CardanoScale: SPO-Powered RPC Gateway for Cardano

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

CardanoScale: SPO-Powered RPC Gateway for Cardano

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

185000

[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?

Cardano lacks a standardised, SPO-aligned RPC gateway. Teams must cut bespoke deals with individual SPOs or run their own nodes, with pricing driven more by marketing than measurable QoS.

[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation

Supporting links

• https://lavanet.xyz
,
• https://www.lavanet.xyz/lava-rpc-api-gateway
,
• https://github.com/lavanet/lava
,
• https://x.com/WizardCardano

[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies

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

Yes

Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'

CardanoScale has several key, but manageable, dependencies that are tightly aligned with the Cardano ecosystem. First and foremost, it relies on Stake Pool Operators (SPOs). The gateway is explicitly designed to use SPO-run RPC infrastructure as its primary upstream provider set, with a particular focus on SPOs participating in the companion Cardano API / RPC Pool proposal. As more high-quality SPOs join, the value of the gateway increases, and rewards can be more clearly aligned with measured service quality rather than sales or branding. On the infrastructure side, CardanoScale depends on Lava Network’s open protocol and routing stack to coordinate multiple providers, run health checks, manage failover and avoid single points of failure. This is the same stack already used to support production-grade RPC/API traffic for cross-ecosystem projects such as Hypernative, Mintscan, Tres, SweatEconomy, HOT Wallet and institutional clients like Fireblocks, providing a strong foundation for reliability and scale. The Wizard team is a key supporting partner. Wizard is a global orderbook and liquidity project built by long-time Cardano contributors working closely with TXPipe Labs. The team has already designed a high-performance DEX/orderbook indexer that unifies peer-to-peer trades, DEX events and aggregator routing into a single canonical event model. This makes Wizard a particularly valuable gateway partner: they deeply understand Cardano infrastructure, can both consume and provide reliable RPC optimised for real trading workloads, and will strengthen Lava’s network with one of the most data-intensive use cases on Cardano. CardanoScale also depends on the Cardano testnet and mainnet themselves, which are essential for deploying and validating the gateway, stress-testing routing and SLAs, and ensuring that traffic and billing are accurately measured. In addition, the project will engage with the Cardano Foundation and the broader builder ecosystem for technical advice on Cardano-specific infrastructure, alignment with network-wide best practices, and to ensure CardanoScale complements rather than duplicates existing initiatives. Taken together, these dependencies are positive for the ecosystem. The design deliberately reduces reliance on any single SPO or vendor and instead channels demand across multiple Cardano operators, with quality and rewards tied to actual service performance rather than marketing muscle.

[Proposal Summary] Project Open Source

Will your project's outputs be fully open source?

No

Please provide details on the intellectual property (IP) status of your project outputs, including whether they will be released as open source or retained under another licence.

CardanoScale combines open-source protocol components with some staged or closed-source gateway logic. Core Lava routing and coordination code plus docs and integration guides are openly licensed and publicly available. Wizard and certain operational modules (e.g. billing, dashboards) will be opened in phases, keeping security-sensitive parts closed until they are hardened.

[Theme Selection] Theme

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

Infrastructure

[Campaign Category] Category Questions

Describe what makes your idea innovative compared to what has been previously launched in the market (whether by you or others).

CardanoScale is not just another RPC endpoint; it is an SPO-powered RPC gateway that:

• Aggregates multiple SPO-run RPC providers behind a single subscription and dedicated endpoint for builders,

• Routes traffic between them based on measured QoS rather than brand recognition,

• Provides redundancy and optimisation by default, and

• Explicitly channels value back to the Cardano and SPO ecosystem.

Today, teams must either negotiate bespoke deals with individual SPOs or run their own nodes. There is no standardised, Cardano-aligned gateway that allows “one subscription to many providers” with transparent performance-based routing.

CardanoScale is also designed to work hand-in-hand with the companion proposal for Cardano API / RPC Pool:

• The pool funds and incentivises SPOs to provide high-quality API/RPC services.

• The gateway packages that supply into usable paid subscriptions, creating a full path from SPO to enterprise-grade consumer.

Lava’s protocol stack already powers production RPC/API for multi-chain projects such as Hypernative, Mintscan, Tres, SweatEconomy and HOT Wallet, and institutional clients like Fireblocks. CardanoScale brings that robustness into Cardano, while structurally centring SPOs as the primary providers, not sidelining them.

