DAO DApp for on-chain community collaboration

[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)

We will develop an engaging, intuitive and streamlined DAO DApp tailored for the Cardano NFT community in order to nurture a culture of on-chain, community-driven decision-making and collaboration

[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

n/a

[METADATA] SDG rating

SDG Goals

16 - Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

SDG Subgoals

16.6 - Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels

16.7 - Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

We will promote a culture of on-chain participatory governance within the Cardano NFT community by developing an engaging, intuitive and streamlined DAO DApp for community-driven decision-making and collaboration. 

Our proposed DAO DApp will enable users to create and participate in three types of DAOs: multisig membership DAOs, fungible token staking DAOs and NFT staking DAOs. Users will be able to securely log in to the DApp using their Cardano wallet, ensuring trust and transparency by validating ownership of stake keys. Each type of DAO will be equipped with a dedicated treasury wallet for seamless asset management and delegation to Cardano stake pools, further securing Cardano and maximising rewards for DAO participants.

Key DAO features include:

1. Secure login using Cardano wallets with a 'sign data' feature
2. The ability to create three types of DAO
3. Empowerment of each type of DAO with a dedicated treasury wallet
4. Flexibility for users to join or leave a DAO at their discretion

Key user features include:

1. Ability to propose ideas and voting sessions
2. Ability to vote on proposed ideas
3. Ability to create subDAOs within DAOs for efficient DAO management
4. A dashboard featuring prominent DAOs
5. Search engine functionality to filter for a specific DAO
6. Timely notifications via social media and email integrations
7. A messaging system for clear communication between users
8. Personalised staking reward and distribution mechanism tailored to each DAO

Key design principles include:

1. Decentralised governance: The DApp will enable decentralised governance, allowing participants to propose, discuss and vote on various decisions within a DAO.
2. Transparent decision-making: All decisions and transactions will be recorded on the Cardano blockchain, ensuring the transparency and accountability of governance processes.
3. User-friendly interface: The DApp will feature an intuitive, user-friendly interface to encourage broad participation and engage new users, regardless of technical expertise or previous experience with DAOs or DApps, especially NFT users.
4. Community focus: The DApp will facilitate community feedback mechanisms, allowing participants to provide input on proposed initiatives and decisions. In addition, active participants will be rewarded for their contributions to the DAOs.

Our success will not only benefit our own community, but also contribute to the broader adoption of decentralised decision-making mechanisms and strengthen a grassroots culture of participatory governance within the Cardano community - just as Cardano gears up for CIP1694 and the Voltaire era.

Key beneficiaries include:

1. Omen community: Our community members will acquire a direct voice in DAO decision-making, and gain direct experience of participating in on-chain decision-making and managing DAO treasuries at scale.
2. Cardano NFT community: As part of our commitment to nurturing a culture of collaboration and participation on Cardano, we will document project successes and failures, share lessons learned, and promote good practices, which we invite other NFT communities to leverage in order to drive participation among their own communities.
3. Cardano ecosystem: The entire Cardano community will benefit from the dissemination of experiences and lessons learned, which will deepen Cardano's culture of participation beyond existing DApps that target DeFi users and tech enthusiasts.

By pioneering decentralised, on-chain, community-driven decision-making within the Cardano NFT community, we aim to strengthen the foundation of participatory governance on Cardano just as we collectively gear up for CIP1694 and the Voltaire era.

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

Our primary goals include:

1. Enhancing community-driven decision-making: We aim to strengthen transparent and decentralised decision-making on Cardano, empowering NFT community members to propose, discuss and vote on initiatives, and engage in on-chain governance.
2. Fostering collaboration within and between NFT communities: By providing a platform for collaboration, we aim to encourage community members to work together on projects and initiatives, with multiplier effects for collaboration across the Cardano NFT community.
3. Promoting greater decentralisation within the NFT community: Utilising decentralised governance mechanisms, we aim to deepen decentralised decision-making within the Cardano community, bolstering the willingness and confidence of NFT users to participate in on-chain decision-making.

Key quantitative metrics include: the number of DAOs created, the number of governance proposals submitted, the number of votes cast, the number of governance proposals passed, and (specifically for investment decisions) the amount of ADA invested both within the Cardano ecosystem and cross-chain.

Key qualitative metrics include: Community feedback gathered through surveys, polls, community forums and discussion boards.

We will document the governance process, providing guidelines for DAO proposal submissions, voting procedures and decision-making criteria. We will communicate our outputs via YouTube videos, X posts, blog articles and discussions on community forums (as well as the proposed DAO DApp messaging forum). Community outreach will engage community members, raise awareness about the DAO DApp and encourage participation in governance activities.

