NuNet: Decentralized SPO Computing - Scaling&Expansion

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

NuNet: Decentralized SPO Computing - Scaling&Expansion

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

200000

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

6

[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?

How to boost Cardano's decentralization and resilience? NuNet’s decentralized compute layer, proven with SPO deployments, needs broader adoption and stronger ops tooling and security.

[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation

Supporting links

• https://nunet.io/
,
• https://gitlab.com/nunet/device-management-service
,
• https://gitlab.com/nunet/cardano
,
• https://medium.com/nunet/how-nunet-will-help-cardano-stay-decentralized-5cd8ff36cd36
,
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/continuing-cardano-stake-pool-use-case-building-dms-v050-oliuf

[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies

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

Yes

Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'

Cardano SPOs are the primary beneficiaries of this project. They will gain access to a decentralized pool of compute resources on which they can host their nodes. To help SPOs get started, an onboarding process will collect interest, feedback, and requests for tooling improvements. After onboarding, SPOs will be provided with a private network of nodes through the NuActor system, allowing them to run their nodes within a secure and dedicated environment. Each SPO is an individual entity and some might join but drop out during the process due to a multitude of reasons (private, death, re-location etc.). NuNet will ensure consistency by having a solid backlog of SPOs interested in joining the pilot.

[Proposal Summary] Project Open Source

Will your project's outputs be fully open source?

Yes

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.

Most components (projects) under https://gitlab.com/nunet are licensed with Apache 2.0 including the main platform Device Management Service at https://gitlab.com/nunet/device-management-service

[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).

The innovation of this proposal lies in redefining how Cardano SPOs access and operate compute infrastructure by shifting from traditional centralized cloud hosting to a decentralized, flexible, and cost-optimized environment built on NuNet.

Currently, most Cardano SPOs rely on large cloud providers to host their nodes. This dependency limits opportunities to reduce costs, restricts customization, and reinforces centralized points of failure within the broader Cardano ecosystem. While these solutions are functional, they do not allow SPOs to fully benefit from the principles of decentralization that Cardano promotes.

NuNet has already demonstrated early progress toward solving this challenge through the previous Catalyst-funded “NuNet: Decentralized SPO Computing” project (ID:700189). That initiative enabled the deployment of Cardano nodes on NuNet’s decentralized computing network and provided a proof of concept for running multiple nodes, configuring stake pools, and enabling remote management over a peer-to-peer network. These features represent an important foundation, but the existing implementation needs further optimization for real-world SPO adoption.

Our proposed project advances beyond what is currently available from NuNet by focusing on practical usability, economic efficiency, and adoption pathways tailored to SPO workflows. The innovation can be demonstrated from different areas such as:

• Cost-optimized, decentralized provisioning for SPOs
• Unlike standard cloud instances, NuNet’s network dynamically allocates compute resources from a globally distributed pool. The pool will be sourced from strategic partnership with small data centers and independent providers. This enables new pricing models and cost-efficient deployments that are not achievable within traditional cloud structures. The project will introduce provisioning strategies that make decentralized hosting not only viable but economically attractive for SPOs.
• Tooling and integrations built specifically for the SPO ecosystem
• The current support for the deployment of Cardano Stake Pools goes as far as launching a relay and block producer nodes in different configurations but does not offer SPO-focused and friendly tooling such as CNTools, monitoring integrations, back up and practices already used in the Cardano SPO community. This project will close that gap by adding tooling that aligns with the real needs and habits of SPOs, reducing friction and lowering switching efforts.
• A structured pathway for transitioning SPOs from centralized hosting to decentralized infrastructure
• Currently, no solution on the market provides a clear, supported onboarding process for SPOs to migrate their infrastructure to a decentralized environment. This proposal introduces an adoption-driven approach: onboarding, collecting operational feedback, refining tools, and delivering dedicated private networks of distributed nodes through the NuActor system. This creates an transition pathway that does not exist today.
• Strengthening decentralization and network resilience
• While centralized cloud hosting remains the default approach, it creates systemic risk and concentration of control. By enabling SPOs to operate on a decentralized compute network, this proposal introduces a novel infrastructure model that enhances the resilience of Cardano’s network and aligns more closely with its technical and philosophical foundations.
• In summary, this project goes beyond previous work by transforming an early decentralized deployment capability into a fully usable, cost-effective, and SPO-friendly hosting alternative. No existing market solution combines decentralized compute, SPO-targeted tooling, cost optimization, and a guided adoption process. This integrated approach enables a genuine pathway for SPOs to operate more independently, securely, and economically within the Cardano ecosystem.

