Sorry for the late response here, this grant request was deliberated for a lengthy period in LEGO.
Just want to add that the separate SecureRPC request to be moved to the “must use some” relay list is currently being reviewed by the RMC and is in the final stages of receiving the necessary sign-offs (so far all indications point to the request being approved) cc @sven.
Back to the topic at hand: the grant request is larger than the LEGO council can approve, which means that it would need to go to a DAO vote, potentially with LEGO support for the vote in favor, but LEGO does not feel that it can support a grant request of this size for this purpose at this time. A smaller grant amount could be considered, but as a part of the deliberation two chief considerations and topics discussed pointed towards this not being a recommended course.
At this time, the LEGO council does not see it fit to support this grant request, for two chief reasons:
- The grant request seems outsized based on the current usage of the SecureRPC relay in the Lido validator set, and given current market conditions
- A similar grant request was made to another relay operator in the past (Aestus), for a much smaller amount which was approved, but it’s not clear if this “lifeline” has resulted in any material change to the sustainability of the relay operation, which would basically entail that the relay would just stop operating at a later time.
In general it’s very unfortunate that relays need support from the ecosystem in order to sustain operations, and it speaks to structural problems with the current out-of-protocol PBS approach. With regards to the possible use of the XGA auction system, and the possible value that that can bring to the SecureRPC operator and the general ecosystem, that’s something that IMO should be considered as per the proposed APM framework (cc @Gabriella_S).