Csign - Sign, Certify, and Verify Agreements

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Jon Bauer

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

Entity (Incorporated)

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

6

[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)

Using Csign, you can sign, certify, and verify agreements between parties in a privacy-preserving way, using Self-Sovereign Identity (Atala PRISM / Identus), end to end encryption, and Cardano.

[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.”

Csign is built on top of Identus, ( formally known as Atala PRISM ), an open source Self-Sovereign Identity framework, part of the Hyperledger suite of Blockchain and Identity projects. 

We have worked with Identus ( Atala PRISM ) since it's version 2 beta, and have become active in its developer and contributor community.

We are confident that Identus will continue to deliver on its roadmap and unlock even more potential for new Csign features in the coming months.

[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

Csign is not currently open source.

Our engineers, Roberto Carvajal and Jon Bauer are currently writing a developer-centric book about creating applications with Identus ( Atala PRISM ), funded by Catalyst Fund 11. “Mastering Identus: A Developer’s Handbook” contains advice, workarounds and tricks we learned by building the Csign proof of concept. We are choosing to give back to the community in the form of a book rather than make Csign open source for now. The book describes most of what’s required to build something similar to Csign, including open source example apps.

[METADATA] SDG rating

SDG Goals

10 - Reduce inequality within and among countries

17 - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

SDG Subgoals

17.13 - Enhance global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and policy coherence

Key Performance Indicator (KPI)

17.13.1 - Macroeconomic Dashboard

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

For reference, please see our demo of Csign here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvxL5z432cU

Anyone can try it out at https://demo.csign.io

Csign exists as a Proof of Concept demo. The demo allows users to create, sign, certify, and verify agreements between parties using Atala PRISM and Cardano, there is nothing faked here. This demo is currently using a database instead of Cardano Testnet, but we will point to Testnet with the help of Fund12.

To make this a publicly available MVP, we need to add more features and make some improvements. 

With the help of Fund 12, here’s what we’ll add:

BYOS (Bring Your Own Storage):

Csign takes your document privacy seriously. When you upload a file, whether it be a PDF, image, or video, Csign encrypts that file locally first, then stores it on a server as a binary “blob of bits”. The file is encrypted with a key on your local computer, and never stored with the file. When someone you’ve invited to sign, wants to view that file, the decryption key is sent to them directly via an encrypted peer to peer connection using the DIDComm2 protocol. They can download the file and decrypt it locally. This means that no one, including Csign can read your agreement, except the creator and the signers. The Csign Proof of Concept demo uploads these encrypted files to our server, and while this is perfectly private and secure, we’d like to give users more choice. BYOS means you can point Csign to store uploaded files on a storage platform of your choice. If your company uses Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, etc, just login to that service and Csign will store files there. This allows you full control over your data in the way you and your team feel comfortable with. Csign will eventually support many BYOS platforms, but for now we’d like to focus on the most popular. Our plan is to publish a survey to the community and let them decide which service we should support first. Your data is your data, and it will be encrypted anywhere you store it.

Csign API:

Csign is a product anyone can use to securely and privately sign, certify, and verify agreements. Our team takes pride in crafting a smooth and delightful user experience for all, abstracting away all the complexities of technologies like Self-Sovereign Identity, managing identity wallets, cryptography, and encryption. However we have an even bigger vision for Csign. We want Csign to enable new, private and secure agreement signing functionality in YOUR apps. The Csign API is a service that other companies can use to leverage the power of Csign Core, in a fully custom branded flow of your own design. Want to add Csign capability to an internal tool at your company? We got you. Want to add secure and private multi-sig agreements into a DEX Onboarding flow? We’re here to help. 

The Csign API will be delivered in three phases, and we welcome developer input as we build the tools you’ll love to implement. In Phase One, we’ll document the Csign API spec, showing developers how they can interact with Csign Core as a RESTful web service. We’ll detail what’s possible so we can accept feedback and talk to developers about their exciting and interesting use cases. In Phase Two, we will set up the infrastructure required to supply API consumers with a scalable and secure web service based on demand we see from Phase One. Phase Three will give developers beta access to a playground server where they can try the service and try integrating the power of Csign into their own projects.

The Csign API will eventually be a paid service but pricing and availability will depend heavily on developer reaction to our beta API. We welcome input as we build so we can provide a truly valuable service for the Cardano community and beyond.

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

Impact of Csign.io:

Csign will provide a Cardano-native way to sign, certify, and verify agreements between parties. Agreements on Csign can be anything from “napkin” or “handshake” agreements between community members, to large scale product or service acquisitions or investment commitments between larger ecosystem players. Our product will allow individuals and businesses to formalize their commitments to each other on chain, without the fear of leaking sensitive personal or deal terms. 