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

The entire NuNet platform, which primarily consists of the Device Management Service (DMS) and the NuNet Appliance, is fully open source and publicly accessible at gitlab.com/nunet. The DMS repository can be found at gitlab.com/nunet/device-management-service, and the Appliance repository is available at gitlab.com/nunet/appliance. For this project, all development work and enhancements will be conducted within these two repositories.

In addition, there is a dedicated Cardano Node deployment example repository, which includes detailed documentation on deploying Cardano Nodes to operate a Stake Pool, along with example configurations. This repository is available at gitlab.com/nunet/cardano and serves as a practical guide for SPOs to set up and manage their nodes on the NuNet decentralized network.

Beyond these repositories, the full NuNet decentralized compute network is freely accessible to anyone. Individuals or organizations can create their own compute pools, deploy workloads, and utilize the platform’s tools without requiring any prior permissions or intervention from NuNet. This demonstrates the open, permissionless nature of the platform and highlights its potential for widespread adoption and experimentation.

To ensure practical adoption and gather meaningful feedback, we will actively engage our existing SPO community. This community will serve as the initial group to test and provide input on the platform, forming a critical feedback loop for iterative improvements. During the first rounds of SPO onboarding, we will conduct structured community calls, interactive tutorials, and hands-on guidance to help participants deploy and operate their Cardano Nodes on NuNet. These sessions will also allow us to identify pain points, usability challenges, and potential enhancements in real-world settings.

Following the initial onboarding, our focus will shift to improving automation and simplifying the process of joining the network. This includes enabling SPOs to easily obtain delegations, create deployments, and manage their compute resources without deep technical expertise. To support this, we will introduce a user-friendly web interface where interested SPOs can sign up, access guided onboarding workflows, monitor their deployments, and receive real-time notifications about network activity. This interface will complement the existing command-line and developer-centric tools, bridging the gap between technical and non-technical operators and expanding the platform’s accessibility.

In summary, NuNet and all associated resources will be fully accessible to the public. The Device Management Service, NuNet Appliance, and Cardano Node deployment examples are all open source and hosted on GitLab at gitlab.com/nunet. Beyond the repositories, the NuNet decentralized compute network itself is live and publicly accessible, allowing anyone to join, create compute pools, deploy workloads, and interact with the platform without requiring permissions from NuNet. Additionally, SPOs and other participants can access guided onboarding, tutorials, and monitoring tools through the planned web interface, providing both an interactive and practical demonstration of the platform’s capabilities in real-world conditions.

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

Realistic measures of success for this initiative will focus on adoption, operational efficiency, decentralization, and community engagement. We will track both off-chain and on-chain metrics to provide a comprehensive view of impact and performance.

Adoption Metrics:

• Number of SPOs onboarded: Success can be measured by the number of SPOs actively deploying their Cardano Nodes on NuNet. Initially, our goal is to onboard at least 10–20 SPOs during the pilot phase, scaling to 30–40 within the first year.
• Compute pool utilization: The percentage of available compute resources actively used for SPO deployments will indicate platform adoption and engagement.

Operational Efficiency Metrics:

• Deployment success rate: Tracking the ratio of successful node deployments versus attempted deployments will indicate how effectively the tools, documentation, and onboarding processes support SPOs.
• Average time to deploy: Measuring the time from signup to fully operational node deployment will provide insight into usability improvements and the effectiveness of automation.

