As the search for the next Head Chef comes to a close, I am excited about your future and hope to be a part of its journey as your next Head Chef. Unfortunately, we have had only a few weeks to get acquainted. Still, I have been part of Sushi’s story since its beginning, participating in liquidity mining on the first one-page website featuring the first pools during “DeFi Summer.” During that time, my team had recently launched our digital asset exchange, Bitfineon, and we were building liquidity, so we held many Sushi tokens. Although I haven’t been part of the Discord community, I’ve watched and participated in the ecosystem throughout all the incredible and turbulent times. Cheers to the future!
My final submission, which includes my official proposal and my answers to the team and community questions, is available in multiple formats for your convenience. I encourage anyone actively voting for the next Sushi Head Chef to read my proposal and answers thoroughly; I know it’s a “bit of a read.” However, it contains substantial detail regarding my plans for Sushi if elected your Head Chef. Lastly, I appreciate your time. And please do not hesitate to ping me in the comments or the Sushi Discord with your questions. I hope to earn your vote.
Talk soon! - Jared Grey
Access my proposal & answers with the links below:
As a long-time HODLER of Sushi, this brings me much joy to see. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Jared on two different multi-million projects. Our fund was a key contributor to the capital raised to create the Bitfineon spot exchange and I personally, have worked hand in hand with Jared, designing the UI/UX flow for eons.finance. Jared is a professional in everything he does and brings in decades of experience in the tech space. His ability to source valuable resources and execute complex tasks is second to none. I hope this community makes the right decision!
@hamletmachine I’m replying to your AMA question from the most recent Head Chef AMA/debate/roundtable. The question was:
…what specifically would Head Chef do in response to state-level censorship/regulation (like the US govt making Dexes illegal unless registering)? Would you blacklist US humans? Bend to regulatoooors? Go full crypto-anarchist?
My answer:
We must take regulation in stride where possible. Self-over-regulation could hinder our growth and immediate plans to recapture market share lost as a DEX. Much of our exposure depends on our approach within each jurisdiction, and there are many [jurisdictions] where regulatory guidance is still murky. We can likely have a more metered method in those locales. For example, I’ve had experience leading a centralized exchange with a global business model, and we were required to geo-fence jurisdictions like the US from our platform. However, Sushi is not a CEX, and guidance from regulators on how to proceed in developed jurisdictions like the US is still not fully defined. It’s possible that in the future, Sushi could have ported frontends or require disclosure signatures per a user’s wallet, like 1inch. Recently, my former CEX lead counsel mentioned to me there are compliant models for Sushi in the interim that do not carry an undue burden on the existing business model and from which we can grow if it’s needed. FWIW, I don’t believe you can be a total “crypto-anarchist” if you want a sustainable business model. Still, you can segregate the model with the above suggestions and distribute liability where Sushi’s product suite can succeed, even if one product falters.
Update - Neil posted Fenwick’s recommendation shortly after my post for Sushi to become compliant, which mirrors the offshore CEX model I mentioned and have used previously. I want to add their contribution to my reply to illustrate that we have a solid legal path forward without worrying about potential extremes, at least for now.
Thank you for the reply but to be blunt, this is not an acceptable view for a Head Chef of a decentralized suite of DeFi products to hold. Your entire reply gives full power to whatever nonsense clarity regulators end up providing (spoiler: it will require more restrictions on our ability to provide open source tools to all humans)
We are looking for a Head Chef to be the greatest champion of DeFi & crypto ethos, not reacting to whatever lawyers or regulators tell us to do. We need HC to be the visionary that tells the regulators to fuck off & the lawyers to find the right legal structure to protect the team given that clear application of crypto principle.
Sorry not sorry, if we can’t get this one basic thing right, we might as well build on AWS, geofence half the world & apply for money transmitter licenses. We are in crypto instead of a CEX for a reason.
Hmm. I think maybe I didn’t do a good job of explaining my current stance vs. the metered approach to dealing with regulations that may come down the road. I used the CEX example to contrast the approach that a DEX could take and I agreed that over-regulating ourselves pre-emptively is a bad idea. IMO, because there is currently little clarity you cannot accurately predict how regulators will enforce DEXes in the future. My plan of action is to maintain autonomy for Sushi at present using Fenwick’s offshore/Panamian model, not hinder it. I don’t understand your response saying I would kowtow to regulators by default when I gave one possible scenario that could exist in the future. I’m sure additional outcomes are possible, but I don’t know what those are at present; saying otherwise would be foolish. I think Sushi needs some legal protections, and the Fenwick model is a solid solution.
again, you are taking a passive stance under the assumption that you will wait and see what regulators end up doing. Spoiler: it won’t be good for Sushi
We need to hear what your plan WILL be WHEN regulators enact the state-level attacks we know are coming. And there is really only one answer here: Sushi is for all people, period. The lawyers must be instructed on where/how to make this happen, not let them steer us into safe regulatory compliance.
Glad for your candidacy & obvious qualifications but this point is non-negotiable for the leader of a DeFi protocol.
I understand your position. And I’m all for having this conversation with legal if I am Head Chef to find any available pathways to maintain complete autonomy for Sushi.
@jaredgrey congratulations on your election. The vote itself is a historic moment in DeFi and we are grateful for all the candidate’s time and passion.
Some of the highest levels of SUSHIPOWAH contributed in recent votes.
Excited to see how you grow and cement Sushi - it is reassuring to see the community rally behind a single individual and do so with consensus.