Summary

This proposal seeks DAO approval for a capped operational budget allocation to Ston Foundation for marketing, communications, events and ecosystem engagement, operational tooling and infrastructure, research and development activities, core contributors and administrative support, and other related operational activities supporting the STON.fi protocol during the 2026 budget period.

The allocation is intended to cover operational expenses necessary for technical support and development, communications and ecosystem visibility, community engagement, contributor coordination, and ongoing operational maintenance of STON.fi protocol and ecosystem.

Motivation

The STON.fi DAO defines the strategic direction of the STON.fi protocol and approves high-level initiatives and resource allocations. However, the DAO itself cannot directly execute operational activities, manage personnel, administer grants, maintain infrastructure, or interact with service providers and contributors. In accordance with the STON.fi DAO Governance Rules, these functions are carried out by Ston Foundation acting under a DAO-approved mandate.

As the protocol matures, it requires a predictable and transparent operational funding framework to support ongoing development, ecosystem growth, communications, infrastructure maintenance, and administrative coordination. This proposal establishes such a framework by approving a capped operational budget and authorizing its execution by Ston Foundation.

Details

1. Approval of Operational Budget:

The DAO approves an annual operational budget cap for the 2026 budget period of (i) USD 2,500,000.00  to be funded in stablecoins (USDT, USDC), another USD-denominated digital assets, or TON (the “Annual Cap Amount (USD)”); and (ii) a separate allocation of 4,000,000.00 STON tokens (the “Annual Cap Amount (STON)”), which is not a part of the Annual Cap Amount (USD). Together these amounts represent the maximum authorized allocation. Actual expenditures may be lower and must remain within the approved scope and categories defined in this proposal.

2. Scope of Authorized Use:

Funds allocated under this proposal (whether as the Annual Cap Amount (USD) or the Annual Cap Amount (STON)) may be used exclusively for the following operational purposes:

• Protocol research, development, maintenance, and technical support, including infrastructure and tooling required for ongoing operation of the STON.fi protocol;
• Ecosystem engagement,  grants and contributor programs to be administered under a separate grants framework implemented and operated by Ston Foundation;
• Core contributors, operational personnel, and administrative support, including coordination of DAO operations and execution of DAO-approved initiatives;
• Operational tooling, infrastructure, and software services, including SaaS, analytics, and communications tools;
• Marketing, communications, public relations, events, media coordination, liquidity incentives, and other activities, supporting protocol visibility, community education, and ecosystem participation;
• General and corporate operational expenses of Ston Foundation and its subsidiaries, including (i) its legal, accounting, audit and compliance services; (ii) corporate administration and secretarial services; (iii) banking, payment processing, and treasury administration; (iv) director, officer, and management-related operational costs; (v) regulatory, reporting, and jurisdictional maintenance expenses.

All expenditures must be aligned with operational needs of the protocol.

3. Agreed Development Directions:

Within the scope of this proposal, Ston Foundation is authorised to engage contractors and service providers to deliver development, maintenance, improvements and other services aligned with the following technical directions of the STON.fi protocol and ecosystem (the “Agreed Development Directions”):

(i) AMM Protocol: Continuous development of the STON.fi AMM as the foundational liquidity layer of the TON ecosystem, with a focus on protocol evolution, capital efficiency, deeper liquidity mechanics, and scalable decentralized liquidity performance.

(ii) Omniston & Cross-Chain Liquidity Infrastructure: Development of Omniston as a unified liquidity aggregation and execution layer that optimizes swap routing, enhances price discovery, and integrates both single-chain and cross-chain liquidity sources. Expansion beyond a single-chain environment through secure cross-chain swap infrastructure and integration of additional blockchains, positioning STON.fi as a multi-chain liquidity engine for users, developers, and partners.

(iii) Developer & Integration Infrastructure: Development of external integration tools, including APIs, SDKs, and embedded widgets, enabling seamless access to STON.fi liquidity and infrastructure for wallets, applications, partners, and third-party platforms.