On-Chain Metrics:

• Number of active stake pools on NuNet-hosted nodes: The number of stake pools running on NuNet infrastructure will directly reflect the platform’s contribution to Cardano’s decentralization.
• Delegated stake to NuNet-hosted pools: Monitoring the amount of ADA delegated to SPOs using NuNet-hosted nodes provides a tangible measure of trust, adoption, and real-world network impact.
• Transaction throughput and uptime of NuNet-hosted pools: Comparing block production, transaction inclusion, and uptime against Cardano network benchmarks can validate the reliability and performance of decentralized hosting.

Decentralization & Resilience Metrics:

• Diversity of hosting providers: Tracking the number of independent data centers and compute providers contributing resources will demonstrate increased decentralization and reduced dependence on centralized cloud providers.
• Geographic distribution: Monitoring the locations of participating compute providers can highlight the resilience and censorship-resistance of the infrastructure.

Community Engagement Metrics:

• Feedback from participation: The number of SPOs contributing suggestions, reporting issues, and engaging in tutorials or community calls will serve as a qualitative measure of platform adoption and user satisfaction.
• By combining these measures, we will have a clear and actionable picture of success, demonstrating that NuNet is enabling SPOs to deploy nodes in a cost-effective, secure, and decentralized manner while contributing meaningfully to Cardano’s broader network health and decentralization goals.

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

Summary:

The proposed initiative aims to expand the Decentralized Stake Pool Deployment project and ensure the NuNet platform's usability and resilience in the blockchain ecosystem. To achieve this, we will invest in the development of tools to enhance operational efficiency of SPOs that allow easy adoption of the NuNet decentralized platform. Additionally, strategic partnerships with data centers and SPOs will be utilized to optimize resource allocation and reduce infrastructure costs for early adopters. Another critical aspect of this proposal is to enhance the security of the platform and deployments in a decentralized infrastructure. This involves implementing measures to safeguard deployments and associated sensitive assets against potential vulnerabilities to increase the trustworthiness of the platform and decentralized systems in general.

NuNet’s growth relies on strategic partnerships and infrastructure expansion. We’re proposing to build a scalable ecosystem for SPOs through:

Strategic Compute Provider Partnerships: Offering secure and flexible decentralized hosting options.

SPO Onboarding Program: Currently NuNet is running a pilot program to get SPOs to deploy their Stake Pools on NuNet's network and further work is needed to expand community support and onboard more SPOs to join the program.

NuNet Platform Enhancements: Continuous scalability, performance, and security improvements.

Better Usability: Intuitive and friendly UI is necessary to expand usage. Currently the NuNet platform requires some amount of technical expertise which can be a barrier to entry. Additionally a comprehensive documentation and monitoring dashboards need to be available for better usability.

This multi-faceted approach, combining strategic partnerships with data centers, streamlined SPO onboarding, and continuous platform improvement, will drive rapid adoption and create a thriving, decentralized Cardano Node deployment platform.

This proposal focuses on strengthening Cardano by deploying and expanding the NuNet decentralized compute platform as a resilient foundation for SPO operations. By reducing reliance on centralized cloud providers, NuNet enables Cardano to evolve into a truly decentralized and censorship-resistant blockchain, with a globally distributed infrastructure that is both economically sustainable and technically robust.

The primary objective is to ensure the usefulness, accessibility, and resilience of the NuNet platform for SPOs and the broader Cardano ecosystem. To achieve this, we will invest in the development of new tools that enhance the operational efficiency of SPOs, enabling seamless adoption of decentralized infrastructure without compromising on performance or security. These tools will address pain points such as deployment complexity, cost management, monitoring, and usability, giving SPOs a straightforward pathway to run their stake pools on NuNet.

Strategic Partnerships & Cost Optimization

• One of the key benefits for Cardano is the opportunity to reduce SPO operating costs. Today, many SPOs are dependent on major cloud providers, which dominate the market with high and relatively inflexible pricing. This centralization creates risks of censorship, single points of failure, and cost-driven SPO attrition. NuNet changes this dynamic by building partnerships with small, reliable data centers and independent compute providers, introducing real competition into the infrastructure layer. Early adopters will benefit from lower and more predictable costs, while the network as a whole gains from greater decentralization and diversity of hosting environments.

