Merit Circle is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) focused on transforming the blockchain gaming industry. They aim to bring about significant gaming changes by allowing individuals to actively contribute to shaping its future. ^[1]

Overview

Introduced in November 2021, the Merit Circle DAO relies on community governance through $BEAM token voting on Merit Circle Improvement Proposals (MIPs). This democratic process allows investors, gamers, and Web3 partners to shape the DAO's trajectory and activities. Over time, strategic restructuring, including the introduction of MIP-17, has provided a foundation for asset dispensation, investment procedures, and formalized relationships with core contributors. The DAO's activities are organized into Investments, Studios, Gaming, and Infrastructure verticals, each governed by decisions made by $BEAM token holders. ^[2]

The DAO holds digital assets directly through distributed multi-signatories, ensuring community-led decision-making. At the same time, MIP-17 established the Merit Circle DAO Trust for the legal protection of equity, assets, and intellectual property. The DAO is committed to flexibility, allowing community discussions on operational changes and contractor selections. ^[2]

Verticals

The Merit Circle DAO consists of four verticals, each capable of operating independently with its suite of products. When integrated, these verticals form an ecosystem that contributes to the overall value of the Merit Circle DAO and the associated $BEAM token. ^[3]

Investments

Merit Circle Investments plays a vital role in supporting and financing operations by overseeing the management of the DAO treasury. This involves developing short- and long-term strategies for acquiring and divesting the DAO's portfolio holdings, encompassing tokens, NFTs, and staking operations. ^[4]

The investment strategies follow the mandates established by the DAO and are executed through proposals presented and voted on by its contributors. The primary objective of this vertical is to operate the treasury as a fund, concentrating on enhancing its long-term risk-adjusted returns by strategically deploying idle assets into high-quality investments. In summary, the investment vertical identifies appealing investment opportunities, holds advisory positions in portfolio projects to ensure consistent performance, and implements mandates for the sustainable development of the DAO. ^[4]

Treasury Management

The current structure of the Merit Circle DAO emphasizes three key pillars to enhance the treasury. ^[4]

Firstly, there is a commitment to transparency achieved through the regular publication of monthly reports and disclosing wallet addresses publicly within reasonable bounds for maintaining a competitive edge. ^[4]

Operational efficiency is a core principle guiding financial management. The organization carefully budgets its operations to ensure the sustained financial health of all verticals. Capital efficiency, maximizing impact with available capital, is a crucial aspect of this operational approach. ^[4]

The size of the treasury is a central dimension of the DAO's strategy. The organization actively seeks to increase its treasury, prioritizing growth and sustainability. This involves preserving the treasury and actively seeking opportunities to increase its size, deploying additional capital for continued expansion. ^[4]

Additionally, the Merit Circle DAO strategically directs investments toward ecosystem growth, particularly with the introduction of the Beam network. These investments play a significant role in contributing to the overall development of the ecosystem that the DAO is diligently constructing. ^[4]

Gaming

Merit Circle Gaming is a central component within the DAO. It is a community of gamers that has grown organically in a supportive and thriving environment. The primary objective of this vertical is to utilize the collective experiences in sustainable gaming and the established network to develop a comprehensive gaming platform encompassing all gaming operations. ^[5]

The Gaming vertical focuses on competitive gaming across different blockchain games. Additionally, it provides opportunities for the community to actively participate in a crucial aspect of game development through limited entries for beta testing. Furthermore, the vertical plays a role in channeling users toward the NFT marketplace that the DAO is constructing. ^[5]

Beam Hub

The Beam Hub caters to two significant gaming audiences concurrently: early-access players and competitive players. This platform aims to introduce curious gamers to a new gaming experience in an enjoyable and welcoming environment while offering competitive opportunities for those seeking it. ^[5]

Participants in the Beam Hub can anticipate engaging in exciting tournaments, collaborations, campaigns with other games, and various other upcoming activities. ^[5]

Studios

Merit Circle Studios is committed to fostering innovation and collaborating with promising projects. By leveraging the collective strength of the entire DAO, it combines a diverse skill set, expertise, community, and a substantial treasury to establish an open and creative environment. ^[6]

The primary goal of this vertical is to establish a formal space where groundbreaking projects incubate, and core contributors within the DAO can engage in developing and publishing innovative concepts. The Studio vertical generates direct value for the Beam ecosystem and other DAO framework verticals. It serves as a breeding ground for creative projects from the Merit Circle DAO and actively collaborates with existing projects within the Web3 ecosystem and those from non-Web3 companies. Ultimately, the aim is to become the preferred partner for Web3-native teams launching new projects. ^[6]

Merit Circle Grants

The Merit Circle Grants program allows engaged members within our DAO to actively participate and contribute to advancing the Merit Circle ecosystem. This initiative originated in response to the significant interest of community members who were eager to contribute to the DAO's growth. Given the diverse and international composition of our supporters, members, and project founders, we recognized a substantial reservoir of untapped skills and expertise poised to be utilized. ^[7]

The DAO provides two categories of available grants: ^[7]

• Research Grant (Maximum $10,000 per applicant): This grant supports initiatives that may lead to more extensive proposals, subject to community voting. It's for proposals that surpass the financial limits of this grant.
• Development Grant (Maximum $25,000 per applicant): This grant compensates developers for the expenses incurred during the execution of their projects.

Edenhorde

Edenhorde, a media franchise developed by Merit Circle, consists of 8,800 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and operates on a concept of collaborative worldbuilding and intellectual property. Ownership of an Edenhorde NFT entails being a partial owner of the franchise. Positioned as the inaugural "media mix" franchise in the NFT realm, it is constructed upon the foundation of an initial episodic narrative arc. Additionally, Edenhorde serves as the primary NFT project for Merit Circle and an entry point to the broader Merit Circle ecosystem. ^[8]

Merit Circle Tactile

Merit Circle Tactile introduces an exclusive series of 650 merchandise boxes for the community. Community members can secure their box by minting their pass and selecting a size. Each box contains a curated assortment of high-quality items, including two t-shirts, a long-sleeve top, a hoodie, a scarf, and a hat. ^[9]

Merit Circle Tactile originated from MIP-21, a collaboration with Daan de Greef. The objective was to establish a tangible connection between the digital community and the Merit Circle brand, providing a physical, touchable experience. Simultaneously, the DAO prioritized sustainability, ensuring that the creation of these items has minimal impact on the environment. ^[9]

Infrastructure

In the Merit Circle DAO, the Infrastructure vertical is a foundation for the DAO's advancements in blockchain gaming. This vertical forms the essential framework supporting innovative projects like Beam and Sphere, illustrating their enthusiasm for transforming the gaming sector. ^[10]

Beam

Beam is a community-driven gaming blockchain that brings together gamers and developers to contribute to the gaming industry's future. Beam provides versatile solutions for developers looking to create innovative games and players looking for a unique blockchain gaming experience. ^[11]

Sphere

Sphere serves as the NFT marketplace for gaming assets. With its user-friendly interface, individuals can swiftly and conveniently buy their preferred gaming assets. However, the marketplace's potential extends beyond simple transactions. ^[12]

Sphere is crucial in supporting the BeamSDK, enabling games to establish their in-game marketplaces with unprecedented capabilities. The Merit Circle DAO beliefs are firmly rooted in the idea that most marketplace interactions will occur within the gaming environment. Consequently, their focus for future development will align with enhancing in-game functionalities. ^[12]

Notable Partnerships

• Avalanche
• LayerZero
• Polygon
• Immutable X
• Framework Ventures