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0. Proposer Info

• Email: team@thecabal.xyz
• Proposer's Project Name: The Cabal
• Proposer's Project URL: https://thecabal.xyz
• Proposer's X (Twitter) Account: https://x.com/CabalVIP

1. TL;DR

This proposal requests the whitelisting of Cabal to Initia's VIP (Vested Interest Program). Cabal is Initia's dominant liquid staking and vote coordination protocol, controlling approximately two-thirds of all VIP voting power. With the upcoming launch of cabalINIT — an LST that enables rollups to convert their INIT TVL into VIP voting power — we are seeking direct VIP alignment for our depositors.

2. Background

2-1 About the Project

• Protocol Name: The Cabal
• Protocol Blurb: Earn like an Insider. Liquid staking and governance coordination for Initia.
• Protocol Type: Liquid Staking / Governance Coordination
• Docs: https://thecabal.xyz/docs
• Audits: 5+ audits from leading firms with no critical issues found, available at https://thecabal.xyz/docs/audits

3. Rationale & Impact

Motivation and Benefit to the Interwoven Economy

Cabal is the infrastructure layer that makes VIP work for the Initia ecosystem.

Market Position & Traction:

• ~$1M TVL in liquid staking products
• ~66% of all VIP voting power flows through Cabal
• Strongest LST LP pool in the ecosystem: $175K TVL vs. <$20K for competitors
• Consistently top APR across both INIT staking and USDC-INIT LP positions, including a 3.5% base staking rate for sxINIT vs 2.2% for plain INIT
• xINIT is poised to strengthen its position as the backbone of Initia DeFi with the launch of cabalINIT and further rollup integrations

Core Infrastructure Contributions:

1. Bribe Marketplace: Cabal built and operates the only bribe market for VIP gauge voting. This marketplace serves as the coordination layer for rollups seeking VIP allocation, creating price discovery for governance power and enabling efficient capital flows across the ecosystem.

2. xINIT & sxINIT: Liquid staking tokens that keep INIT liquid and composable while earning staking rewards. sxINIT holders additionally capture bribe revenue from rollups competing for VIP allocation.

3. Cabal LP Tokens: Liquid wrappers for Enshrined Liquidity positions, enabling LPs to stake while maintaining composability.

4. cabalINIT (Launching Soon): A breakthrough LST product that allows rollups to convert their INIT TVL into VIP voting power. For each cabalINIT minted, 2 votes flow to the partnered rollup while Cabal retains the remainder (~1 vote). This creates a symbiotic relationship: rollups gain VIP influence without building vote infrastructure, while Cabal aggregates incentives for yield seekers on Initia.

Why VIP Whitelisting Matters:

With cabalINIT, Cabal will begin self-voting. This alignment means VIP rewards flow directly to Cabal depositors, reducing reliance on external bribe revenue, strengthening incentives for TVL growth, and enabling direct participation in the Interwoven Economy that Cabal helped build.

VIP Scoring Criteria (Details)

Cabal allocates VIP rewards to users based on their proportional contribution to protocol TVL and liquidity. Scores are tracked per-second using a masterchef-style accounting system.

Incentivized Actions & Weights:

Scoring Formula:

For each user u and epoch e starting at T_{i-1} ending at T_i:

Score(u, e) = Σ_{a ∈ Actions} ( Weight(a) × AvgShare(u, a, e) )

Where:

AvgShare(u, a, e) = (1 / (T_i - T_{i-1})) × ∫_{T_{i-1}}^{T_i} (Balance(u, a, t) / TotalBalance(a, t)) dt

Reward Distribution:

At epoch end, user u receives:

Reward(u, e) = TotalReward(Cabal) × Score(u, e) / Σ_{j ∈ Users} Score(j, e)

All scoring is computed on-chain via Cabal's staking contracts, ensuring transparent and verifiable distribution.

4. Proposal Details

5. Governance Votes

• YES – You support whitelisting Cabal on VIP with the parameters provided.
• NO – You do not support adding Cabal to VIP.
• NO WITH VETO – You believe this proposal is harmful, spam, or violates governance principles.
• ABSTAIN – You choose not to vote for or against but wish your vote to count toward quorum.