Permanent trustless public good archive of Cardano data

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

Permanent trustless public good archive of Cardano data

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

95000

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

8

[Proposal Summary] Translation Information

Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated

No

Original Language

en

[Proposal Summary] Problem Statement

What is the problem you want to solve?

In Cardano's Ouroboros BFT PoS consensus, validators have no incentives to store historical data as archival nodes, risking centralization, gated access, and loss.

[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies

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

Yes

Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'

KYVE has a dependency on decentralized storage solutions. Currently, KYVE uses Arweave as its main decentralized storage layer to persist validated data. This ensures the integrity, immutability, and long-term availability of archived data without relying on centralized infrastructure. Validators upload and reference data stored on Arweave as part of the protocol’s core operations. However, KYVE is designed to be modular, allowing for potential integration with other decentralized storage networks in the future, depending on the use case and technical requirements.

[Proposal Summary] Project Open Source

Will your project's outputs be fully open source?

Yes

License and Additional Information

MIT License with no commercial licence (https://github.com/KYVENetwork/chain/blob/main/LICENSE)

[Theme Selection] Theme

Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal

Infrastructure

[Campaign Category] Category Questions

Mention your open source license and describe your open source license rationale.

License: MIT License

KYVE uses the MIT License to promote openness, adoption, and ease of integration. It allows anyone to use, modify, and distribute the software with minimal restrictions, supporting KYVE’s mission to be a foundational, community-driven data infrastructure for Web3. This permissive licensing encourages innovation, collaboration, and cross-chain adoption, including use within ecosystems like Cardano.

How do you make sure your source code is accessible to the public from project start, and people are informed?

Development will be public from day one in KYVE Foundation’s MIT-licensed GitHub repos. Code, issues, and PRs will be open for review, ensuring transparency and community input. Updates will be shared via KYVE’s channels (Discord, Twitter/X, GitHub) and Cardano forums, keeping stakeholders informed and engaged throughout the project.

How will you provide high quality documentation?

Documentation will be a core deliverable, including detailed architecture specs, parser and validator setup guides, API docs (OpenAPI/Swagger), and visual diagrams. Published in public GitHub repos from project start, it will be continuously updated with the code. Step-by-step tutorials will guide developers, validators, and data users, while external Cardano community reviews will ensure accuracy, clarity, and ease of adoption.

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

KYVE solution create a decentralized and permanent archival layer for the Cardano blockchain. KYVE addresses this by enabling a network of independent validators to fetch, validate, and upload Cardano blockchain data to Arweave, a permanent and censorship-resistant storage layer. This process ensures data integrity through decentralized consensus and eliminates the need to trust centralized data providers and the risk of data loss.

Once stored, this data becomes freely accessible through an open-source API, allowing developers, researchers, and auditors to query historical chain data without restrictions. This strengthens decentralization, improves transparency, and provides a critical infrastructure layer for advanced use cases such as analytics, AI, or historical audits.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

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

This project will provide the Cardano ecosystem with a decentralized, permanent, and publicly accessible archive of historical blockchain data. By making the full chain history freely available through a trustless infrastructure, we address critical issues such as data centralization, lack of transparency, and limited access for developers and researchers.

Quantitative impact will be measured by:

• The volume and completeness of archived Cardano data (blocks, transactions, metadata).
• The number of active validators in the KYVE pool.
• Adoption by third-party tools, wallets, and data platforms.
• Qualitative impact includes:
• Increased developer access to historical data for dApp development, research, and analytics.
• Improved transparency and verifiability of on-chain history.
• Empowering open-source contributors, data scientists, and educators with reliable infrastructure.
• All outputs (data, code, documentation, APIs) will be shared publicly via GitHub and community channels.
• Regular reports will be published to track progress and usage. The long-term impact is to establish Cardano as an open, data-rich blockchain that supports advanced applications and research.

