Snek x Splash: Create and Curate Fair Token Launches with DegenFactory

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Snek (Ronan Kuczaj)

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

Entity (Incorporated)

[GENERAL] Co-proposers and additional applicants

Splash

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

4

[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)

We will build a platform where projects can prelaunch without liquidity and using a price bonding curve. This will allow projects to launch on-chain once they have validated the market demand.

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

No

[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?

No

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

The core smart-contract storing user funds prior to any token launch will be open-sourced under the MIT License.

Our platform and the underlying data that feeds our application will not be open-sourced. Beyond competitive advantage and monetization concerns, these components involve proprietary elements essential for maintaining our users' data security and privacy. By keeping these elements proprietary, we can better manage the quality of the user experience and protect sensitive information or intellectual property processed by the platform.

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

TL;DR: 

DegenFactory is a secure and fair token launch platform. It sets initial prices via a bonding curve, enables cost effective off-chain trading, and auto-launches a liquidity pool on reaching a predefined market cap target. The MVP will be centralized but may become decentralized through Aiken smart contracts once market fit is found.

Proposed solution:

DegenFactory is a pre-market token launch platform that ensures a secure and fair launch. Each token launched on the platform has no team allocation. A constant bonding curve will be used as a mechanism to determine if there is a demand for the token. The initial token market price on the platform will be close to 0 (the starting point of the bonding curve) and people will be able to buy and sell off-chain sending their ADA to a platform’s custodial address. If a certain market cap of a token is reached the system automatically launches a liquidity pool on a dex using a portion of tokens and distributes the rest to users (the exact number of the market cap is the subject of the research part of this proposal). At this point, the system assumes that a token has demand and is ready to be traded on-chain.

As we are going through the concept iteration, it is proposed to develop the core system in a semi-centralized manner. If the product finds market fit, the core part will be reimplemented as Aiken smart contracts to make the system decentralized. But this is subject to another proposal.

Product requirements:

• Fast order execution for pre-market off-chain trading (<=1 second)
• Secure backend and database infrastructure to prevent hacks
• Responsible and low latency frontend to provide the best user experience

Architecture:

The high-level architecture of the product looks like the following:

Bonding Curve:

A bonding curve is a mathematical curve that determines the price of a token based on its supply. The price increases as more tokens are purchased. The research of the appropriate bonding curve for the Cardnao market is a part of this proposal.

Bonding curves example:

(Going from top left to bottom right) Sigmoid, quadratic curve, negative exponential curve, linear (non-increasing) curve

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

The success of our project will bring significant value to the Cardano Community in several ways:

1. It will onboard new project founders from other chains, acting as a catalyst for growth and innovation within the Cardano ecosystem.
2. It will democratize the token launch process, enabling any user, regardless of their technical knowledge, to launch a token and develop a project within seconds.
3. It will make it easier for the broader Cardano community to explore and trade new tokens, fostering engagement and participation.
4. It will provide builders with an easy way to gain visibility and funding for their new projects, sparking growth and promoting the development of new ideas within the Cardano ecosystem.

We intend to measure this impact quantitatively by tracking key metrics such as the number of new project founders onboarded, the number of new tokens launched, the volume of token trading, and the amount of visibility gained by new projects. Qualitatively, we will assess the perceived ease of use, the level of community engagement, and the overall sentiment towards our platform.

We plan to share the outputs and opportunities resulting from our project through various channels. This includes regular updates to the Cardano community, presentations at relevant events, and publications on Snek (41k followers) and Splash platforms and social media channels. We are committed to maintaining transparency and openness, and we will actively seek feedback and suggestions for improvement from the Cardano community.

[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?

Snek expertise:

• Created the most traded token on Cardano
• Fostered one of the largest communities on Cardano
• Delivered several products
• Created several partnerships with high-profile projects and ecosystem figures
• Great understanding of the market
• Powerful brand and marketing strategy

Splash expertise:

• Delivered several blockchain large-scale applications
• Deep understanding of the Cardano technology and smart contracts
• Expertise in the UI/UX of trading and DeFi products
• More than 6 years of experience in eUTxO chains

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

Market & in-dept Product Research

A: Milestone outputs

• A PDF file document that contains information about what technologies will be used to deliver the product and the selection rationale of a researched bonding curve for the CNT market.
• Establish long-term product roadmap and MVP roadmap. 