Impact of Csign API:

Our API will allow Cardano-native products and services to incorporate our core functionality into their workflows, adding privacy and integrity to their commitments. Not only do we abstract away all the complexity of Self-Sovereign Identity for developers, but Cardano companies will not have to host Identus ( Atala PRISM ) infrastructure, which is a huge cost savings. If these services have agreement signing features, why build bespoke features when Csign can power them for you? Companies will be able to focus on what makes their applications special and not reinvent the wheel.. Whether they want to build custom wallets, retain their own branding, or offer verification services, Csign API will give them a huge lead and paves the way for future SSI interactions and integrations.

We measure success by number of agreements signed, and number of API integrations in Cardano-native products and services.

While privacy is our primary objective, we believe a number of community customers will allow us to publicize who uses the Csign platform and API. We look forward to sharing and celebrating their successful implementations with the rest of you!

[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?

We’ve validated our approach from a technical perspective and have a working demo of Csign (see video referenced in this proposal). We have also worked closely with the Atala PRISM Team and have been featured in their presentations.

We have been active in the Identus ( Atala PRISM ) developer and contributor community and thanks to a Fund 11 Catalyst grant, Jon Bauer and Roberto Carvajal are writing “Mastering Identus: A Developer’s Handbook”, which is a developer-centric technical reference for developing with Identus ( Atala PRISM ). Csign was built with early versions of Identus, before it was open sourced and we have helped the project by reporting bugs and contributing fixes and workarounds.

Beyond Atala PRISM, our team is made up of highly experienced digital product designers and engineers. We have created applications for the world’s most famous brands, and are excited to be working together on cutting edge digital identity product ideas. 

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

• We will create an online survey, so the community can vote for their favorite 3rd party storage platform. Proof will be the publicly available Survey

• Csign API Spec Documentation. This will show developers how they will be able to make REST calls and interact with the Csign platform. Proof will be API documentation of each API call and it’s JSON structure

• We will design BYOS UX, how users can connect to your own storage, and all flows related to storing files on other services. Proof will be screenshots from a Figma design file

• We will set up dedicated development servers for Csign, using the Infrastructure budget from Milestone 1. Proof will be receipts of payment from our server vendors

• Our engineering team will implement BYOS and provide a way for users to connect their favorite 3rd party file storage to Csign. Proof will be a video of BYOS feature working

• Our engineering team will create a new, scalable, frontend implementation, with reusable components we can use in future Milestones. We will create a proper separation of logic from view templates, ensuring we can iterate on the UX without slowing down backend engineering. Proof will be a video of the website working on different browsers at different breakpoint sizes as well as a screenshot of a reusable component library

• We will continue to use a dedicated development environment for Csign, using the Infrastructure budget from Milestone 2. Proof will be receipts of payment from our server vendors

• Csign API Phase 2: Set up API security and token management. Our engineering team will set up a secure and scalable API instance, ensuring we can properly offer Multi-Tenant Identus Wallets for all API subscribers. Proof will be a video showing an API endpoint working when supplied a valid token and the same endpoint failing when the token is invalidated

• Our engineering team will focus on the mobile web experience of Csign, ensuring the application works just as well on mobile web as it does on desktop browser environments. Other bugs and features may be fixed and improved. Proof will be a video of the Csign application working on a mobile web browser.

• We will continue to use a dedicated development environment for Csign, using the Infrastructure budget from Milestone 3. Proof will be receipts of payment from our server vendors

• Csign API Phase 3 (Part 1): Building the REST Endpoints. This may be incomplete but all endpoints will provide at the very least hardcoded returns. Many endpoints will be providing real data but there might be some endpoints that need to be finished in Milestone 5. Proof will be a video of a Postman session showing each endpoint working as described in the API Documentation created in Milestone 1. 

• We will deploy Csign web v1.0 MVP to Testnet

• We will continue to use a dedicated development environment for Csign, using the Infrastructure budget from Milestone 4. Proof will be receipts of payment from our server vendors

• Design revisions: We may need to rethink or revise some interactions and we may want to do another design pass here based on initial feedback or learnings. Proof would be before/after images of any design changes

• Our engineering team will focus on Frontend revisions and bug fixes. Engineering team will focus on bugs and any design revisions provided by our designer. Proof will be before and after images of what changes were made.

 

• Csign API Phase 4: We will make the Csign API available to developers in a controlled BETA, issuing API tokens to developers who are interested in playing with and testing the API. Proof will be a public sign up form. *We can not guarantee developer interest but we are very keen to allow others to use the API and give us feedback.

• We will continue to use a dedicated development environment for Csign, using the Infrastructure budget from Milestone 5. Proof will be receipts of payment from our server vendors

• We will launch Csign Web v1.0 on Mainnet. Proof will be a publicly accessible platform

• Csign API Phase 5: We will make Csign API available to developers outside of the private beta. Proof will a video showing how developers can request an API token without being part of the private beta.

• We will set up the Csign Free Trial for Cardano Community. Proof is a video of Csign being used for Free.

