[bisq-network/bisq] Running the numbers on Bisq DAO revenues (#5171)

[m52go]

I think a core idea that needs to be pondered very hard is whether or not the Bisq DAO is an entity with assets or not. I firmly think it is not...isn't this the whole point of Bisq? And of the DAO? Giving it a balance sheet effectively tells the world that Bisq is really an unregistered corporate organization and that the DAO software is just a technicality. Not only does this put the whole project in a very grey area from a regulatory standpoint, but it entirely disregards the massive innovation of the DAO that makes it possible to rid an operation of intermediate points between producer and consumer.

Therefore I strongly disagree that BSQ tokens are assets of the Bisq DAO. BSQ tokens are assets of their individual owners. The DAO has zero control over any BSQ (aside from bonded BSQ, which can be regarded as a special case). How can BSQ be assets of the DAO?

If there are no assets, the concept of a balance sheet breaks down, and there can be no liabilities.

These are my opinions. But as someone who has done financial modelling professionally, my stance is pretty strong.

> I disagree with this. When you talk below about the DAO becoming unsustainable to me this is effectively the same thing as the DAO becoming broke.

Right, but this is a determination the market will make on its own. Early last year the BSQ price went down to ~20 cents at one point, but DAO financials were not _that_ bad. Similarly, it's not clear to me that BSQ should be at 200 cents right now. The market will do what it wants to do.

The fate of the Bisq DAO is firmly in the hands of the market. It is impossible for any financial statements or metrics to predict them. When a company reaches 0 cash, it's broke. There's only 1 way. But Bisq can theoretically "go broke" with revenues at any level.

> In the current set up, if income dried up, and BSQ where to go to zero, regardless of the total amount of BSQ, the DAO would effectively be broke.

As mentioned above, income is an important factor but ultimately not a key determinant of BSQ price. It's entirely about investor sentiment. Metrics can influence this sentiment, but they cannot predict it.

> I agree that the term 'cashflow' is not really suited for this. But effectively I am in this instance defining cash as BSQ denominated by USD and/or BTC.

I think better terms are just revenue and expenses. I don't think it makes sense to draw a distinction between revenue and income and cashflow in Bisq. There is no debt, there is no depreciation, etc.

> I see Bisq as not having value and the DAO having value, but I accept this is subjective.

This goes back to my first point above. The DAO, in my opinion, cannot itself have any value.

Maybe it would be better to play around with some of the ideas you have on your own and see what you come up with before we discuss this any more. It's possible that will help some things become clearer (in either direction, or maybe a new direction!). 

In any case, I strongly recommend reconsidering the concept of the DAO as an entity with assets. I don't like it at all.

-- 
You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread.
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub:
https://github.com/bisq-network/bisq/discussions/5171#discussioncomment-375976
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.bisq.network/pipermail/bisq-github/attachments/20210216/119bf7e5/attachment.htm>