Security & Trustworthiness

• Equally important is security. SPOs form the backbone of Cardano, and the infrastructure they run must be resilient against vulnerabilities and attacks. This proposal includes the design and implementation of enhanced security measures across the NuNet platform, protecting deployments and sensitive assets in decentralized environments. By doing so, we will not only increase trust in SPO deployments on NuNet, but also demonstrate how Cardano can serve as the foundation for secure, large-scale decentralized systems.

SPO Onboarding & Ecosystem Expansion

• NuNet is already running a pilot SPO program, with more than 20 SPOs interested in early deployments. The next step is to expand onboarding efforts and provide structured support to ensure that SPOs of all sizes can participate. By working directly with SPO operators, we will create clear onboarding pathways, provide technical assistance, and build community-driven feedback loops. This ensures that adoption grows steadily while continuously improving platform usability and resilience.

Platform Enhancements for Cardano

• For Cardano to fully benefit from NuNet, the platform itself must evolve. This proposal includes continuous improvements in scalability, performance, and usability. While the current platform requires a degree of technical expertise, we will invest in creating intuitive user interfaces, comprehensive documentation, and real-time monitoring dashboards. These enhancements will make NuNet accessible to a broader pool of SPOs, reducing barriers to entry and encouraging greater participation in decentralized node hosting.

Benefits for Cardano’s Future

• The benefits to Cardano are substantial:
• Greater decentralization and resilience by distributing SPO infrastructure across diverse compute providers.
• Reduced costs of operation for SPOs, strengthening small and independent operators and enhancing stake pool diversity.
• Enhanced censorship resistance and robustness by reducing reliance on centralized cloud platforms vulnerable to political or market pressures.
• Strengthened security and trustworthiness of SPO deployments, safeguarding Cardano’s critical infrastructure.
• Long-term economic alignment through the eventual use of NTX (a Cardano native token) for compute payments, embedding NuNet—one of Cardano’s largest open-source projects—into the financial fabric of the ecosystem.

This multi-faceted approach, combining strategic data center partnerships, streamlined SPO onboarding, continuous platform improvements, and user-focused enhancements, will accelerate adoption and establish NuNet as a thriving decentralized Cardano node deployment platform. By investing in this initiative, Catalyst ensures that Cardano remains not only one of the most decentralized blockchains but also one of the most resilient, cost-efficient, and future-ready infrastructures in the world.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

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

With this expansion work, NuNet will be able to onboard additional SPOs and compute providers to its platform and increase the decentralization of the Cardano ecosystem. Additionally, we anticipate a substantial increase in the accessibility and democratization of staking opportunities. Currently, there are technical and financial barriers associated with setting up a stake pool using data centers from big tech providers. NuNet's decentralized platform should enable a broader range of individuals and organizations to engage in the Cardano network's core ecosystem. This expanded participation will increase network security and resilience as more contributors validate transactions and participate in the maintenance of the integrity of the blockchain. Following on this, it should also result in greater competition amongst SPOs which result in increased performance and innovation within the Cardano network.

NuNet is currently running a pilot project where selected SPOs are deploying their relay and block producing nodes on decentralized hardware provided by NuNet. NuNet, for this purpose is providing subsidized compute resources from reliable small compute providers. NuNet is also in motion to expand the compute offering with a multitude of traditional and novel web3 compute providers.

The SPOs that have expressed written interest to join the pilot so far are:

HAMDA, BBHMM, TIPFS, ECP, PREEB, FLUID, PET♥, ADRIA, DOTAR, BETTR, TDSP, EMPL, PLKOZ, AFICA, 8BALL, PREEB, KTOP, SHA, ENVY, OTG, CARDS, SUDTI, ZAMBIA, SHAMROCK

The SPOs that have been onboarded, are already deployed and in the process of (or done) signing pilot contracts:

HAMDA, BBHMM, ENVY, KTOP, PORTO, CARDs, AFICA, FLUID

SPOs have an option to gain a new revenue model by participating as decentralized payment providers, managing liquidity, and securing settlement channels. This model aligns incentives for SPOs to contribute compute capacity, while also strengthening the reliability of Cardano infrastructure. Payment providers are incentivized with additional yields, creating a self-reinforcing loop of liquidity, adoption, and decentralization. The project thereby broadens economic participation across the Cardano ecosystem, engaging SPOs, developers, liquidity providers, and compute users in building a global Web3 compute marketplace.