• We will continue to use a dedicated development environment for Csign, using the Infrastructure budget from Milestone 6. Proof will be receipts of payment from our server vendors.

• We will set up and begin to use the Production instances of Csign, allowing for a 12 month runway Infrastructure runway. Proof will be a screenshot of the money in a dedicated account, to be drafted from our server hosting vendors on a monthly basis going forward. 

• We will provide closing video and documentation as expected by Project Catalyst to complete the funding cycle

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

Matthew Merino:

Role: CEO

Experience: Finance/ Portfolio Management, Atala Prism Beta Program

Contributor to funding Csign to this point

Jon Bauer: 

Role: Product Lead

Experience: Atala Prism Beta Program, Emurgo Academy CDP/CSA, Hyperledger Identus project sponsor, Co-Author of Mastering Identus

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonbauer/

Roberto Carvajal:

Role: Lead Engineer

Experience: Identus Contributor, Hyperledger Identus project sponsor, Atala Prism Beta Program, Co-Author of Mastering Identus,

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertocarvajal/

Mal Som:

Role: UX/Design

Experience: Creating amazing UX for Csign, BlockFi, Zalando, Edmunds, and more

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

*Calculated on today’s ADA value of $0.44

M1 - 50,000 ADA / ~$22,000

• Csign API Phase 1: API Spec development and online documentation - 22,727 ADA / ~$10,000
• Csign Design UX flows, main application - 20,454 ADA / ~$9,000
• Design BYOS UX flows - 2,272 ADA / ~$1,000
• Project Management - 4,093 ADA / ~$1,800
• Create online BYOS Survey - Free
• Infrastructure x 1 month: - 454 ADA / ~$200

M2 - 50,000 ADA / ~$22,000

• BYOS: Implement most popular storage service from BYOS survey in M1 - 22,272 ADA / ~$9,800
• Csign application Frontend: Custom reusable component library - 2,275 ADA / ~$1,000
• Csign application Frontend: Skeleton / templates / BYOS - 20,454 ADA / ~$9,000
• Project Management - 4,545 ADA / ~$2,000
• Infrastructure x 1 month: - 454 ADA / ~$200

M3 - 50,000 ADA / $22,000

• Csign API Phase 2: Setup API and security token management - 15,457 ADA / ~$6,800
• Csign application Frontend: More Feature polish and mobile web - 18,181 ADA / ~$8,000
• Csign Backend/Identus stability and bug fixes - 11,363 ADA / ~$5,000
• Project Management - 4,545 ADA / ~$2,000
• Infrastructure x 1 month: - 454 ADA / ~$200

M4 - 50,000 ADA / $22,000

• Csign API Phase 3 (part 1 - build REST endpoints) - 35,909 ADA / ~$15,800
• Csign Backend/Identus revisions and bug fixes, includes Testnet Launch - 9,092 ADA / ~$4,000
• Project Management - 4,545 ADA / ~$2,000
• Infrastructure x 1 month: - 454 ADA / ~$200

M5 - 50,000 ADA / $22,000

• Design iterations - 13,636 ADA / ~$6,000
• Csign application Frontend iterations - Phase 3 (iterate) - 6,818 ADA / ~$3,000
• Csign Backend/Identus revisions and bug fixes - 4,547 ADA / ~$2,000
• Csign API Phase 3 (part 2 - open for controlled beta, revisions based on feedback, continue work on endpoints) - 20,000 ADA / ~$8,800
• Project Management - 4,545 ADA / ~$2,000
• Infrastructure x 1 month: - 454 ADA / ~$200

M6 - 50,000 ADA / $22,000

• Csign Web v1.0 on Mainnet (requires setup with external vendors/ funding Issuer wallet) - 2,272 ADA / $1000
• Csign API Phase 3 (make available to developers, fix any last bugs) - 18,636 ADA / ~$8,200
• Set up Csign Free Trial for Cardano Community - Free
• Marketing Website Design - 11,367 ADA / ~$5,000
• Marketing Materials - 4,545 ADA / ~$2,000
• Project Management - 4,545 ADA / ~$2,000
• Infrastructure x 1 month: - 454 ADA / ~$200
• Infrastructure x 12 months - 8,181 ADA / ~$3,600

Budget Distribution:

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

Atala PRISM Infrastructure is too complex and expensive for companies to run in-house.

Unlike traditional “web2” applications, Self-Sovereign Identity applications require multiple servers and services interacting as Issuers, Holders and Verifiers, as well as dedicated servers for Horizontally scaled Mediators which negotiate secure messages between peers. 

By abstracting the complexity away into Csign and Csign API, the Cardano community will be able to leverage the power and privacy of SSI at a much lower cost, on a per agreement or subscription cost.

We hope making this technology accessible to everyone will add tremendous value to a variety of Cardano-based applications.

We believe in the future of the Cardano Ecosystem and we want to partner with you all!

Thank you for your consideration!