KnightSafe - Onboarding Users as Traders Rulebook

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

KnightSafe - Onboarding Users as Traders Rulebook

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

60000

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

4

[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?

Cardano lacks an open-source, simple rulebook for becoming a trader—covering basics and institutional practices. Newcomers lack clear steps to start DeFi trading, slowing defi adoption.

[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation

Supporting links

• https://knightsafe.io/
,
• https://x.com/KnightSafeTeam
,
• https://x.com/KnightradeTeam

[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies

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

No

Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'

No dependencies

[Proposal Summary] Project Open Source

Will your project's outputs be fully open source?

Yes

License and Additional Information

Materials would be on (an) open-source Github repo(s) with Apache-2.0 license.

[Theme Selection] Theme

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

Education

[Campaign Category] Category Questions

Who you’re targeting, how you’ll reach them, and why this matters for Cardano.

• Target: Independent traders from other chains, Cardano users, protocol teams (DEX, stablecoin, lending), and community educators.

• Reach: Public GitHub, KnightSafe's traders, KnightSafe X/Discord, posts to Cardano Forum, and co-announcements with interested projects (If there are new partnerships).

• Why it matters: Onboarding new comers to Cardano as traders to boost their interests and growth in CeFi and DeFi. Reduces guesswork, standardizes safe practice, and turns curiosity into usage—more swaps, deposits, and sustained TVL growth in Cardano.

Provide a list of key activities of your project?

• A public workspace containing the draft Rulebook and a short operating note.

• A Rulebook draft with four parts: Eligibility & conduct, strategy types, testing & evaluation checklist, Glossary.

• An open feedback thread where traders comment; changes are reflected in the draft.

• A final, reusable release packaged with diagrams.

What are your success metrics?

• Adoption signals: Public views/downloads of the Rulebook

• Participation signals: number of comments in the feedback thread; accepted improvements recorded in the changelog.

• On-chain/testnet signals (optional but encouraged): Readers who follow the rulebook and share transactions for our reviews and feedbacks.

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

We will publish a public Trader Rulebook that gives anyone a clear, safe path to start trading on CeFi/DeFi. It explains who can participate, which strategy types are in scope, and how to test and evaluate ideas in plain language.

Rulebook covering:

• Eligibility & conduct

• Strategy types,

• Testing & evaluation checklist,

• Glossary

There will be open feedback round with traders. KnightSafe traders will active involve in the rulebook and provide institutional grade feedback and standard to the rulebook.

Open-source all material to ensure adoption and access from public

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

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

Positive impact on the wider Cardano community

• Onboards new traders fast: A plain-language rulebook removes guesswork, helping traders from other chains and Cardano newcomers start safely and confidently.
• Raises safety standards: Shared definitions for eligibility, strategy types, and testing/evaluation reduce user mistakes and improve risk awareness.
• Reusable public asset: Open, permissively licensed materials that projects, meetups, and educators can plug into docs, workshops, and onboarding flows.
• Ecosystem alignment: Gives CEX, DEX, stablecoin, and lending teams a common reference, making integrations and co-marketing simpler.
• More on-chain activity: Clear guidance leads to more swaps, deposits, and sustained usage—supporting TVL growth over time.
• Lower support overhead: Standardized guidance answers common questions once, freeing teams to build and iterate faster.

[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?

Completed Fund 13: https://milestones.projectcatalyst.io/projects/1300171

Trust and Accountability

KnightSafe has built a strong reputation in the DeFi space, with a proven track record of generating significant trading volume on different DeFi protocols. KnightSafe’s capabilities have been officially recognized through a secured GMX grant, underscoring the value we deliver to the trading community. Our expertise is further validated by the significant Total Value Locked (TVL) on KnightSafe, showcasing our ability to bring substantial liquidity to the Cardano ecosystem. Current TVL reaches $30m and is still growing steadily. By maintaining transparent and secure operations, KnightSafe has become a trusted platform for DeFi users and traders.

Approach Validation

During the GMX's grant period, KnightSafe exceeded $180 million in trading volume, contributing over $100k in trading fees to the GMX protocol. This performance, combined with the additional liquidity KnightSafe provides to the market, has been instrumental in driving ecosystem growth. The volume generated during the grant period speaks to the effectiveness of KnightSafe as a tool, with our trading activities providing direct financial benefits to the GMX protocol and supporting liquidity in the broader market. Furthermore, KnightSafe's strategic partnership with BitBot, a project that recently raised over $3M, reinforces the value and impact of our approach.

Technical Approach Feasibility Research

KnightSafe’s technical approach is not only feasible but has been successfully implemented, as evidenced by the significant trading volume as well as TVL secured by KnightSafe, demonstrates our ability to handle high-frequency trading and liquidity provision. Additionally, the audit conducted by SlowMist underline the feasibility and security of our platform, ensuring KnightSafe’s place as a leading solution in the DeFi space.

