Dex-aggregator API to support FT asset utility wherever ADA is accepted.

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Randall D'Souza

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Entity (Not Incorporated)

[GENERAL] Co proposers and Additional applicants

AIDEV is a team of freelance blockchain developers managed by Eric Tsai. They specialize in providing contract services, with a particular focus on backend functionality. Our collaboration with AIDEV has a proven track record, including the successful development of the NFT-moments tool. As we move forward, we anticipate their valuable contributions to our upcoming projects.

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

10

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

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

By integrating a dex-aggregator API function into a Cardano wallet, the utility of all tradeable FT assets increases instantly. Further it ensures people will still receive Ada for sales/services.

[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.”

We will integrate this functionality into existing cardano wallets. Therefore this utility will require a longer term partnership with major cardano wallets and service providers. We have two major partners already lined up should funding be approved.

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

No

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

This build will incur a small per transaction fee in the event maintenance and service upgrades are required. Therefore it will not be made open source.

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution.

Our mission is to enhance the utility of all fungible assets within the Cardano blockchain. With the increasing number of currencies promising utility but failing to deliver, our tool presents an ideal solution. It will convert tokens back to ADA, fostering further adoption within the ADA ecosystem.

The marketplace currently suffers from a lack of competition, a situation that becomes glaringly apparent as we approach another bull market. Our strategy is to leverage the wealth of tokens already supported to quickly build use cases and drive volume in the space. Adding utility to these tokens is a critical part of this process.

Many entities in the space have become illiquid, hindering the movement of NFTs and volumes. The most effective way to stimulate this movement is to add use cases to the many fungible tokens (FTs) already at our disposal. In the longer term, though beyond the scope of this application, we plan to incorporate non-native asset options to attract a new wave of users to the Cardano ecosystem. This includes not only those who trade or collect NFTs, but also end users looking to store digital documents on the blockchain.

We will gauge our success not just by profits and volume, but also by functional end goals. Once the product is live, we believe it will represent a significant stride in breaking down interoperability barriers. Moreover, all profits will be collected in ADA, converging value to Cardano. We also plan to offer profit-sharing models with holders of the Trifecta NFT pieces (Elysium Titans, Secret Bulls Society, and Non Fungible Devils). Two of these are rugged projects that we aim to rescue, thereby reducing the need to focus on additional NFT mints. All three projects were minted on the NFT Maker platform, a potential partner for integrating our tool.

The unique selling point of our solution is that all fungible asset real-time values will be linked to decentralized exchanges (dexes). This means transactions for various use cases will benefit from slippage, moving fluidly with real-time token values. As the tool will be integrated into the aggregation of dex values, it will always secure the best prices for these tokens. By creating a simple yet effective tool for transactional services, we aim to streamline the Cardano user experience ahead of the upcoming bull run and facilitate the onboarding of new users.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community.

Our solution aims to unlock significant interoperability within the Cardano ecosystem and beyond, including facilitating cross-chain transactions. This will be the first large-scale converter enabling the realization of Cardano’s vision. Quantifying success is challenging as we plan to contractually offer the aggregator to other projects and users. With the right market push, we could attract thousands of transactions daily. Our partnership with the NFTC collective team is expected to lead to evolved versions of this functionality, supporting long-term success.

We will track specific outcomes as progress indicators:

1. The launch of a functioning product will be our initial success marker.
2. We will monitor engagement levels on our social accounts and tool utilization.
3. We will track monthly transactions (number and volumes) for the first six months post-project completion to gauge uptake. These results will inform whether a larger marketing budget is needed.
4. We will gather feedback during the alpha, beta, and live phases, continually refining our offering to ensure a smooth user experience.

In the short term, we anticipate that the hype will drive an increase in Cardano’s internal volumes. In the long term, we believe new users will be onboarded, expanding the active community.

We are committed to sharing our development journey at every step. The Trifecta NFT holders, who will participate in the alpha and beta test net development phases, will be our primary community integration. We will host monthly Twitter spaces to share our progress, gather feedback, and seek partnerships to enhance the aggregator function’s utility. Detailed project progression documents will be available on our website and Discord channels.

