[2605 Grant 1] Build Buddies.

[MetaPool]

Proposal Content:

1. A. Project Name: Build Buddies
   B. Classification: Community Activations, Events & On-Chain Growth.

2. Submission Date: 09/07/26

3. Founder Information:

Founder name(s):

• Lucio Tato

• Claudio Cossio

Professional background

LinkedIn profiles

Lucio - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucio-tato

Claudio - - https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudio-cossio-8b3497367/

GitHub profiles

Lucio - luciotato (Lucio M. Tato) · GitHub

Claudio - ccossio (Claudio Cossio) · GitHub

Prior blockchain experience

Both founders of Meta Pool bring extensive prior blockchain and technology experience across DeFi infrastructure, liquid staking, DAO governance, and large-scale software systems.

Claudio Cossio comes from a product, growth, and ecosystem-building background with years of experience in software development, SaaS, and blockchain adoption. Prior to Meta Pool, he worked in product leadership roles within the Atlassian ecosystem and participated in scaling technology products and partnerships. Since entering crypto, he has focused on decentralized governance, liquid staking adoption, validator decentralization, and expansion across frontier markets such as Latin America and Southeast Asia. Claudio has represented Meta Pool across multiple blockchain ecosystems including NEAR, Ethereum, Solana, ICP, Aurora, Optimism, Linea, and Story Protocol.

Lucio Tato is a senior software engineer and DeFi architect with more than 30 years of coding experience and extensive expertise in distributed systems, smart contracts, and blockchain infrastructure. Before founding Meta Pool, he worked on large-scale ERP and government financial systems in Argentina, serving tens of thousands of users. Within blockchain, Lucio contributed to core NEAR ecosystem tooling, including contributions to create-near-app, and has been involved in the architecture and development of liquid staking protocols such as Meta Pool and Marinade.finance, in both as co-founder. His background combines enterprise-grade systems engineering with deep crypto-native infrastructure development.

Together, the founders have successfully built and operated Meta Pool since 2021 as a multi-chain liquid staking protocol and DAO infrastructure platform across several blockchain ecosystems, reaching significant TVL, validator integrations, governance experimentation, and community expansion initiatives globally.

4. Team:

Key team members and roles

Francisco Montesdeoca - Ambassadors & Build Buddies Lead

Pablo Vazquez - Head of Operations

Cibeles - Operations & Academic Initiatives

Relevant experience and expertise

Previous blockchain/web3 projects

We support the initiatives of the Learn Near Club and Near Digital Collective by creating content and organizing workshops.

5. Media & Resources:

Brand Kit:
build_buddies_brank_kit

6. Traction & Metrics:
   
   
   
   
   

Santiago de Chile, Chile. March 28, 2026

Cuenca, Ecuador. March 25. 2026

Lima, Perú. March 28, 2026

Sidoarjo, Indonesia. January 10, 2026

Growth trajectory:

Build Buddies began as a regional community initiative within the NEAR Protocol ecosystem, focused on bringing developers, students, and Web3 enthusiasts together through educational events and hands-on experiences. As the community grew, so did its vision.

Today, Build Buddies has evolved into a multi-chain, community-driven program that supports ecosystems, protocols, and local communities across different blockchain networks. By organizing educational events, technical workshops, and community activations, we create accessible entry points for newcomers while fostering long-term engagement among builders and contributors.

The initiative is now structured to scale rapidly with the right partners in place.

Key achievements to date:

• Successfully ran the Node Studio Program with 170+ registrations through the Build Buddies initiative across SEA and LatAm.

• +25 node registrants are running a node, representing a 16.67% approval rate from total registrations.

• Strategic partnerships with Nightly Wallet and PostHuman, through Build Buddies.

• PostHuman Gallery Events.

• Nightly Wallet Gallery Events.

• Two wallet activation events with Mon8 Wallet in Buenos Aires, held on January 29 and April 21.

• Event during Vendimia Tech, in collaboration with ChileDAO.

• Community Events and connection with NEAR Legion in Indonesia, Vietnam, and Ecuador.

• Community events across Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, Perú, Venezuela, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Thailand.

• Event in collaboration with Story Protocol in Vietnam (November 22, 2025), Pinto Indonesia, and AsaDAO.

7. Grant Request:

Total amount requested:

$10,000 USD in USDRIF

Milestone breakdown with associated deliverables and dates

Amounts per milestone in desired coin/token: USDRIF, rBTC

8. Mission & Vision:

Build Buddies was built on a simple belief: the best way to grow a protocol is to bring real people together, teach them hands-on, and give them a reason to stay.

• How does your project align with Rootstock ecosystem goals?