[Your Project and Solution] Capabilities & 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 team behind this proposal has already developed a working proof of concept for Cardano integration with KYVE. This POC was presented to the CTO of Input Output Global (IOG), who publicly acknowledged the project’s relevance and technical maturity in a tweet:

“Just had a great call with @KYVENetwork team. They are integrating with #Cardano... so developers and data engineers can query Cardano from certified block indexing data pools.” – https://x.com/rom1_pellerin/status/1859281225061658870

Link to POC pool: https://app.korellia.kyve.network/#/pools/149

The development will be led by experienced core contributors from KYVE, who have successfully delivered similar blockchain data integrations (e.g. Celestia, Avail, Story, Xion).

The team has deep expertise in blockchain infrastructure, decentralized storage, data validation, and public good tooling. KYVE is a production-ready protocol already used in multiple blockchain ecosystems.

Feasibility & Fund Management:

• The project will follow a milestone-based roadmap with transparent reporting at each stage.
• All development will be open-source and publicly verifiable via GitHub.
• Monthly progress reports will include budget tracking, development status, and challenges.
• The team has prior experience managing grant-based funding and delivering on time.
• Given the technical foundation already in place and the team’s track record, the project is both feasible and low-risk.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Architecture & Parser Specification

Milestone Outputs

This milestone delivers the complete system architecture for integrating Cardano with KYVE and Arweave. It includes a detailed specification of the data flow from Cardano full node to KYVE validator nodes, including data schemas, serialization formats, block indexing logic, and data consistency requirements. A public technical documentation will be produced, covering the structure of the KYVE pool, the expected structure of raw and validated data, and a roadmap for production-readiness. The initial KYVE pool configuration for Cardano will also be drafted during this stage, along with validator setup instructions and data validation rules. This output provides the foundation for the following milestones and ensures that all team members and stakeholders align on the project's technical direction.

Acceptance Criteria

1. A detailed technical specification document is published in a public GitHub repository.
2. Architecture clearly describes data flow from Cardano node to KYVE and Arweave.
3. Data schemas and validation rules are included
4. Architecture reviewed and approved by core team for feasibility and compatibility with KYVE and Arweave constraints.

Evidence of Completion

1. Public GitHub repository with full architecture documentation, version-controlled and accessible to the community.
2. Pull request with merged documentation approved by team lead.
3. Internal log of architecture review meeting (can be shared on request).

Delivery Month

1

Cost

20000

Progress

20 %

Milestone Title

Parser Development & KYVE Pool Setup

Milestone Outputs

In this milestone, the team will develop a custom parser to extract, transform, and serialize Cardano blockchain data (blocks, transactions, metadata) into a KYVE-compatible format. This parser will run as an open-source module and be published under an MIT license. In parallel, a KYVE Cardano pool will be deployed on the Korellia network. At least two validators will be onboarded, and full setup documentation will be made public. The milestone includes basic testing of the parser's ability to retrieve and process historical chain data from a synced Cardano node. This marks the transition from specification to operational infrastructure.

Acceptance Criteria

1. Parser module is published and licensed under open-source terms.
2. KYVE Cardano pool is live and publicly accessible on Korellia.
3. Validator setup guide published and verified by at least one external validator.
4. At least two validators successfully running and syncing in the KYVE network.

Evidence of Completion

1. GitHub repository with the parser code and related tests.
2. Public KYVE pool URL.
3. Screenshots or logs showing validators syncing data.
4. GitHub repo with validator onboarding guide and documentation.
5. Signed transaction logs or KYVE local storage from initial bundle uploads (if applicable).

Delivery Month

3

Cost

25000

Progress

40 %

Milestone Title

Arweave Integration & Public data access Deployment

Milestone Outputs

This milestone focuses on completing the full archival pipeline: validated Cardano data is stored permanently on Arweave and made accessible via a public, open-source API. The team will upload a meaningful volume of Cardano blockchain data (e.g. ≥10,000 blocks) through the KYVE Network to Arweave, preserving integrity and accessibility. The Trustless API and Data Pipeline will be built to allow users to query those data, accompanied by complete documentation and usage examples. This milestone directly delivers the core functionality of the project.