[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?

The DApp will (1) bolster decentralised collaboration within the Cardano community; and (2) enable transparent and decentralised decision-making, empowering community members to propose, discuss and vote on initiatives directly on the Cardano blockchain.

First, we have a proven track record of delivering state-of-art on-chain technology on Cardano, including multisig NFT minting and non-custodial NFT staking. Since December 2021, we have pioneered several innovative on-chain solutions on Cardano, while remaining entirely community funded.

We were among the first Cardano projects to pioneer multisig NFT minting with the Fauna skulls mint in March 2022 and non-custodial NFT staking in early 2023 – features that have since become standard among Cardano NFT projects. Since January 2024, we have redistributed 100% of royalties on Omen NFT sales (exceeding 400,000 ADA) to community members who stake their Omen NFTs via version three of our non-custodial NFT staking platform, with the project founders taking none of the rewards. Roughly 85% of Omen NFTs (i.e. 8,500 out of 10,000) were staked via our non-custodial NFT staking platform between January and May 2024, demonstrating a high-level of community trust in our ability to deliver.

Since its launch in December 2023, Omen has generated 3.2 million ADA in trading volume. Consistently trending among the most traded NFT collections this year, Omen ranks in the top 50 NFT projects for all-time trading volume and in the top 15 NFT projects by market capitalisation. This is evidence of the market demand for our products and the experiences we deliver.

Moreover, this month, we launched our NFT portal on Cardano, which will enable Omen NFT holders to freely swap back-and-forth between male and female variations of their Omen NFTs, all on the same policy ID. The male side of each Omen NFT can continue to be staked to collect a proportional share of royalties. Meanwhile, the female side of each Omen NFT will facilitate participation in our NFT staking DAOs.

Second, between March 2022 and March 2024, we operated our own gamified version of a DAO, Nemonium DAO. Prior to March 2024, Nemonium DAO members cast over 10,000 votes across 35 proposals, using the off-chain Hazel Discord Bot. This two-year experiment in piloting a gamified DAO lends credibility to our capability to deliver a fully functional, high-quality and effective DAO DApp for decentralised collaboration and decision-making on Cardano.

Third, we operate our own Cardano stake pool (ticker: OMEN), helping to secure the wider Cardano ecosystem. At the time of writing, 693 unique wallets, accounting for 1.4 million ADA delegated, trust OMEN stake pool to produce blocks for Cardano. Initially created in February 2021, OMEN stake pool has minted a total of 139 blocks over the last three years.

In summary, we have a depth of experience in developing high-quality products, managing DAO governance and operating Cardano infrastructure. We will leverage our extensive expertise to develop a secure DAO DApp that fosters trust, accountability and collaboration within the Cardano NFT community and beyond.

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

Develop core DApp features

Milestone outputs:

• User authentication and wallet integration
• Creation of multisig membership DAO
• Creation of fungible token staking DAO
• Creation of NFT staking DAO
• Flexibility for users to join, follow or leave a DAO

Acceptance criteria:

• Successful integration of Cardano wallet login
• Functional multisig membership DAO creation endpoint
• User-tested functionality for joining/leaving DAOs

Evidence of milestone completion:

• Screen recordings demonstrating wallet integration
• User feedback indicating usability of join/leave functionality

Develop treasury wallet and governance tools

Milestone outputs:

• Implementation of dedicated treasury wallets for each DAO type
• Introduction of governance tools for proposal submission and voting

Acceptance criteria:

• Functional treasury wallet integration with DAOs
• Demo of proposal submission and voting functionalities

Evidence of milestone completion:

• Testnet transactions demonstrating treasury wallet functionality
• Screenshots/video of governance tools in action

Enhanced communication and notifications

Milestone outputs:

• Integration of messaging system within DAO DApp
• Timely notifications for DAO updates

Acceptance criteria:

• Functional messaging system with X-like format
• Successful delivery of notifications via email and Discord

Evidence of milestone completion:

• Demo videos showing messaging system usage
• Email/Discord logs demonstrating notification delivery

Testing, optimization and deployment

Milestone outputs:

• Comprehensive testing of DApp functionalities
• Optimisation for performance and scalability
• Deployment of DAO DApp on Cardano mainnet

Acceptance criteria:

• Successful completion of test suite with minimal issues
• Performance metrics meeting predefined targets
• DAO DApp deployed and accessible on Cardano mainnet

Evidence of milestone completion:

• Performance analysis documentation
• Links to deployed DAO DApp on Cardano mainnet