Our mission aligns directly with Rootstock’s ecosystem goals:

9. Description:

Core problem being solved:

Blockchain adoption in emerging markets, particularly Latin America and Asia, is hindered by a lack of accessible, in-person education and real on-chain experiences. While many people are aware of crypto, few have the opportunity to interact with protocols, use decentralized applications, complete on-chain transactions, or understand how blockchain technology works in a practical, guided environment.

This challenge is further amplified by the fragmentation of local communities. Developers, students, creators, and blockchain enthusiasts often lack consistent opportunities to connect, collaborate, and engage directly with ecosystem teams. As a result, many educational initiatives generate awareness but fail to convert participants into active community members or long-term ecosystem contributors.

Build Buddies was created to bridge this gap.

Through community-led events, technical workshops, and hands-on sessions, the program provides an accessible entry point where participants can learn, connect with peers, and complete real on-chain activities with guidance from experienced community leaders.

By combining education with practical experiences, Build Buddies transforms curiosity into action. Participants leave events not only with new knowledge but also with wallets created, on-chain interactions completed, stronger community connections, and clear pathways to remain active as contributors, builders, ambassadors, or ecosystem advocates.

Solution overview:

Build Buddies is a global, community-driven meetup initiative powered by Meta Pool. We organize monthly in-person events in local cities — coworking spaces, cafés, and community hubs where attendees learn about protocols, explore dApps, and complete real on-chain actions with guidance from local ambassadors.

By partnering with Rootstock, we bring Bitcoin DeFi education and on-chain activations directly to builders and users across our existing network of 9+ countries.

The goal is to give users and builders a hands-on first experience that builds confidence, strengthens local ecosystems, and converts curiosity into meaningful on-chain participation.

Unique value proposition:

• Real, in-person community building, not just online campaigns.

• On-chain activations with direct user participation at every event.
  — When we talked about on-chain activations, we were referring to interacting with the ecosystem, initially as part of the onboarding phase, and later through interactions with dApps.

  • Rabby Wallet (Get access to the Rootstock ecosystem)

- Boltz Exchange (Get rBTC)

- RIF Name Service (Get RIF Name)

- Rootstock Collective (DAO)

- Atlas (DEX)

Convert attendees into active users by guiding them through getting rBTC, claiming their RIF name, participating in Rootstock Governance, supporting projects, and earning rewards for staying active in the DAO.

• Trusted ambassador network across Latin America and Asia.

Quick note: We have Buddies (hosts) on pause in some regions, including Brazil, Nigeria, and South Africa. We can reactivate them, but we’d like to hear from the community first regarding the proposal.

• Proven track record: 500+ events, 5,000+ attendees, 9+ countries.

• With the new focus of Build Buddies, each event is managed individually to ensure clearer and more measurable metrics.

• Medium cost, high impact.

Competitive analysis:

Unlike traditional digital marketing campaigns or online community programs, Build Buddies offers:

• Face-to-face engagement that builds lasting trust and adoption.

• Qualified attendees, enthusiasts, builders, developers, active crypto users, and new users exploring web3.

• Measurable on-chain outcomes, not just social media impressions.

• Local ambassadors who speak the language and understand the culture.

Project Roadmap:

*All marketing banners will be discussed with the Rootstock Collective team so they can provide the corresponding designs.

10. Performance Targets: Specific, measurable goals for:

User acquisition

Each Build Buddies event will be tailored to the local city, with clear action items integrated across the Luma page, X posts, threads, and host-led video content for each city.

We will put into practice the full user journey from any supported chain to Rootstock, using the previously mentioned dApps. This includes guiding participants on how to move from their existing assets to rBTC, claim a RIF Name, create and set up a Rabby Wallet, and participate in on-chain activities before, during, and after the event.

FES (Non-DeFi Verticals)

Every Build Buddies event is tracked against the On-Chain Activation Rate:

On-Chain Activation Rate = Unique Activated Attendees / Verified Attendees × 100

11. Conclusión:

    • Summary of key points

Build Buddies is not only an educational event series. The goal is to turn local attendees into active community members.

Each event includes clear follow-up paths: joining the local community, completing an ecosystem action, participating in future sessions, contributing content, or becoming a recurring volunteer, ambassador, or builder.

• Call to action for community support

Build Buddies is more than an event series — it’s a community activation program designed to transform local interest into meaningful ecosystem participation.

By supporting this proposal, the community will help expand educational opportunities, onboard new users through guided on-chain experiences, and strengthen local communities across emerging markets. Every event creates a pathway for attendees to become active members, contributors, and long-term ecosystem participants.

Explore our event gallery to see the meetups, workshops, and hackathons our ambassadors and collaborators have hosted over the years: Build Buddies Around the World.

