Last updated 3 months ago
Staying informed on Cardano governance actions is unnecessarily difficult. Information is scattered, messaging is inconsistent and there is no straightforward way to self-host reliable notifications.
We will expand Adder with Cardano governance support, enabling real-time tracking of dRep registrations, delegations, and votes, add Telegram notifications and add support for mempool monitoring.
This is the total amount allocated to Adder: RealTime Governance & Mempool Tracking by Blink Labs.
Please provide your proposal title
Adder: RealTime Governance & Mempool Tracking by Blink Labs
Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA
28400
Please specify how many months you expect your project to last
4
What is the problem you want to solve?
Staying informed on Cardano governance actions is unnecessarily difficult. Information is scattered, messaging is inconsistent and there is no straightforward way to self-host reliable notifications.
Supporting links
Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?
No
Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'
No dependencies
Will your project's outputs be fully open source?
Yes
License and Additional Information
Apache-2.0 license
Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal
Developer Tools
Mention your open source license and describe your open source license rationale.
The Apache-2.0 license provides a strong open source license while allowing commercial use for closed sourced software.
At Blink Labs, our commitment to open source runs deep. We are passionate advocates of open source principles and it's reflected in everything we do. From our Linux roots to our innovative tools and solutions for Cardano, openness and collaboration are at the core of our ethos. We believe in the power of transparency, community-driven innovation and the limitless potential of open source technology.
How do you make sure your source code is accessible to the public from project start, and people are informed?
All Blink Labs projects are open-source on GitHub with transparent progress tracking via issues and boards. We share updates regularly on Twitter, host weekly open coding sessions and participate in Cardano Community Spaces, ensuring that the community stays informed and can engage with our work.
How will you provide high quality documentation?
High quality documentation is a core part of open source. Each of our repos includes comprehensive READMEs while examples and setup guides in our end user documentation are updated as features evolve. We treat documentation like code: reviewed, versioned and improved continuously to ensure clarity, consistency, and usefulness.
Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem
We will enhance Adder by:
These upgrades will make Adder a more powerful, flexible and community-friendly tool for staying informed about governance and transaction activity.
Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community
Improved Adder capabilities will make it easier for stakeholders to track governance activity, stay updated on dRep votes and monitor transactions in real time (including in Telegram). This transparency supports stronger community engagement, informed decision-making and a healthier governance process for Cardano.
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?
Blink Labs has decades of experience delivering open source software and has built a strong reputation in the Cardano community. Our team has experience building global scale data applications and infrastructure for companies like Yahoo and Box and we have successfully completed multiple Catalyst proposals with more in active progress; two pending closeout approvals.
All work is developed in public GitHub repositories, ensuring transparency and tracked through GitHub issues and Kanban boards for accountability. Feasibility is validated through clear milestones, peer review, community feedback and continuous testing, ensuring both reliability and timely delivery.
Milestone Title
Support for Governance actions
Milestone Outputs
Milestone 1 adds support for governance actions to Adder. This includes processing transactions to determine any governance actions contained within the data.
Acceptance Criteria
For each of the above outputs:
All of these will be visually confirmable in a GitHub project board by opening each issue/output.
Evidence of Completion
For each of the above outputs:
All of these will be visually confirmable in a GitHub project board by opening each issue/output.
Alongside code changes, relevant documentation updates will be added to the README, https://github.com/blinklabs-io/adder/blob/main/README.md and https://docs.blinklabs.io. Demo videos will be shared via YouTube, @BlinkLabs_io.
Delivery Month
1
Cost
8800
Progress
40 %
Milestone Title
Support for running Adder as a Telegram bot
Milestone Outputs
Milestone 2 supports running Adder as a Telegram bot to post any Adder events to Telegram groups or users.
Acceptance Criteria
For each of the above outputs:
All of these will be visually confirmable in a GitHub project board by opening each issue/output.
Evidence of Completion
For each of the above outputs:
All of these will be visually confirmable in a GitHub project board by opening each issue/output.
Alongside code changes, relevant documentation updates will be added to the README, https://github.com/blinklabs-io/adder/blob/main/README.md and https://docs.blinklabs.io. Demo videos will be shared via YouTube, @BlinkLabs_io.
Delivery Month
2
Cost
8800
Progress
60 %
Milestone Title
Support for Real Time Mempool Monitoring
Milestone Outputs
Milestone 3 allows Adder to use a local Cardano node supporting the Ouroboros LocalTxMonitor mini-protocol (Haskell cardano-node, Dingo) to watch the Mempool as an input for transaction events.
Acceptance Criteria
For each of the above outputs:
All of these will be visually confirmable in a GitHub project board by opening each issue/output.
Evidence of Completion
For each of the above outputs:
All of these will be visually confirmable in a GitHub project board by opening each issue/output.
Alongside code changes, relevant documentation updates will be added to the README, https://github.com/blinklabs-io/adder/blob/main/README.md and https://docs.blinklabs.io. Demo videos will be shared via YouTube, @BlinkLabs_io.
Delivery Month
3
Cost
8800
Progress
80 %
Milestone Title
Project closeout report and video
Milestone Outputs
The outputs of this milestone will include a comprehensive closeout report that documents the work completed, results achieved, and lessons learned, along with a final project video demonstrating Adder’s new capabilities.
Acceptance Criteria
The project closeout report will include a comprehensive summary of project objectives and evidence of goals achieved.
The project closeout video will provide a visual overview of the project's journey, start to finish, highlight key achievements, and showcase Adder's new capabilities.
Evidence of Completion
Link to final closeout report, accessed via a Blink Labs shared Google docs link
Link to final closeout video, uploaded to the public Blink Labs YouTube channel
Delivery Month
4
Cost
2000
Progress
100 %
Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources
Funding will primarily pay for engineering time. There is also a small piece set aside for paying administrative staff for project management.
The project budget is 8800 per month to pay for Engineering (8300) and Project Management (500) for the first 3 milestones. The final milestone will be an additional 2000 ADA for the project manager. Each of the first 3 milestones corresponds to a month, and time is allocated to take approximately 50 percent of a full time software engineer or 80 hours and approximately 10 hours of project management. The final milestone includes closeout reporting and video production and will take approximately 40 hours of project management time.
No additional funding is necessary for third party products or services.
How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?
Our budget is based on transparent, fair-market rates: 110 ADA/hour for a senior GoLang blockchain engineer ($192k USD annually) and 50 ADA/hour for project management ($86k USD annually). These rates reflect industry standards for experienced U.S.-based professionals and ensure high-quality delivery.
By funding this project, the ecosystem benefits from open-source improvements that strengthen Cardano governance, provide reusable tooling for developers, and create long-term value far beyond the initial investment.
Terms and Conditions:
Yes
The project development will be completed by the Blink Labs engineering team. Our team includes Principal / Staff Engineers, with more than 50 years combined experience. This project will be primarily assigned to Chris Gianelloni, https://github.com/wolf31o2 , with additional Blink Labs developers providing support, code review, and documentation.
Administrative functions, such as project management and community reporting, will primarily be assigned to Christina Gianelloni, https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-gianelloni/ .