---
type: entity
entity_type: decision_market
name: "Dean's List: Enhancing The Dean's List DAO Economic Model"
domain: internet-finance
status: passed
parent_entity: "[[deans-list]]"
platform: "futardio"
proposer: "IslandDAO"
proposal_url: "https://www.futard.io/proposal/5c2XSWQ9rVPge2Umoz1yenZcAwRaQS5bC4i4w87B1WUp"
proposal_date: 2024-07-18
resolution_date: 2024-07-22
category: "treasury"
summary: "Transition from USDC payments to $DEAN token buyback model with 20% USDC tax retention"
tracked_by: rio
created: 2026-03-11
---

# Dean's List: Enhancing The Dean's List DAO Economic Model

## Summary
The proposal restructured Dean's List DAO's payment model to charge clients in USDC, use 80% of revenue to purchase $DEAN tokens for citizen payments, and retain 20% DAO tax in USDC as treasury hedge. The model aims to create structural buy pressure on $DEAN while maintaining operational stability through stablecoin reserves.

## Market Data
- **Outcome:** Passed
- **Proposer:** IslandDAO
- **Resolution Date:** 2024-07-22
- **Baseline Metrics:** $337,074 FDV, 500 USDC daily volume, 100M $DEAN circulating supply
- **Projected Impact:** 5.33% FDV increase (from $337,074 to $355,028)

## Mechanism Details
The proposal introduced asymmetric treasury flows:
- Client payments: 2,500 USDC per dApp review
- DAO tax: 20% (500 USDC) retained in USDC
- Token buyback: 80% (2,000 USDC) used to purchase $DEAN
- Citizen payments: Distributed in $DEAN tokens
- Projected volume: 6 reviews/month = 15,000 USDC monthly revenue

The model assumes 80% of $DEAN recipients immediately sell, creating 448k $DEAN sell pressure against 560k $DEAN buy pressure, resulting in net positive price impact.

## Significance
This proposal represents a novel DAO treasury architecture that separates operational stability (USDC reserves) from token price exposure (citizen compensation). The asymmetric tax retention creates a structural hedge while the buyback mechanism generates continuous buy pressure. The model passed MetaDAO's 3% TWAP threshold with projected 5.33% FDV increase, demonstrating how futarchy governance shapes economic model design around quantifiable price impact metrics.

## Relationship to KB
- [[deans-list]] - parent entity governance decision
- [[MetaDAOs Autocrat program implements futarchy through conditional token markets where proposals create parallel pass and fail universes settled by time-weighted average price over a three-day window]] - governance mechanism used
- [[token economics replacing management fees and carried interest creates natural meritocracy in investment governance]] - related economic model