Cardano Bond Exchange: Trading Zero-Coupon Bond (RWA)

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

Cardano Bond Exchange: Trading Zero-Coupon Bond (RWA)

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

92000

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

9

[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?

We want to bring more liquidity to Cardano ecosystem by allowing more trading of RWA assets. USD denominated bonds have the highest trading volume, which can be secured by Cardano decentralized system

[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?

No

License and Additional Information

Smart contracts will be open source

[Theme Selection] Theme

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

DEX

[Campaign Category] Category Questions

Describe what makes your idea innovative compared to what has been previously funded (whether by you or others).

Existing lending and bond solutions on Cardano focus on fixed-income issuance but lack a secondary market where these instruments can be freely traded.

Our DEX enables:

• Secondary market liquidity for Zero-Coupon Bonds, allowing investors to enter and exit positions before maturity.

• Price discovery for fixed-income products via an open order book model.

• Composability with other DeFi protocols, allowing bonds to be used as collateral or yield-bearing assets in multiple platforms

Describe what your prototype or MVP will demonstrate, and where it can be accessed.

Our MVP will be an on-chain decentralized exchange deployed on Cardano testnet that allow users to trade Zero-Coupon Bonds in ADA or USD

Access & Community Testing: Public Testnet URL via our DEX interface.

Describe realistic measures of success, ideally with on-chain metrics.

Our success will be measured by on-chain activity, adoption rates, and ecosystem integration.

On-Chain Targets (First 6 Months)

• 30+ unique wallets trading Zero-Coupon Bonds.

• 100+ completed trades (buy/sell orders matched and settled).

• ≥ 100,000 ADA equivalent total trading volume.

• 10+ active Zero-Coupon Bond listings

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

Trading principal token (zero-coupon bond): Through our Dex, users can trade bonds with varying maturities and interest rate.

Order Book: Instead of an AMM, our platform will implement an order book system, allowing users to set custom bids and asks for the Bonds. This model will provide greater flexibility and control for users to define their desired trading terms and conditions. Users can match their orders based on these custom-defined prices, maturity, giving them more autonomy in their decision-making.

Price matching: The order book will facilitate price discovery and alllows users to directly negotiate trading terms for bonds. Matching will occur when bid and ask orders meet, allowing participants to lock in their preferred price and maturities.

Our platform will offer an intuitive user interface where users can easily track and manage their trades and access historical data for better decision-making.

Key features:

1. Zero-coupon Bond DEX:

Our platform will feature a dedicated bond DEX screen that provides an overview of all available (zero-coupon bonds) for trade. This screen will include:

• A sortable list of bonds by maturity date, interest rate, and price.

• Real-time data updates to reflect current bid and ask prices.

• A detailed view for each bond, maturity date, current yield, and liquidity.

Users will be able to monitor market trends and compare different bonds at a glance, making it easier to evaluate their investment options.

1. Create Sell/Buy Order:

The platform will offer a simple and intuitive interface for users looking to sell or buy the bonds. On this screen, users can:

• Select the bond they wish to sell or buy

• Set a custom price or choose from suggested market prices

• Define specific conditions, such volume they want to buy/sell or expiration date for the order

Users can efficiently create sell/buy orders with full control over their terms and conditions.

1. Transaction history

The Transaction History feature provides users with a complete overview of all their past trades

• Track user's executed orders

• View the maturity and settlement details of the bonds

1. Users will settle for the bond in USD without the need to convert to ADA, ADA will only be used to pay for transaction fee.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

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

Cardano users can invest on zeros coupon bond onChain in a permissionless way.

Cardano users can unlock potential yield of their stable coin holdings, if they do now want exposure to ADA price fluctuation

Cardano will see more transactions & hence more transaction fees.

Cardano decentralization will also encourage more bond issuers to go onChain.

[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?

Capability to Deliver with Trust & Accountability:

Our team has a proven track record delivering complex Cardano DeFi protocols, including Bond Dex, Danogo Staking Bonds, Fixed Rate Lending, and Flexible Lending and our smartcontracts are fully open source.

With 10+ years in Web2 software development and 3 years in smart contract engineering, we combine deep technical expertise with Agile project management for clear communication, aligned goals, and accountability. We follow robust development standards, including thorough documentation, code optimization, and scalable architecture, ensuring quality and maintainability.

Our open-source commitment reinforces transparency, allowing the community to review, audit, and reuse our work. Funds will be managed with milestone-based budgeting, regular reporting, and public updates to ensure proper allocation.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Project Planning & UX/UI Design

Milestone Outputs

Establish the project scope, technical requirements, and user experience design. This includes gathering requirements, defining system architecture, and producing high-fidelity UI/UX mockups.

• Detailed project scope and functional requirements document.
• Technical architecture diagram outlining smart contract and front-end integration.
• Complete UI/UX design files for borrower flows.

Acceptance Criteria

• The documentation must fully align with the project’s stated vision, Catalyst proposal scope, and long-term goals.
• UI/UX designs should cover every borrower and rollover workflow, ensuring that user journeys are clear, intuitive, and testable.
• The technical architecture must be reviewed and formally approved by the development team, confirming feasibility for smart contract and front-end integration.

