VAULT3 plugin for NMKR Studio to enhance RealFi utility for Cardano native assets.

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Vito Melchionna

[GENERAL] Email address of main applicant

info@granadapool.com

Additional applicants

Aaron Schmid, Carolina Isler (a.k.a. LaPetiteADA)

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

3

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.

No

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

Yes

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

NMKR and our main Catalyst proposal to build our MVP.

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

No

[GENERAL] If NO, please describe which outputs are not going to be open source. If YES, please write “Project will be fully open source.”

Our solution's architecture and implementation are quite innovative and thus we would like to keep it closed source in the first stages of the project. However, our vision is to make VAULT3 trustless and fully decentralized (development and governance), which means becoming open source in the future.

[METADATA] Category of proposal

RealFi

[METADATA] SDG rating

n/a

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

NMKR Studio is missing a token-gating service to use NFTs and FTs as keys to unlock confidential files and exclusive experiences.

We aim to build a plugin to enhance the NMKR ecosystem with RealFi utility. This plugin will grant NFT creators access to token-gating directly inside NMKR studio. VAULT3 empowers content creators to easily offer real-life utility to the holders of their tokens by using them as keys to access exclusive content.

To read more about VAULT3, check out this link to our main proposal.

[IMPACT] How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?

NMKR is one of the most popular platforms in Cardano as it offers powerful NFT tools and payment solutions. The NMKR ecosystem will greatly profit from token-gating features as it will open up the doors to a new RealFi era in the NFT space.

Our plugin will allow creators to share confidential data with large groups of users using their minted NFTs and FTs as keys. VAULT3 will create a new way how enterprises, artists, influencers, etc. interact with their customers and communities.

[IMPACT] How do you intend to measure the success of your project?

We defined key success milestones based on the number of active plugin users (content creators) and shared data (bandwidth) to measure the success of our NMKR Studio plugin.

Short-term KPIs (Q3 2023):

+ 50 monthly active users

+ [5 TB] shared (bandwidth)

Mid-term KPIs (2024):

+ 100 monthly active users

+ [10 TB] shared (bandwidth)

Long-term KPIs (2025):

+ 1000 monthly active users

+ 100 TB shared (bandwidth)

These traction metrics will add more value to the NMKR ecosystem and thus to Cardano.

[IMPACT] Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?

Since this project is developed by Cardano SPOs, our plan is to build strong partnerships within the Cardano and NMKR ecosystems. VAULT3 should be a tool that won't only enhance the RealFi utility of Cardano's native assets but also revolutionize the way how content creators interact with their communities.

After delivering the plugin, we plan to share the project’s outputs with well-known Cardano artists and influencers, as well as NFT projects and meme coins that are using the NMKR ecosystem. This will build a strong user base that will profit from the value that our project will bring to the space.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

Who are we

The VAULT3 team features on-chain confidentiality experts with a strong background in full-stack web development and data science. We also count on the support of LaPetiteADA, a well-known SPO and Cardano influencer, advising us on marketing, community management, and use cases for content creators. 

What we have built in the past

We are seasoned web developers with more than 10 years of joined experience. We have in our web3 portfolio a confidential NFT launchpad called Geniish on the Oasis Network, which was built in less than 6 months. During, the development of Geniish, we also won second place in a 5-day hackathon with a confidential web3 chat called Momentum which uses Oasis' Sapphire ParaTime.

Cardano SPOs and builders

Furthermore, Vito Melchionna and Carolina Isler (LaPetiteADA) are the SPOs of GranADA Pool, and they are also active members of the Climate Neutral Cardano Alliance. In collaboration with the Tetikasa Ala NGO, this alliance of SPOs created the CNC Ala. Which is a permaculture project in Madagascar planting 100k trees to offset Cardano's CO2 emissions, while improving the food security of local communities. This project was funded with donations (25% of each SPO's rewards) via the world's first impact staking ISPO in collaboration with NEWM, Yummi Universe, Cardano Proxies, Earth Natives, Mada's Lemurs, and DripDropz.

Steps and processes

We will implement the SCRUM framework for the agile development of the product. By defining 3-week sprints with set goals, features, and working time, we can easily keep track of the progress and fund distribution to successfully deliver the plugin within the expected period. We aim to sync our project management process with Catalyst's committee to provide full transparency on the development and to keep track of the invested funds.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

VAULT3 brings an innovative solution that not only enhances the capabilities of Cardano's native assets and wallets to unlock new use cases in the space for NFT and RealFi projects, but it will also create a new way how enterprises and content creators (artists, influencers, etc.) interact with their customers and communities. 