We firmly believe in Cardano as a blockchain of collaboration, innovation, and community power. We will continually review community feedback to ensure premium user experiences and integrate the planned solution deeply into Cardano’s structure. By incentivizing our base NFTs, we aim to add value to two previously rugged NFT projects and encourage NFT enthusiasts to continue collecting them.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

At the lead, Dr. D'Souza work in a funding based environment and is excellently equipped to manage teams and delivery of product. To this end he has collaborated and built a team of highly responsible and skilled individuals. With the Trifecta (a newly formed alliance of three NFT projects (Elysium Titans, Secret Bulls Society and Non Fungible Devils)). We have already had our own smart contract NFT market place which we tested for three months. While it worked perfectly the limited funds we were working with forced us to pause it. We pride ourselves on:

1. Professionalism: We have cultivated a dedicated core community and successfully built high quality end user products .
2. Innovation: We have alpha tested a token-gated arcade system that enables players to interact with classical arcade games based on their NFT holdings.
3. Passion: Despite holding down real world jobs , our team constantly seeks to advance the blockchain technology by trying to incorporate it into real world scenarios.
4. Transparency: We value feedback from our community members, ensuring we prioritize people over ourselves in our operations.

Our primary objections are:

1.      To bridge the gap between ADA and native assets by establishing a trading route for NFTs with all Native assets without he need for direct consumer interaction with decentralised exchanges

2.      To facilitate the integration of non-ADA native assets to trade ADA-related NFTs through set trading pairs, enhancing accessibility and promoting Cardano onboarding.

[Project Milestones] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Step1: Native asset aggregator API on http://nft-moments.xyz/ (month 0-3)

• Build and deliver a full working API linked to major Cardano DEX's to integrate all native assets with >100k ADA TVL.
• Provide a written document to clearly address the intention of this product and how it works.
• Clearly market the potential of this tool across the general market and implement a 'fee' structure to ensure low cost for users.
• Begin tracking volume and productivity of the tool

Step 2: Apply API to NFT Maker APIs and also other third party project/website users (month 3-6)

• Ensure minters on NFT Maker can openly make use of this API for all project and personal NFT mints
• Provide projects with agreements about how the API will work and how they can access it.
• Overcome the fragmented nature of the NFT space whereby people with any fungible asset can re-enter NFT mints but also propagate a united front within the Cardano NFT ecosystem.
• Track the progress of transactions on all added platforms to begin adding value to NFT holders, but also to create a possible giveback option if uptake hits our expectations.

Step 3: Apply API to a 'major' Cardano wallet (month 4-7)

• By integrating with a wallet we generate more options whenever the option to 'sign' a tx is available.
• The option to 'pay with Ada' will be alongside 'pay with token' and 'basket payments'.
• Since every conversion will still incur dex fees, these will be passed onto the consumer.
• Successful incorporation here will be considered achievement of this milestone.

Step 4: Expand the tool to incorporate currencies outside of Cardano (month 6-10)

• Deliver and test working API for ERC-20 and other non-native assets to allow incorporation to all use cases where the API is applied.
• Provide new documentation to incorporate fee structure for native vs non-native transactions.
• Create a tool for widespread use while building within the Cardano ecosystem while producing cross chain intra-operability. We also forecast volumes from other chains becoming locked into Cardano due to this tool.

Step 5: Restart NFT market place (month 6-10)

• We already have a working and tested smart contract NFT-marketplace with lower fees than most operating Cardano marketplaces (0.5%) which we have currently deactivated due to inability to meet operating costs.
• We will apply this API to the marketplace to allow native asset and cross chain transactions to rapidly increase use cases for the API.