This combination – SPO-centred supply, a protocol-driven multi-provider backend and a Cardano-native gateway interface shaped by partners like Wizard – is new within the Cardano ecosystem.

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

The MVP will demonstrate a live CardanoScale portal supported by Wizzard, integrated with Lava Network’s backend and ready to tap into the SPO-powered Cardano API/RPC pool as that network comes online.

In practical terms, the MVP will show:

• A Cardano-branded web interface where teams can see available RPC subscription options (off-the-shelf tiers and bespoke paths), submit their requirements and start onboarding.

• A working integration between the CardanoScale front end and Lava Network’s infrastructure, so that test customers can be provisioned, Cardano RPC endpoints can be issued, and real traffic from pilot projects can be routed and monitored.

• Initial tests of multi-provider routing: CardanoScale will be able to route requests through multiple upstream providers, and, where the SPO pool is available, use SPO-operated nodes as part of that provider set to demonstrate SPoF avoidance in practice.

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

We will measure success across adoption, quality and ecosystem value:

• Adoption by Cardano teams

  • Number of dapps, wallets and enterprises that onboard to CardanoScale as pilot or paying users.
  • Growth in Cardano RPC traffic (requests per month) handled through the gateway, measured via Lava’s infrastructure metrics.

• Quality and resilience

  • Uptime and latency for gateway-issued endpoints relative to SLAs.
  • Demonstrated cases where failover between providers occurs automatically when a provider is unhealthy, reducing the risk of outages due to a single SPO failure.

• SPO ecosystem integration

  • Number of SPOs participating as gateway providers (with preference for those also active in the companion API / RPC Pool).
  • Share of gateway traffic served by SPO-run nodes, as opposed to any non-SPO backup providers, demonstrating that value is flowing back to Cardano’s operator community.

• Value back to Cardano builders

  • Number of teams receiving subsidised subscriptions during the early rollout period.
  • Qualitative feedback from those teams about how the gateway changed their infra and cost profile.

Where possible, we will publish aggregated metrics and case studies – for example charts of traffic growth, SPO participation and uptime – so the Cardano community can see how the gateway is performing and how value flows back to operators and builders.

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

CardanoScale is an SPO-powered RPC gateway for Cardano that addresses today’s fragmented, marketing-driven RPC landscape by:

• Giving dapps and enterprises a single place to get reliable Cardano RPC subscriptions, and
• Structurally aligning fees and rewards with measured quality of service rather than sales ability.

Core elements:

1. One subscription, one endpoint, many SPOs behind it

• Teams integrate once, with one endpoint and one commercial touchpoint.
• Behind the scenes, the gateway routes traffic across multiple SPO-run RPC providers.

2. Routing based on QoS, not marketing

• Providers are selected and weighted based on uptime, latency and correctness.
• An SPO that delivers excellent service can receive more traffic and rewards, even if they do little marketing.

3. Redundancy and single-point-of-failure (SPoF) avoidance

• If one provider degrades or fails, traffic is automatically shifted to others.
• This reduces the need for each dapp to build its own complex failover logic.

4. Tight link to the Cardano API / RPC Pool

• The companion pool proposal incentivises SPOs to provide high-quality RPC.
• The gateway creates paid demand for that capacity, so more mature teams can step up from public RPC to subscription services without leaving the SPO ecosystem.

5. Support from Wizard and Lava

• Wizard brings deep Cardano context and one of the most data-intensive workloads (global orderbook and DEX indexing).
• Lava brings a production-tested multi-provider RPC protocol already trusted by projects across multiple ecosystems.

In short, CardanoScale turns the current patchwork of ad hoc SPO deals into a coherent, SPO-aligned, quality-driven gateway that serves both builders and operators.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

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

For Cardano builders (dapps, wallets, enterprises)

• A clear, Cardano-aligned answer to the question: “Who can help us with RPC as we scale?”
• Access to multi-provider, SPO-backed RPC through a single integration, reducing downtime risk and internal infra overhead.
• Early teams can benefit from subsidised subscriptions, lowering infra costs for serious Cardano projects during the initial phase.

For SPOs and infra providers

• A concrete way to monetise high-quality service, not just block production or marketing ability.
• Direct value flow from gateway traffic and subscriptions into SPO rewards (55% of the budget is dedicated to SPO-side value).
• For those in the companion API / RPC Pool, an additional demand-side channel that can be layered on top of existing incentives.