Ston Foundation may independently select and manage contractors for the Agreed Development Directions, provided that all the fees, expenses, and other expenditures remain within the approved budget.  

4. Budget Breakdown:

The proposed operational budget includes the following categories:

#	Category	Annual Cap Amount (USD)	Annual Cap Amount (STON)
1	Core Contributors, R&D & Protocol Support	1,700,000.00	3,000,000.00
2	Operational Tooling & Infrastructure	200,000.00	N/a
3	Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, Events, Media Coordination & Liquidity Incentives	500,000.00	700,000.00
4	Ecosystem Engagement & Grants	N/a	300,000.00
5	General & Corporate Operations (Ston Foundation and its subsidiaries)	100,000.00	N/a
	Total Operational Budget Cap:	2,500,000.00 USD	4,000,000.00 STON

5. Allocation to Ston Foundation:

• The DAO authorizes Ston Foundation to receive DAO-allocated funds within the approved budget cap for the sole purpose of covering the operational expenses described in this proposal. Such funds may be transferred from the protocol treasury to wallets controlled by Ston Foundation, as required for operational execution;
• The protocol treasury to be used under this proposal may consist of one or more digital assets, including but not limited to STON, TON, stablecoins, or other tokens held by the protocol. Ston Foundation is authorized to withdraw, receive, hold, and, where operationally necessary, convert such assets solely to facilitate payment of DAO-approved expenses;
• The approved budget cap under this proposal is exclusive of reasonable and necessary transaction costs, network fees, conversion fees, custody costs, and similar execution-related expenses. Ston Foundation is authorized to cover such costs from the protocol treasury in connection with the execution of this proposal;
• Ston Foundation acts as the DAO’s execution and coordination entity directly or through its subsidiaries and does not have discretionary authority beyond the scope approved by the DAO.

6. Execution:

• Ston Foundation is responsible for the operational execution and administrative coordination of the activities approved under this proposal;
• Ston Foundation is authorized to independently engage, appoint, and manage contractors, service providers, contributors, advisors, and other counterparties, on such terms as the Foundation reasonably determines to be appropriate;
• Execution may be carried out directly by Ston Foundation or, where operationally efficient or legally required, through its subsidiaries, affiliated entities, agents, or partners. Payments and settlements may be structured and executed in such manner as is reasonably necessary according to operational, legal, tax, or jurisdictional considerations;
• If, due to market conditions, liquidity constraints, regulatory limitations, or technical factors, Ston Foundation is unable to reasonably convert or utilize treasury assets provided for the payment of DAO-approved expenses under this proposal, Ston Foundation may temporarily defer or adjust the timing of such expenditures. In such circumstances, Ston Foundation may also use different DAO or protocol treasury assets, without exceeding the approved budget cap. Nothing in this proposal obligates Ston Foundation to incur liabilities or expenses that cannot be reasonably settled using available and accessible treasury assets.
• All expenditures must remain within the approved budget cap and authorized scope. Any material changes to the scope, budget categories, or overall budget size require a separate DAO proposal.

7. Reporting and Transparency:

To ensure transparency and accountability, Ston Foundation will provide periodic reports to the DAO, at least on a quarterly basis. Reports will include high-level summaries of expenditures by category and purpose. Sensitive contractual terms, personal data, and security-related information should be omitted or not publicly disclosed where necessary to protect confidentiality, personal data, privacy rights, or the security of the protocol, contributors, or counterparties.

Impact

Benefits:

• Establishes a clear and predictable operational funding framework for further development and support of the STON.fi protocol and ecosystem.
• Enables efficient execution of DAO-approved initiatives through the Ston Foundation.
• Preserves DAO control while reducing operational friction.
• Aligns STON.fi governance with industry-standard DAO practices.

Conclusion

By approving a capped operational budget allocation and authorizing its execution by Ston Foundation, the STON.fi DAO strengthens its governance framework, ensures continuity of protocol operations, and enables transparent support for development, infrastructure, ecosystem engagement, and administrative coordination.