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Dr. Randall F. D’Souza - Founder and Ideation. As the Lead, Dr. D’Souza, a real-world academic, has successfully secured >2m USD in grant funding, resulting in over 50 peer-reviewed research articles. He is responsible for overall project direction, strategy, and leadership.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/randall-d-souza-710472133/ (LinkedIn)

Naeri Adam Fernandez - Full Stack Developer. She is the CTO of Elysium Titans and the developer who built our marketplace alone. She will work on reopening the marketplace.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/naeri-adam-fernandez/ -

Andrew Clease: Transactional services expert. He is the founder and CEO of the NFT Creative project and Token. He also is the owner operator of the NFTC stakepool and is a knowledgeable member of the team. He will take lead on the research aspects of the project to ensure progress is constantly maintained.

Eric Tsai - Contract backend developer from AIDEV (private consortium of developers). Built out the backend of https://nft-moments.com/ and will be the main dev to building the dex aggregator both for native assets and cross chain tokens. Eric works with a team of 3 other developers who will assist with the actual setup of the tool.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-tsai-331baa20a/

Nicolas Hayvice-Caballe - Frontend Developer. He is the CEO of Elysium Titans and specializes in front end dev work ensuring smooth user experiences. He will be tasked with ensuring the new API works smoothly with existing third party use cases.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-hayvice-caballe/

Derek Thomson - Infrastructure expert and Project manager. Will oversee goal setting and evaluate progress at team sprint meetings. He is also an experienced real work tech business owner and his role in timeline management will be critical.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-thomson-20313628a/

Monique Bercx - Legal advisor. She is a long term industry legal advisor and has been serving as a legal advisor to the Elysium Titans project for an extended period of time. She will help generate contracts between parties to ensure smooth completion of each party's role per legal requirements.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/monique-bercx-6ab04027/

All software tools required will be purchased within the budget.

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Step 1: $40,000.

$7500 required tool/software to power long term functionality of the tool.

$24,000 backend dev to build dex aggregator API

$2000x2 for 2 front-end devs to ensure smooth user experience

$3000 marketing and outreach for consumer feedback

$1500 incorporation into NFT-moments.

Step 2: $7000

$3000 dev to apply API contractually to third party use and to NFT MAKER API

$500 for tool upgrade and upkeep

$500 software tools to ensure API application to different 3rd party use cases

$3,000 in legal fees + contractual set up

Step 3: $17000

$10,000 sort and bind wallet data for tool incorporation

$4000 dev to apply API contractually to a major Cardano wallet

$3,000 in legal fees + contractual set up

Step 4: $10000

$3750x2 for back end developer to build code tools for the cross chain converters

$1000 for licensing tools

$1500 for front end dev finalize user experience

Step 5: $4000

$3000 for dev to upgrade existing marketplace to incorporate all NFT Maker minted NFTs

$1000 maintenance costs to keep marketplace running on new API.

$5000 in marketing to ensure the tool is well advertised during stages of development.

$37,000 to cover salary costs for the core team across the duration of the project.

Please note the prices of these services may change slightly and we will use either other grants or other cashflow options to try bridge the gap in the event we exceed our planned costs.

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

Our project offers a compelling value proposition in the Cardano ecosystem, particularly within the NFT space, for several reasons:

1. Immediate liquidity: By adding utility to the numerous fungible assets on the blockchain, we not only enhance the value of the base asset, ADA, but also stimulate more volume in Cardano DeFi.
2. Intraoperability and Onboarding: Our solution facilitates purchases within the ADA ecosystem using non-native asset, thereby eliminating blockchain barriers and easing access for new investors and participants in the broader Cardano ecosystem.
3. Usability: Our planned product addresses a critical need in the market by empowering users with more control over their assets. It simiplifies the conversion process for less tech savvy users.
4. Long-Term Growth: By enabling the integration of our API as a plug-in or add-on in existing ADA-based services, we create a simple solution that not only maximizes rapid pay-off potential but also fosters a true use case service while promoting onboarding to the Cardano ecosystem.

Our value-for-money assessment is based on comprehensive research conducted by our team, factoring in salaries and required software licensing to develop the outlined product. We’ve compared these costs with contract developer rates and found a similar price for the outlined API. As a team of individuals who know each other personally, we’re able to strike an excellent balance between cost-effectiveness and delivering a high-quality product.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agrees to Fund 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