For Cardano’s infrastructure story

• A stronger narrative: Cardano’s RPC is backed by SPOs + open protocol, not just a single vendor.
• A visible example of how Cardano can connect institutional-grade infra (Lava Network) with community-run operators (SPOs) in a way that keeps value inside the ecosystem.

For Catalyst and long-term sustainability

• A reusable model: fund the SPO pool to bring supply online, fund the gateway to turn that supply into a service for serious builders.
• The learnings (SLAs, typical usage, pricing feedback, SPO performance data) can inform future infra and ecosystem proposals.

[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?

Lava Network’s infrastructure track record

• Lava Neawork lready powers RPC/API for multiple ecosystems and is used by projects including Hypernative, Mintscan, Tres, SweatEconomy, HOT Wallet and institutional clients such as Fireblocks.
• This demonstrates that the underlying routing and infra stack behind CardanoScale can operate in high-volume, production environments.

Wizard’s Cardano-native experience

• Wizard is built by long-time Cardano contributors who work closely with TXPipe Labs, and are already shipping a global orderbook / liquidity layer on Cardano.
• The team has architected a high-performance DEX/orderbook indexer that unifies peer-to-peer trades, DEX events and aggregator routing into a single canonical event model.
• This gives Wizard deep, hands-on experience with one of the most data-intensive, latency-sensitive workloads on Cardano. As a result, they are well placed both to consume CardanoScale (as a demanding user) and to provide reliable RPC infrastructure optimised for real trading and liquidity workloads, making them a particularly strong design and infra partner for the gateway.

Joint delivery model

• Lava leads on:
  • Protocol integration, routing, monitoring and SLAs.
  • Exposing Cardano RPC through the gateway in a robust, multi-provider way.
• Wizard and other Cardano collaborators support by:
  • Providing requirements from real Cardano workflows (trading, liquidity, etc.).
  • Acting as early gateway users and helping refine product-market fit within Cardano.

Feasibility and validation

• Feasibility is validated by delivering a live MVP gateway, onboarding pilot projects, and tracking real usage and incidents.
• The project will track:
  • Onboarding friction,
  • Incident frequency and severity,
  • SPO participation and performance, and
  • Customer satisfaction from Cardano teams.

The combination of proven infra (Lava), Cardano-native partners (Wizard) and SPOs already skilled in running core infrastructure gives strong confidence that CardanoScale is both deliverable and useful.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Design, Architecture & Partnerships for CardanoScale

Milestone Outputs

1. A jointly agreed design for CardanoScale, covering routing architecture, SPO integration, billing and rewards flows, and the relationship with the companion Cardano API / RPC Pool.
2. Confirmed collaboration with Wizard and an initial cohort of interested SPOs and pilot dapps.
3. A delivery roadmap for MVP, pilot and broader rollout, including how subsidised subscriptions will be applied to early adopters.

Acceptance Criteria

• Public or signed partnership acknowledgements (Lava + Wizard), a written architecture document, and a list of SPOs and Cardano projects expressing intent to participate in the pilot.
• Clear description of how SPO rewards and subsidised subscriptions will be implemented without double-counting against the API Pool proposal, and how value flows back to Cardano and the SPO ecosystem.

Evidence of Completion

• Links to non-confidential architecture documents, redacted partnership summaries, and a short report summarising SPO and pilot project interest.
• This milestone should demonstrate that the project is organised, realistic and aligned with key ecosystem stakeholders, including Wizard, selected SPOs and the relevant Cardano infrastructure teams.

Delivery Month

1

Cost

30000

Progress

10 %

Milestone Title

MVP Gateway on Cardano Testnet

Milestone Outputs

1. A working MVP of CardanoScale running on Cardano testnet, with a basic web interface, integration with Lava’s routing stack and at least 2–3 SPOs serving as upstream providers.
2. Initial pilot projects (including Wizard where appropriate) can obtain testnet endpoints and send real requests. Basic health checks, metrics and failover behaviour are implemented and observed under realistic testnet load.

Acceptance Criteria

• Testnet endpoint(s) demonstrably route traffic through multiple SPO providers. At least one real Cardano project is sending meaningful testnet traffic via the gateway.
• Logs and dashboards show provider performance, request counts and at least one successful failover scenario where traffic is shifted away from an unhealthy provider to healthy ones, validating the SPoF-avoidance design.