By introducing dynamic access policies to share confidential data with large groups of users. Our goal is to create a tool for mass adoption by providing a web2 user experience that's powered by 

web3 technology.

The impact of our solution on the NMKR and Cardano ecosystems brings several benefits:

1. Increase adoption: VAULT3 aims to drive increased adoption of NFTs by providing a user-friendly and seamless experience for data sharing. With dynamic access policies and secure file sharing, we attract individuals, content creators, and enterprises to join the NMKR ecosystem, contributing to its growth and expansion.
2. Community Engagement: VAULT3 revolutionizes the way content creators and organizations engage with their communities. Through our plugin, NFT creators can share exclusive content, pre-releases, personal notes, and unedited material, fostering a closer and more personal bond with their audience using NMKR Studio. This enhanced community engagement leads to increased loyalty, higher levels of interaction, and ultimately, a thriving and active Cardano community.
3. Bring RealFi utility: VAULT3 revolutionizes the concept of RealFi utility within Cardano and the NMKR ecosystem, offering seamless integration of utility for token holders, particularly in the realm of NFTs. We recognize that NFTs hold immense potential beyond their traditional use as digital collectibles. With VAULT3, NFTs become more than just unique assets; they become keys to exclusive data and experiences.

VAULT3 serves a large market of +9000 existing NFT projects (being NMKR one of the most popular minting tools in the space). Additionally, successful Cardano influencers and protocols using NMKR Studio can leverage our plugin to provide more value to their communities.

As NFTs transition to RealFi utility, the project holds significant promise. More content creators and organizations are realizing the importance of offering real-life value and personalized experiences to their token holders, which will drive the adoption of NMKR and VAULT3. With this growing recognition and the platform's unique features, the project is expected to experience substantial growth and success.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed breakdown of your project’s milestones and each of the main tasks or activities to reach the milestone plus the expected timeline for the delivery.

Milestone 0: Project kickstart [completed]

• Market research on NMKR ecosystem and Cardano (potential partners and competitors).
• Define target audience and value proposition.
• Define business cases and solution architecture.
• Define go-to-market strategy
• Project implementation timeline, key milestones, and budget.
• Submit Catalyst proposal for Fund 10.

>Timeline: 1 week

>Acceptance Criteria: Complete project planning, scope, timeline, and budget. Clear Refined value proposition and project goals, team responsibilities. VAULT3 plugin for NMKR Studio closes a successful pre-seed funding round with Catalyst Fund 10.

>Budget: ₳5’000 / €750 (around 15 hours of work)

Milestone 1: Plugin

• Create use cases and mockups for the MVP.
• Choose and document technical architecture.
• Implement plugin integration.
• Define a marketing strategy to promote the plugin for NMKR Studio users.

>Timeline: 3 months

>Acceptance Criteria: NMKR Studio users can create an account, upload exclusive files, set access policies (based on policy ID), and get a link to share with their communities on VAULT3 via the plugin.

>Budget: ₳70’000 / €10’500 (around 210 hours of work)

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

Milestone 0:

• Catalyst proposal for Fund 10.
• Project implementation timeline, key milestones, and budget.

Milestone 1:

• Documentation: Use cases, and technical architecture.
• Deployed working plugin on NMKR Studio
• Upload files that are stored encrypted on IPFS.
• Set access policy for downloads (policy ID)
• Share files via URL.
• Only compliant wallets have access to the content.
• Accessible via Cardano mainnet.

As mentioned, we will implement SCRUM as a framework for our project management. Moreover, we will use Jira for our SCRUM boards, and we will share access with the Catalyst committee for transparency purposes. Our development sprints will be synced with the proposed milestones to optimize process measurements. The Catalyst committee will always have access to our latest stable builds and staging environments.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Milestone 0:

• Planning/Admin ₳5,000 / €750 (about 15 hours of work)

Milestone 1:

• Development ₳60,000 / €9,000 (about 180 hours of work)
• Marketing ₳6,000 / €900 (about 18 hours of work)
• Admin ₳4,000 / €600 (about 12 hours of work)

Notice: All ₳ prices are calculated from EUR with a ₳ price of 0.15€ as a worst case.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

We are a highly skilled and seasoned team with more than 10 years of joined experience. Furthermore, we studied software engineering in Swiss technical universities.

Since the entire team is based in Zurich, Switzerland. We estimated our costs based on average senior software developer salaries: €50.- per hour. This rate doesn't include obligatory insurance and pension funds.

We also considered the risk of a 60% fall in ADA prices in the budget.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agreed to Fund10 rules and also that data in the Submission Form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.

I Accept