Track Record: https://gov.gmx.io/t/knightsafe-gmx-grant-final-report/3847

Partnership: https://hackernoon.com/bitbots-presale-passes-$3m-after-ai-development-update

Audit Report: https://github.com/knight-safe/knight-safe-contracts-v2/blob/master/audits/26-7-2024_SlowMist_KnightSafe.pdf/

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Workspace & Team Structure

Milestone Outputs

Objective: Establish a solid foundation for the project by setting up the necessary infrastructure, assembling the team, and defining project management practices.

Outputs

• Set up legal and administrative frameworks.

• Confirm core team members

• Establish project management setup to track the progress

Acceptance Criteria

Objective: Complete and excute funational teams:

• Legal entity established and operational.

• Public announcement on core team members

• Project management document setup. A link of the document will be provided

Evidence of Completion

• Public link to legal entity

• Public link to team members

• Public link to project management document

Delivery Month

1

Cost

12000

Progress

20 %

Milestone Title

Craft Trader Rulebook

Milestone Outputs

Objective: Trading team initiate and craft trader rulebook with sessions stated below:

Draft rulebook with sessions:

• Eligibility & conduct

• Trading strategy types

• Testing/evaluation on trading strategy types

• A glossary of key terms used in the rulebook will be listed

Acceptance Criteria

• Eligibility & conduct: Published in the public draft, defining who can participate, required operational, prohibited actions (E.g. Wash trading).

• Trading strategy types: Published in the public draft, plainly defining supported categories, high-level entry/exit logic, typical risks.

• Testing/evaluation on strategy types: Published in the public draft with a numbered checklist covering data windows, fees/slippage, risk metrics.

• Glossary: Published alongside the draft, defining all key terms used, cross-linked to their sections, and available as PDF/Markdown for easy reference.

Evidence of Completion

• Eligibility & conduct: Public link to the draft rulebook section

• Trading strategy types: Public link to the section.

• Testing/evaluation on strategy types: Public link to the section.

• Glossary: Public link to the glossary section.

Delivery Month

1

Cost

18000

Progress

50 %

Milestone Title

Collect Community Feedback and Strategy Insight

Milestone Outputs

Objective: Identify, connect and collect community intelligence about the rulebook. Gather thoughts on Traders.

Outputs

• Connect with different traders to collect feedback about the tradebook

• Prepare the materials and questions about the tradebook

Acceptance Criteria

• Connect with traders: A public announcement is posted in the Knightrade Discord inviting trader feedback, describing scope and timelines, and linking to the current draft.

• Prepare materials & questions: A public link hosts a clearly organized feedback form, including question list

Evidence of Completion

• Connect with traders: Public link to the Knightrade Discord announcement

• Prepare materials & questions: Public link to the feedback pack

Delivery Month

1

Cost

18000

Progress

80 %

Milestone Title

Finalised and Publish Rulebook

Milestone Outputs

Objective: Complete and finalise trader rulebook to ensure all information are up to date and institutional standard, publish with link for public access

Output

• Finalise and public rulebook.
• Close out report
• Close out video

Acceptance Criteria

• Finalised public rulebook: All community feedback reviewed and incorporated. The final rulebook is published at a stable public URL
• Close-out report: A pubic link to the report summarizes milestones, output and next steps.
• Close-out video: A public link to the walkthrough video;

Evidence of Completion

• Finalised public rulebook: Public link to the final rulebook (PDF and/or Markdown).

• Close-out report: Public link to the report summarizes milestone, output and next steps.

• Close-out video: Public link to the walkthrough video.

Delivery Month

1

Cost

12000

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Milestone 1 — Workspace & Draft Structure

ADA 6,000 — Set up legal and administrative frameworks.

ADA 3,000 — Confirm core team members.

ADA 3,000 — Establish project management setup to track progress.

Milestone 2 — Collect Community Intelligence (Draft Rulebook)

ADA 12,000 — Draft rulebook

ADA 6,000 — Glossary of key terms and editing pass.

Milestone 3 — Collect Community Feedback and Strategy Insight

ADA 9,000 — Connect with traders and collect feedback

ADA 9,000 — Prepare materials/questions and organize everything in a public link.

Milestone 4 — Finalise and release Playbook to Onboard New Traders

ADA 12,000 — Finalise and publish the rulebook

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

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

This ₳60k project delivers a public, reusable Trader Rulebook that converts curiosity into on/off-chain action. It standardizes institutional trading practice—eligibility, risk checks, and evaluation—so newcomers and teams don’t waste time searching piecemeal info.

Why it’s a good use of funds

More traders, faster: Clear steps shorten time-to-first-transaction, lifting swaps, deposits, and retention—feeding TVL and volume over time.

Avoids duplicated spend: One high-quality reference replaces many parallel guides across projects.

Market-aligned delivery: Effort matches typical Web3 content and SME work, focused over four months for polished, plain-language outputs.

Net effect: a shared standard that scales onboarding, reduces support load, and supports sustained TVL and transaction growth across the Cardano ecosystem.

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

Terms and Conditions:

Yes