To view all past events, visit our Luma page: Build Buddies · Global

12. Social & Community:

Website: Build Buddies Around the World

Twitter/X: https://x.com/\_BuildBuddies\_

[Eren_DAOplomats]

Hello @MetaPool ! welcome to Rootstock. Unlike many first-time event grant requests, this proposal builds on an established operating history. Meta Pool has already organized more than 500 events across Latin America and Asia, which gives this initiative a stronger foundation than a typical awareness campaign.

That said, the proposed $10,000 USDRIF allocation needs stronger accountability before approval.

• The budget should include a breakdown by city, event, and milestone. A single allocation makes it difficult to evaluate performance after the grant is distributed.
• The success metrics also need refinement. Wallet creation is easy to inflate and does not demonstrate ecosystem adoption. A verified activation should require an on-chain action, for example registering an RNS name or completing a Boltz swap.
• Also would be much more helpful if the proposal can explain how duplicate or low-quality wallet creation across multiple events will be prevented so as to not skew the data.

[DAOstar_gov]

Thank you so much @MetaPool for this proposal and welcome to the Rootstock Collective!

For full disclosure, I personally (as coffee-crusher, a member of the @DAOstar_gov delegate team) is a team member at Arteria Nodes - an current validator in the Meta Pool Node Studio # 2 cohort. However, my below comments and review of your grant proposal are focused and based upon the Rootstock Grant Guidelines and our delegate responsibilities in the Rootstock Collective.

From our experience as a Meta Pool validator, we know that the Meta Pool team is a team of high-integrity, great repution and execution excellence. We see your grant proposal with two potential paths to move forward:

1. Proceeding forward as a DAO funded grant, as you have proposed, however, the formating must align with the v.3.2.2. Grant Guidelines published by the RT team. Therefore, this grant would have to incorporate some of those additional details, such as FES. We believe that your grant could demonstrate the “direct measurable conversation”, that would be inclusive under the Grant Guideline funding priorities - see Sec 01

Also, note that the this grant will need to emphasize and build upon the recent past “events/marketing” type grant proposals that did not demonstrate strong success, such as here, here , here, and here. Read those proposal comments (and therefore the understanding of the context of the v3.2.2. Grant Guidelines that were published later (and partially as a result of it) will make more sense).

In addition, you should look at the recent program renewal proposal from the RT team about the Ambassador program, as you can see our Ambassador program does have a desire (and weakness in) to cover SEA, as you propose. We recommend you also coordinate (and possibly partner) with @Georgia who runs the Rootstock Ambassador program. There was also some feedback from one of our grant builders who was funded (one of the ones listed above) about his persective of Rootstock visability in the LATAM region, that you may find interesting.

Finally, I would also coordinate and speak to another delegate, @SEEDGov who is located in Argentina and has a lot of contacts in that region, and has expressed in the past the williness to help in this region.

2. The other path that we see for this grant and possible partnership is working directly with the Rootstock team, specificially @tamlerner (note: Tamara is out on OOO until July 17th, but we are tagging her so she can respond when she returns).

   For us, we like to see an expansion of this grant/partnership to bring real value to both Meta Pool and Rootstock Collective (and equal value for both), and for Rootstock to become listed in your Meta Pool dApp as a Liquid or as a Restake Aggregator network option, as well as for Meta Pool Node Operators to support the Rootstock ecosystem using Meta Pool’s Node Studio and for Rootstock node operators to take advantage of Node Studio’s ease of use/low cost, see here for more information. Also check out Rootstock Rootcamp that may be leveraged for your proposal details regarding how you created the Learn NEAR Club, with some other Rootstock developer resources.

   We know from personal experience (as a Meta Pool validator for the NEAR ecosystem) , that the Meta Pool staking pool for NEAR (stNEAR) drives a lot of TVL and activity for the NEAR DAO and ecosystem.

   We look forward to working with you and watching how this grant progresses. Tk u!

[PGov]

The operating history here is a genuine differentiator, and 500+ prior events across Latin America and Asia puts this team in a different credibility tier than a typical awareness-stage grant. That said, we share the concern @Eren_DAOplomats raised about metric quality: wallet creation as a primary KPI has been the weak point in several prior event grants on this forum, and the path forward should tie at least one verified on-chain action per participant to any milestone payment. The coordination angle @DAOstar_gov flagged around the Ambassador program is also worth resolving before the grant moves, since overlapping coverage of the same geographies without a clear division of scope makes it harder to attribute outcomes to either program. We would be supportive of a revised submission that addresses the budget granularity, sharpens the activation criteria, and clarifies how this grant complements rather than duplicates the existing Ambassador footprint.