Project close-out report and video

Milestone outputs:

• Project close-out report detailing achievements, challenges and lessons learned
• Video summarising key project highlights and outcomes

Acceptance criteria:

• Completed project close-out report with all required sections
• Video covering project journey, milestones and impact

Evidence of milestone completion:

• Submitted project close-out report
• Post video on YouTube

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

Nemo, founder (@_AskNemo)

Vivalacoin, community member (@VivalaCoinBTC)

JT, community member (@UnstoicT)

Border Reiver, community member (@BorderReiver_)

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

DApp development costs: 125,000 ADA

• Frontend development: Designing and implementing user interface elements, wallet integration, DAO features and flexible opt in/out participatory mechanism.
• Backend development: Developing multisig membership, and fungible token staking and NFT staking DAOs, includes smart contracts, API endpoints and SDK integration with Cardano.
• Testing and quality assurance: Ensuring functionality, security and performance of the DAO DApp, treasury wallet integrations and voting mechanism.

Website and UI costs: 245,000 ADA

• Frontend website: High-quality, state-of-art, gamified website with sleek UX/UI that communicates cutting-edge, high-quality product and acute attention to detail.
• SDK integration: SDK integration with frontend website.
• Hosting: Renting server space/utilising cloud services for hosting the DApp.
• Blockchain transaction fees: Covering costs associated with deploying smart contracts and interacting with the Cardano blockchain.

Legal and compliance: 60,000 ADA

• Legal consultation: Seek legal advice for regulatory compliance, intellectual property protection and contract negotiation.
• Compliance fees: Cover necessary regulatory and licensing fees associated with operating DAOs and the DAO DApp.

Audit and security: 30,000

• Security audit: Conduct independent security audits to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities in the DApp.
• Code review: Review and validate the codebase for quality and best practice compliance.

Project management: 40,000 ADA

• Equipment and software costs: Purchase hardware, software licences and subscriptions necessary for project execution.
• Technical documentation: Create user manuals for DApp, user guidelines for participating in DAOs, API documentation and easy-to-comprehend information to onboard new users to Cardano.
• Community events: Host Spaces and community calls, as well as create blog and video content to onboard new users to Cardano and the DAO DApp.
• Community support: Provide technical support to users, address user queries, resolve issues related to the DApp, and foster a positive and inclusive community environment around the DApp.
• Project reports: Generate progress reports, milestone updates and project close-out documentation.

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

Our DAO DApp proposal includes costs commensurate with the project's scope and ambition. Our budget aligns with the resources required to develop a state-of-art, high-quality and extremely user-friendly DAO DApp that offers an engaging, intuitive and streamlined UX/UI for users with little familiarity of blockchain technology. This proposal is based on estimates solicited from leading service providers within the blockchain space, as well as our extensive experience in commissioning and operating blockchain and Web2 technology.

Over the last three years, we have pioneered state-of-art innovations on Cardano (e.g. multisig NFT minting and non-custodial NFT staking), and collaborated with leading artists (e.g. @NatalieShau and @KlawMachineArt) and project partners (e.g. @fightforcmc) on other blockchains. Our 10,000-piece Omen PFP collection has attracted significant cross-chain attention, and we have built connections with @DeGodsNFT, @ThePlagueNFT and @SpaceRidersXYZ community members, onboarding many new users to Cardano in the process.

We have experimented with innovative principles of community building, such as a community basic income (i.e. committing to redistribute 100% of royalties to Omen NFT stakers in perpetuity, with more 400,000 ADA already redistributed), as well as building an ecosystem on top of the base yield generated from operating a Cardano stake pool (charging 0% margin). Throughout our project lifespan, we have always striven to return (rather than extract) value from our community, while adding significant value to the wider Cardano ecosystem.

And yet, all our endeavors to date have been entirely self-funded, whether funded out-of-pocket by the project founders or from community raises. We have never previously received any funding from Project Catalyst or raised external venture funding. We believe this underscores our dedication to advancing Cardano's principle of organic community growth.

Nevertheless, we are asking for Project Catalyst funding now to accelerate our pace of development and enable us take NFT community building on Cardano to the next level. We will persevere with or without Project Catalyst funding; our commitment to Cardano and our vision is steadfast. However, Project Catalyst funding will massively expedite our process of delivery - and at a critical stage of the current market cycle and Cardano's transition to the Voltaire era.

We changed how you mint NFTs; we changed how you collect and distribute NFT royalties; now we want to change how you participate in decision-making within NFT communities. If we win, Cardano wins.