B: Acceptance criteria

• The document clearly describes what technologies we must use for product development and what bonding curve is suitable for the CNT market and why.

C: Evidence of milestone completion

• The link to the document is posted with a TL;DR in Snek team socials as a completion of the research and the milestone.

Backend business logic responsible for the bonding curve and orders

A: Milestone outputs

• According to the document from the M1 implement the backend codebase for:
• Order creation and submission (open endpoint)
• Price charts (open endpoint)
• Pool creation on a DEX if the cap of a token has reached the value of X (closed logic)
• Setup the database

B: Acceptance criteria

• By API call the backend must perform the following use cases in the Cardano pre-prod testnet environment
• Create orders
• Return the price chart of a token according to the bonding cure

C: Evidence of milestone completion

• Public API endpoints are posted on the project website and socials. Anyone can check how they work

Storage Smart Contract Development

A: Milestone outputs

• A Specification of the Storage Smart Contract
• The implementation of the Storage Smart Contract in Aiken

B: Acceptance criteria

• The code is written in Aiken
• The Aiken tests are included in the contract file

C: Evidence of milestone completion

• The contract is open source and the link to the repository is provided
• The link to the open-source code is posted on the Snek team's social channels

Frontend development

A: Milestone outputs

• The frontend code-base implemented in React.js for the MVP

B: Acceptance criteria

• The frontend must contain the following use cases:
• Launch a token
• Buy a token on pre-market
• Sell a token on pre-market
• Show the current token price according to the bonding curve
• If the cap X is reached the UI must switch to a “pool has been created” state.

C: Evidence of milestone completion

• The frontend is deployed on a test domain and the app works in the Cardano pre-prod environment.

Setup infrastructure for future backend and frontend and run the MVP app

A: Milestone outputs

• Show how the whole app component work together through the user interface

B: Acceptance criteria

• Demonstration of the working concept (including off-chain token creation, token trading, on-chain token creation and distribution)

C: Evidence of milestone completion

• Video recording
• The App is deployed in production for testing and early users

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

The project will be delivered in partnership by Snek and Splash.

Snek

Socials:

• Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/snek 
• Website: https://www.snek.com/

Core contributors: 

• Goofycrisp (https://twitter.com/goofy_crisp )
• MrGoldenhour (https://twitter.com/golden_Rapha )
• Rami (https://twitter.com/CardanoRami )
• Sal (https://twitter.com/Salmander0 )
• MasterofC (https://twitter.com/MasterofCTO )
• Max Maher (https://twitter.com/Maxwell_Maher )

Roles:

• Marketing & content creation
• Go-to-market strategy
• Sale pipeline & CRM
• Business Development
• In charge of UI/UX design, legal professional services and project management

Splash 

Socials:

• Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/splashprotocol 
• Website: https://www.splash.trade/ 

Core contributors:

• Yasha
• Other Splash team members
• 
  

Roles:

• Development and maintenance of the platform
• Development of new features and integrations
• Maintaining support for users via discord tickets
• In charge of cloud services, backend and frontend development and smart contract integration

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

• UI/UX Design: 10,000 ADA
• Cloud services: 2,500 ADA
• Backend and Frontend Development: 35,000 ADA
• Smart Contract Integration: 10,000 ADA
• Legal professional services: 20,000 ADA
• Project Management: 12,500 ADA
• Miscellaneous and Contingency: 10,000 ADA

Total Budget: 100,000 ADA

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

DegenFactory's creation and expansion offer significant value to the Cardano ecosystem by:

• Onboarding new project founders from other chains, where similar platforms are crucial parts of their ecosystem.
• Enabling fair and secure token launches. This allows users to launch a token and develop a project within seconds, even without advanced technical knowledge.
• Simplifying the exploration and trading of new tokens for the broader Cardano community.
• Offering builders an easy way to gain visibility and funding for their new projects, thereby sparking growth.

Costs associated with the project are meticulously calculated considering the average wage in our country, typical freelance rates in our industry, and the project's complexity and scope.

This investment will foster the development of the Cardano ecosystem. It will create more project founders, increase chain usage, trading volume, and visibility, lower barriers for outsiders, and provide founders from other chains with a comprehensive platform for securely and fairly launching their new tokens.