Evidence of Completion

• Screenshots, a short video walkthrough and anonymised logs showing multi-provider routing on testnet.
• A brief pilot report from one or more early users describing their experience integrating with the gateway, including feedback on latency, reliability and ease of use.
• Any issues discovered and fixes applied will be documented to inform the mainnet launch.

Delivery Month

2

Cost

40000

Progress

10 %

Milestone Title

Mainnet Launch & Early Subscribers

Milestone Outputs

1. CardanoScale is promoted from testnet-only to a limited production launch on mainnet, with a small set of early subscribers (some subsidised) sending sustained traffic.
2. Mainnet SPOs receive rewards from the SPO budget based on QoS metrics. Subsidised subscriptions are in place for selected Cardano teams, reducing their initial RPC cost and helping them transition from ad hoc infrastructure to the gateway.

Acceptance Criteria

• At least 3–5 Cardano projects active on mainnet via the gateway.
• SLA-level monitoring is in place and shows acceptable uptime and latency. SPO rewards are being calculated and distributed according to defined QoS metrics, with SPOs able to verify that rewards match their performance.
• The subsidised subscription mechanism is functioning for early adopters, with at least one documented case study showing how it supported a team’s growth.

Evidence of Completion

• Aggregated usage statistics (traffic, uptime, latency) for mainnet, plus anonymised examples of SPO reward distribution for this phase.
• A short write-up on how subsidised subscriptions were allocated, which types of projects were prioritised and early feedback from teams that benefited, including Wizard if applicable.
• Any adjustments planned for the next phase based on this data will also be documented.

Delivery Month

3

Cost

60000

Progress

60 %

Milestone Title

Scale-Up, Outreach & Optimisation

Milestone Outputs

1. An expanded set of SPOs and Cardano projects using the gateway.
2. Outreach activities (AMAs, joint spaces, documentation, tutorials) help more teams understand how to onboard and how value flows back to SPOs.
3. Routing policies and QoS metrics are refined based on real-world data. Further subsidised subscriptions are issued strategically to promising Cardano projects whose infra needs align with the gateway and contribute to meaningful on-chain activity.

Acceptance Criteria

• Evidence of growth in both the number of participating SPOs and the number of subscribing projects.
• At least 2–3 ecosystem-facing outreach activities delivered and visible in public channels.
• Clear improvements in routing policies or QoS metrics definitions based on observed performance and SPO feedback.
• SPO earnings and gateway adoption are perceived as fair and transparent by participants, evidenced through qualitative feedback and participation retention.

Evidence of Completion

• Updated metrics (usage, SPO count, subscriber count), links to outreach materials (blog posts, recordings, X/Discord announcements) and a short optimisation report summarising changes made based on data and feedback from SPOs and builders.
• The report should show how the gateway evolved over time and how decisions were taken to maximise value for Cardano and the SPO ecosystem.

Delivery Month

6

Cost

55000

Progress

90 %

Milestone Title

Close-Out Report, Metrics & Community Video

Milestone Outputs

1. A public written report summarising results: SPO rewards, subscriber adoption, impact on infrastructure resilience and lessons learned linking the gateway and the SPO ecosystem.
2. A short, accessible video explaining what CardanoScale is, how it uses SPOs, how value flows back to Cardano and how teams can engage.
3. A final community update inviting ongoing feedback and collaboration beyond the grant period.

Acceptance Criteria

• The written report and video are publicly available and easy to find.
• They clearly explain what Catalyst funded, what was delivered, how SPOs and builders benefited and how the gateway can continue operating or evolving.
• The broader Cardano community can see how the 185,000 ADA was used, how much reached SPOs and builders, and what the proposed next steps are, if any.

Evidence of Completion

• URLs to the report and video, plus links or screenshots of the final community update (forum, Discord, X, etc.).
• Together, these provide a clear record of impact and a baseline for any follow-on proposals or community-driven extensions.
• This milestone has no extra cost, as the work is covered within earlier allocations.

Delivery Month

9

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

The total budget requested is 185,000 ADA, allocated as follows:

1. SPO Rewards – 101,750 ADA (55%)

101,750 ADA (55%) is allocated to Stake Pool Operator (SPO) rewards for providing dedicated Cardano RPC/API capacity that backs the gateway’s paid subscriptions.