Acceptance Criteria

1. Validated Cardano data is stored on Arweave with public transaction hash.
2. Public API is deployed, live, and documented.
3. End-to-end data flow from Cardano → KYVE → Arweave → API is functional and reproducible.
4. Developer documentation includes usage examples and edge case handling.

Evidence of Completion

1. Public links to Arweave transactions containing archived Cardano data.
2. API base URL with publicly accessible endpoints and documentation.
3. Live walkthrough video demonstrating the Trustless API and the Data Pipeline.
4. Community feedback from early adopters or GitHub Issues raised.

Delivery Month

5

Cost

28000

Progress

70 %

Milestone Title

Project Close-out, Reporting & Ecosystem Launch

Milestone Outputs

This milestone represents the public launch and formal closure of the project. It includes a full technical and operational report summarizing the work completed across all milestones, a sustainability plan for long-term maintenance of the KYVE Cardano pool, and a final ecosystem outreach initiative. All technical outputs will be finalized and published (API, SDKs, documentation, repositories).

A strong emphasis will be placed on communication and awareness:

A marketing campaign will be launched to promote the availability of the archived Cardano data to developers, data scientists, and ecosystem projects.

This campaign includes posts across relevant Cardano and Web3 community channels (Twitter/X, Discords, Telegram, Reddit), articles or blogs explaining the integration, and a demo video.

A public webinar or AMA will be organized to present the project and onboard early users.

Feedback will be gathered from ecosystem builders and integrated into final documentation.

The Catalyst Project Close-out Report and Close-out Video will also be prepared and submitted during this milestone.

Acceptance Criteria

1. Submission and approval of Catalyst Close-out Report and Video.
2. All project assets are finalized and published in accessible public locations.
3. Outreach activities completed (event/webinar held, minimum 3 public posts, article published).
4. Evidence of user engagement with the API (GitHub stars, API hits, developer feedback).
5. Public statement or collaboration interest from at least one Cardano ecosystem project or builder.

Evidence of Completion

1. Final report and close-out video submitted to Catalyst portal.
2. Links to all published deliverables (GitHub, API, Arweave dashboards).
3. Screenshots and links of marketing materials (Twitter/X posts, blog article, Discord announcements).
4. Recording or summary of public event (video or written recap).
5. Feedback from users or ecosystem stakeholders (e.g. quotes, GitHub issues, testimonials).

Delivery Month

1

Cost

22000

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

The total requested budget is ₳95,000 for a 9-month project, divided across four milestones.

1. The first milestone (₳20,000) will cover the architecture design, documentation, and parser specifications, including validator setup requirements.
2. The second milestone (₳25,000) focuses on parser development, validator onboarding, and deploying the dedicated KYVE pool for Cardano.
3. The third milestone (₳28,000) will deliver full integration with Arweave and the storage costs, the end-to-end archival pipeline, and the public API, along with comprehensive developer documentation.
4. The final milestone (₳22,000) will cover project close-out, reporting, ecosystem outreach, and the public launch, ensuring long-term sustainability. This budget includes developer time, infrastructure costs for validators and storage, documentation efforts, testing, and community engagement activities.

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?

This project delivers a high return on investment for the Cardano ecosystem by providing a permanent, trustless, and publicly accessible archive of historical blockchain data — a critical piece of infrastructure that currently does not exist in a fully decentralized form.

For ₳95,000, the Cardano community gains:

• A complete, open-source archival pipeline from Cardano to Arweave, ensuring long-term data availability.
• A public API enabling developers, researchers, and auditors to query historical chain data without centralization risks.
• Validator setup and onboarding guides to foster decentralization and participation.
• Increased transparency, accessibility, and reliability for all data-driven Cardano applications.
• The deliverables are not one-off products but permanent public goods, maintained beyond the project’s duration by KYVE’s decentralized validator network and open governance model.

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

Terms and Conditions:

Yes