Evidence of Completion

• PDF of requirements document and technical architecture.
• Design file links (Figma or equivalent) shared publicly.

Delivery Month

1

Cost

10000

Progress

10 %

Milestone Title

Implement Sell/Buy Order Creation screen

Milestone Outputs

This phase involves actual development, coding, and thorough testing of the creation screen and feature to create buy or sell order

• Functional Platform Prototype: A working prototype which allow to create Sell or buy Zero coupon bond request
• User guide of the function

Acceptance Criteria

• Users must be able to connect a Cardano testnet wallet to the DEX interface and create buy or sell orders for Zero-Coupon Bonds successfully.
• Orders should be recorded on-chain, visible via a blockchain explorer, and function consistently without errors.
• A public user guide must be published, allowing community members to replicate all steps independently without requiring developer assistance or special knowledge

Evidence of Completion

Link to the working prototype that allows user to create buy or sell orders for Zero-Coupon Bond

User guide will be added to Github and be shared publicly.

Delivery Month

3

Cost

30000

Progress

30 %

Milestone Title

Implement Bond Dex and Price matching and Trade history

Milestone Outputs

This phase involves actual development, coding, and thorough testing of the bond dex, price matching and trades history feature

• Functional Platform Prototype:
  • A working prototype which allow to view list of sell / buy order and perform the price matching mechanism.
  • A working prototype which allow to view list of executed orders
• User guide of the function

Acceptance Criteria

• The prototype must allow users to view all active buy/sell orders, execute trades using a price matching mechanism, and confirm order fulfillment on-chain.
• Trade history should update accurately in real time, ensuring transparency and verifiability.
• A detailed user guide must be made available publicly, enabling community testers to perform all actions, verify transactions, and understand the bond trading lifecycle

Evidence of Completion

• Link to the working prototype that allows user to view active orders and execute trades
• User guide will be added to Github and be shared publicly.

Delivery Month

3

Cost

30000

Progress

30 %

Milestone Title

Launch testnet program

Milestone Outputs

• A detailed testnet program will be announced and shared with the Cardano community through blog posts, Twitter updates, and community channels. The program will explain how to participate, what features to test, and how to provide feedback.
• A comprehensive testnet report will be produced at the end of the program. This report will include quantitative data (number of participants, number of transactions executed, total bond orders created/traded) and qualitative insights (bugs identified, improvements suggested, and user experience feedback).

Acceptance Criteria

• The testnet program must demonstrate community participation, evidenced by a measurable number of users joining, transactions completed, and feedback or bugs reported.
• Results should include verifiable on-chain data such as transaction IDs and detailed summaries of user feedback.
• Evidence must show that the program successfully tested usability, functionality, and system stability with real community involvement.

Evidence of Completion

• Link to the testnet
• Public announcement of the testnet
• List of testnet transactions
• Link to the feedbacks/ bugs reported

Delivery Month

1

Cost

10000

Progress

10 %

Milestone Title

Final Project Completion Report and Video

Milestone Outputs

In this phase, we compile all project-related information, summarize the journey, and create a comprehensive completion report. Additionally, we produce a video presentation to showcase the platform’s features, impact, and lessons learned.

• A visually engaging video highlighting the platform’s functionality.
• Demonstrates key features, user interactions, and the value it brings to the Cardano community.

Acceptance Criteria

• The final close-out video must be professional, clear, and engaging, showcasing the platform’s features, trading functionality, and impact on Cardano DeFi.
• The project completion report must summarize progress against all milestones, highlight lessons learned, and provide transparent evaluation metrics.
• Together, they should communicate the platform’s value and readiness for mainnet to both Catalyst voters and the wider Cardano community.

Evidence of Completion

Link to the close out in github and will be shared publicly

Link to the close out video posted in Youtube and shared publicly

Delivery Month

1

Cost

12000

Progress

20 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

1. Product Research & Design: 10,000 ADA

• Product & Market Research: 6,000 ADA

• User Interface and Experience Design: 4,000 ADA

1. Project management: 8,000 ADA

2. Development of Core Features: 69,000 ADA

• Backend Development (Blockchain integration, database setup): 16,000 ADA

• Frontend Development (User interface implementation): 18,000 ADA

• Smart Contract Development (Smart contracts for Bond issue, Price matching, Bond Redeem): 25,000 ADA

• Quality Assurance: 10,000 ADA

1. Launch Test net: 5,000 ADA

• Marketing & reward: 5,000 ADA

Total budget: 92,000 ADA

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

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

For fraction of cost compare to many proposals from previous Catalyst funds asking for millions, we can potentially unlock Trillions of USD Treasury market on Cardano. That will come in future when Cardano has decentralised Oracle or regulatory clarity of Treasury trading onchain.

For this first phase, we will focus on onChain bond first and encourage small corporate Real World bond issuers to go onChain.

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

Terms and Conditions:

Yes