These funds are directed straight back into the Cardano operator ecosystem as transparent, performance-linked payments.

• The SPO budget will be used to:
  • Reward SPOs who meet agreed quality-of-service targets (uptime, latency, correctness) for gateway traffic.
  • Encourage SPOs from the companion Cardano API / RPC Pool proposal to participate, so that expertise and infrastructure can be reused across both public and paid endpoints.
  • Ensure that as the gateway scales, a meaningful share of revenue and funding flows back to the operator community, not just to a single vendor.

Even if the companion API Pool proposal is not funded, this allocation remains fully usable: CardanoScale will still recruit a set of qualified SPOs and pay them from this budget for providing the RPC capacity behind the gateway. If both proposals are funded, we will coordinate to avoid duplication and maximise value to SPOs.

2. Gateway Runner – 83,250 ADA (45%)

83,250 ADA (45%) is allocated to the gateway runner (Lava, with support from Wizard and SPO operators) and is broken down as:

• 37,000 ADA (20%) – Subsidised subscriptions for Cardano teams

  • Used to subsidise early RPC subscriptions for Cardano dapps and enterprises, lowering the cost of onboarding to the gateway in the first months. This effectively reallocates part of the grant directly to builders in the form of discounted or partially covered RPC plans, helping serious teams adopt CardanoScale without prohibitive upfront cost.

• 27,750 ADA (15%) – Gateway setup & operations

  • Covers design, engineering and operational work to build and run the gateway: integrating Cardano into the routing stack, setting up monitoring, billing hooks, dashboards, security and internal tooling. Includes the effort to integrate SPO-run RPC nodes as first-class upstream providers and to align configuration with Cardano best practices.

• 18,500 ADA (10%) – Partnership & ecosystem marketing

  • Funds collaboration with the Wizard team and other Cardano contributors, joint ecosystem outreach, documentation, developer support and coordination with Cardano Foundation and builder communities. The focus is not generic advertising, but targeted communication so Cardano projects understand how to use the gateway and how the model benefits SPOs.

3. Alignment with milestones

These amounts are distributed across the milestones as follows:

• Milestone 1 – Design, Architecture & Partnerships: 30,000 ADA
• Milestone 2 – MVP Gateway on Testnet: 40,000 ADA
• Milestone 3 – Mainnet Launch & Early Subscribers: 60,000 ADA
• Milestone 4 – Scale-Up, Outreach & Optimisation: 55,000 ADA
• Milestone 5 – Close-Out, Reporting & Community Video: 0 ADA

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

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

Overall, this structure ensures that:

• 55% of the budget flows directly to SPOs as infrastructure rewards.
• 20% is used to reduce the cost of RPC for Cardano dapps and enterprises via subsidised subscriptions.
• Only 25% of the budget is retained for core setup, operations, partnership work and ecosystem outreach.

In practice, this means the majority of the funds either:

• go directly to Cardano infrastructure operators (SPOs), or
• are used to lower costs for Cardano builders integrating with the gateway.

No part of this budget is used for speculation, token purchases or generic giveaways. The focus is on establishing a sustainable, SPO-powered RPC gateway that keeps value and decision-making inside the Cardano ecosystem.

[Self-Assessment] Self-Assessment Checklist

I confirm that evidence of prior research, whitepaper, design, or proof-of-concept is provided.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal includes ecosystem research and uses the findings to either (a) justify its uniqueness over existing solutions or (b) demonstrate the value of its novel approach.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal demonstrates technical capability via verifiable in-house talent or a confirmed development partner (GitHub, LinkedIn, portfolio, etc.)

Yes

I confirm that the proposer and all team members are in good standing with prior Catalyst projects.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal clearly defines the problem and the value of the on-chain utility.

Yes

I confirm that the primary goal of the proposal is a working prototype deployed on at least a Cardano testnet.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal outlines a credible and clear technical plan and architecture.

Yes

I confirm that the budget and timeline (≤ 12 months) are realistic for the proposed work.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal includes a community engagement and feedback plan to amplify prototype adoption with the Cardano ecosystem.

Yes

I confirm that the budget is for future development only; excludes retroactive funding, incentives, giveaways, re-granting, or sub-treasuries.

Yes

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

I Agree

Yes