establish practical cooperation scenarios with HTX DAO, HTX Wallet, TRON, B.AI, or other relevant ecosystem participants.
Growth Potential: Whether the project has the potential to expand its users, developers, trading activity, assets, revenue, or community scale.
Value Return: Whether the project can create traceable and verifiable long-term value for HTX DAO and the HTX ecosystem.
- Milestone-Based Fund Disbursement
The Genesis Program will adopt a phased, milestone-based fund disbursement mechanism. Each project must establish an independent funding budget, support structure, stage-specific objectives, and acceptance criteria based on its actual circumstances. Funding and ecosystem resource support must be linked to verifiable project outcomes.
Project milestones may include product development and launch, technical or open-source deliverables, user growth and retention, on-chain data, trading and asset scale, revenue and commercialization progress, HTX ecosystem integration, and agreed value-return outcomes.
Projects may proceed to the next stage of support only after completing their stage-specific objectives and passing acceptance review. If agreed milestones are not achieved, HTX DAO may adjust, suspend, or terminate subsequent funding.
- Project Support Process
Project Application or Referral → Preliminary Screening by the Genesis Working Group → Professional Review by the Genesis Grant Committee, Combined with Governance Voting → Determination of Budget and Milestones and Execution of Cooperation Agreement → Milestone Acceptance and Phased Fund Disbursement
The specific support amount, disbursement method, acceptance criteria, rights arrangements, and value-return mechanism for each project will be determined individually based on the project’s actual circumstances.
VII. Value Return
The core objective of the Genesis Program is to create long-term value for HTX DAO, HTX holders, and the HTX ecosystem by supporting high-quality projects. Supported projects should establish clear and verifiable value-return pathways based on their business models and development stages.
Value return may include user and trading growth, fee and revenue contributions, asset and liquidity deposits, HTX payment and utility scenarios, locking, buyback, or burn mechanisms, as well as project tokens, equity, revenue sharing, ecosystem partnership rights, and other forms of long-term strategic value.
Ecosystem return on investment should serve as an important consideration in project evaluation, fund disbursement, and continued support.
For projects with clear business models, HTX DAO should seek to ensure that the projects’ quantifiable returns and long-term rights exceed the funding and resources invested by HTX DAO.
For projects receiving support in HTX, priority should be given to exploring trading revenue, buyback, locking, or burn mechanisms, so that long-term value return is, in principle, no lower than the value of HTX released, while seeking to achieve:
Ecosystem Return > Ecosystem Investment, Value Growth > Fund Release.
Infrastructure, open-source tools, and public goods projects may be comprehensively evaluated based on developer adoption, ecosystem integration, technical capability, user growth, brand influence, and long-term strategic value.
The long-term objective of the Genesis Program is to use the users, trading activity, revenue, and ecosystem rights generated by high-quality projects to cover overall ecosystem development costs and continuously contribute back to the development of the HTX ecosystem.
VIII. Long-Term Value for HTX Holders and the HTX Ecosystem
- Expanding Ecosystem Products and User Gateways
The Genesis Program will support high-quality projects in trading, payments, wallets, AI Agents, DeFi, security, infrastructure, and other areas, adding new product capabilities, application scenarios, and user gateways to the HTX ecosystem while promoting practical synergies with ecosystem resources including HTX, HTX Wallet, and TRON.
- Driving Growth in Users, Trading Activity, Assets, and Revenue
Following ecosystem integration, supported projects may bring new users, trading volume, asset deposits, payment scale, liquidity, and revenue growth to the HTX ecosystem, strengthening the ecosystem’s business foundation and long-term competitiveness.
- Increasing HTX Utility and Value Return
The Genesis Program will encourage supported projects to enhance demand for and value capture by HTX through mechanisms such as HTX payments, staking, locking, governance, buybacks, burns, and holder rights, allowing project growth to continuously contribute back to HTX holders and the broader HTX ecosystem.
The Genesis Program will shift ecosystem support from one-way subsidies toward long-term value partnerships, allowing project growth to continuously contribute back to HTX holders and the entire HTX ecosystem.
IX. Risk Control and Information Disclosure
To reduce relevant risks, the Genesis Program will adopt the following measures:
Phased Disbursement and Milestone Management
Project funding will, in principle, be linked to milestones and acceptance results and will be disbursed in phases.
Project Verification and Prudent Screening
Priority will be given to projects with real teams, an existing product foundation, delivery capability, and clear ecosystem synergy pathways. Necessary verification will be conducted regarding team backgrounds, technical capabilities, fund usage, and related-party relationships.
Dynamic Tracking and Exit Mechanism
HTX DAO will continuously track project fund utilization, development progress, milestone completion, and value-return outcomes.
For projects that fail to meet agreed objectives, remain inactive for extended periods, demonstrate abnormal fund usage, falsify data, or engage in fraudulent conduct, HTX DAO may adjust, suspend, or terminate further support.
Contractual Constraints and Tiered Review
Projects involving tokens, equity, revenue sharing, convertible investments, or other special rights must define the rights and obligations of both parties through separate agreements.
Projects involving larger funding amounts may be subject to additional review or submitted to community governance in accordance with applicable governance rules.
Regular Information Disclosure
HTX DAO will regularly disclose project support progress, fund disbursement, milestone achievements, and overall ecosystem input-output performance to the community and will remain subject to oversight by the HTX DAO community.
X. Voting Items
This proposal requests HTX holders to vote on whether HTX DAO should formally launch the HTX DAO Genesis Program and establish an HTX ecosystem development fund with a total value equivalent to USD 10 million in HTX, to support AI × Web3 Builders, Genesis Grants, Ecosystem Node partnerships, developer activities, ecosystem applications, and long-term developer ecosystem development.
This vote approves the launch of the Genesis Program, the overall size of the ecosystem development fund, and the general direction of implementation.
The specific funding amount, fund disbursement structure, milestones, acceptance criteria, rights arrangements, and value-return mechanisms for individual projects will be determined based on the actual circumstances of each project, professional review results, community governance rules, and separate project agreements.
Voting Options:
For / Yes
Against / No
Abstain
XI. Implementation Arrangements
If this proposal is approved, HTX DAO will proceed with the following actions:
Formally launch the HTX DAO Genesis Program and establish the Genesis Working Group and Genesis Grant Committee;
Improve the mechanisms for project applications, referrals, reviews, community governance, milestone acceptance, fund disbursement, and value return;
Continue supporting AI × Web3 projects discovered through the Genesis Hackathon and other channels, while establishing the Ecosystem Node network and a global Builder network;
Promote practical cooperation between outstanding projects and ecosystem resources including HTX, HTX Wallet, TRON, and B.AI;
Continuously track and disclose project fund utilization, development progress, and ecosystem outcomes, and continuously optimize the Genesis Program based on implementation results.