Open Source Java NFT Sniper

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

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

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

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

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

I will implement a bot using the Cardano Java library that monitors the Cardano Node Mempool to instantly buy desired NFTs as soon as they are listed on the marketplace, provided price is within range

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

[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.”

No dependencies.

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

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

Project will be open source from the get go under MIT licence.

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

As a Cardano Developer, I've noticed how offchain Code Development can still be obscure or unclear to many developer out there.

By implementing this Open Source bot I will accomplish two different goals:

1. Offer educational code that can be reused by many developer to implement their custom bots in java or any other language. I've chosen java as it is very similar to other languages like for example javascript.
2. Develop a very useful tool that can be used by anyone that has a little IT skill

The target audience of this project are mostly two:

1. developer eager to learn more about cardano offchain code development
2. curious community members that want to have fun "sniping" their favourite NFT should they be listed at a convenient price

I've already worked on a prototype and you can see that the listing transaction of this Hosky NFT is in the same block as the transaction that purchases it:

List transaction: https://cexplorer.io/tx/8cb9326f40e4c47c747abc03bb31c155acad6b51d43d86dbc9d0b7856af337a5

Purchase transaction: https://cexplorer.io/tx/31b1df64cf874cc8b286f813448ee816980564d53c7b11cfa0762553cf745438

From a technical point of view:

• The bot will be implemented in Java and leverage mempool scanning in order to buy NFT as soon as they get listed.
• User will be allowed to specify in a number of ways (eg. a csv or excel spredsheet) the NFTs they want to buy/snipe and the price limit.
• They will then fund and launch the bot and wait for a matching NFT to be listed.

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

The intent of this proposal is dual:

1. educational: teach how to implement mempool scanning with java, and how to write cardano offchain code in java to interact with smart contracts
2. use the bot to buy NFTs at a convenient price without having to spend hours on the marketplace

The success of this project will be measured by observing community engagement in many ways:

• github stars, forks, issues created, features requested
• higher download of the cardano java library on maven central (java library repository)
• higher engagement on the cardano java discord (https://discord.gg/b5v7CBuK)

I have a decent following on twitter and I'm part of several tech discords, I will overtime produce reports in relevant discord channels and twitter. But the best place is to foster the tech community in the Discord channel of the cardano java library.

[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?

I'm a software and devops engineer with 20 years of commercial experience and I've already developed other projects that use similar technologies.

As mentioned above, I've already created a prototype and these below are test transactions:

List transaction: https://cexplorer.io/tx/8cb9326f40e4c47c747abc03bb31c155acad6b51d43d86dbc9d0b7856af337a5

Purchase transaction: https://cexplorer.io/tx/31b1df64cf874cc8b286f813448ee816980564d53c7b11cfa0762553cf745438

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

Investigate and Reverse Engineer JpgStore v2 smart contract

Implement JpgStore v1 and v2 offchain purchase transaction building

Implement transaction chaining for v1 and v2 NfT purchase

Documentation and Deployment

Demo

Final Report

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

Giovanni Gargiulo: Software Developer

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

All the required budget will be spent by developing or documenting the source code of the project.

The required budget will be calculated based on the estimated amount of hours required to accomplish each milestone:

• Investigate and Reverse Engineer JpgStore v2 smart contract 40h
• Implement JpgStore v1 and v2 offchain purchase transaction building 30h
• Implement transaction chaining for v1 and v2 NfT purchase 25h
• Documentation and Deployment 14h
• Demo 4h
• Final Report 2h

115h @ 100euro/h => 11500 euro @ 0.41euro/ada => 280048

Considering a 25% buffer 35060

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

Based on a brief research the average per hour cost for a blockchain engineer varies widely based on factors such as experience, location, and specific project requirements. Generally, rates range from $50 to $150 per hour, with experienced engineers in high-demand regions potentially charging more.

Both Cardano onchain and offchain development skills are not common and in high demand and this project aims to both provide the community with a useful tool and educational material to spread this type of knowledge.