Beyond these immediate benefits, NuNet's platform is strategically positioned to drive wider adoption of Cardano itself. The ease of deployment, support for decentralized payment and compute infrastructure will accelerate the growth of Cardano's ecosystem, attracting new developers, businesses and users.

[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?

Illustration of Capacity:

Our organization comes with a history of successfully bringing intricate technology projects to fruition. The pillars of our success lie in our deep-rooted technical understanding, stringent project management practices, and an unwavering focus on transparency and responsibility.

Our team is populated with seasoned software engineers with excellent skills who have built a solid foundation for the NuNet platform that supports the deployment of any containerized job across a decentralized pool of compute infrastructure. This platform now supports deploying Cardano Nodes and, we are currently running the pilot program for Cardano Stake Pool deployment in collaboration with several SPOs.

NuNet is committed to Open Source Software development from the inception. Therefore, all our development and progress is available for public scrutiny at all times as well as open collaboration with the community. We actively invite and work with the community in regards to contribution, usage, work and testing of the platform codebase.

Link: https://gitlab.com/nunet

NuNet licencing policy:

https://docs.nunet.io/nunet-licensing-policy/

Openness and Responsibility:

We have established a robust framework to ensure openness and responsibility in the execution of the project and the management of finances:

1. Elaborate Budgeting: We present an exhaustive budget layout at the start of the project that details the fund allocation across various tasks. This leaves no room for ambiguity regarding the utilization of funds.

2. Periodic Reporting: Regular updates regarding the project and financial statements will be shared, offering complete transparency into the progression of the project and the use of funds.

3. External Auditing: We are open to audits conducted by independent third parties at regular intervals. This ensures responsibility and openness in our financial management.

4. Escrow Mechanisms: To further reassure proper use of funds, we can utilize an escrow service. This arrangement ensures that the project funds are held by a third party and released according to pre-set milestones. This provides an extra layer of assurance for the funds.

5. Payment Based on Milestones: Our payment structure is built around specific, agreed-upon milestones. This ensures that funds are released as we achieve these milestones. The completion of each milestone can be verified, ensuring you pay only for verifiable progress.

These measures reflect our commitment to openness, responsibility, and proper management of funds. We believe that these factors, along with our technical capabilities, make us an ideal choice to successfully execute this project.

We understand that not all steps we have implemented are valid for the Catalyst proposal but it demonstrates the internal working procedures we have in place.

Catalyst Experience

NuNet also has received the funding for proposals in Fund7 and Fund8. Both proposals have been delivered. Overall, the funds were spent as intended on the development which can be monitored on Gitlab with daily commits since the award.

https://gitlab.com/groups/nunet/-/milestones/19#tab-issues

https://gitlab.com/groups/nunet/-/milestones/20#tab-issues

Financial Stability

As a 20+ strong team, we have independent funding to develop the core platform with a cash runway for at least 1-1.5 years. Cardano Catalyst proposals are used to extend the functionality and add features to the platform in order to enrich the possible use cases.

Risk analysis and mitigation:

Too few compute providers - If network doesn't contain enough compute providers available for running Cardano Nodes because of their substantial requirements for compute resources, a compensation structure will be implemented wherein the SPO pays a monthly rate of NTX to compute providers, similar to how they would pay for monthly access to cloud computing. Additionally, NuNet will provide a certain amount of its own hardware resources for the purpose of balancing the network and ensuring availability at all times.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Collect detailed SPO requirements and feedback

Milestone Outputs

Collect detailed SPO requirements and feedback to refine NuNet’s current stake pool deployment support. Identify tooling gaps, integration needs and improvements to documentation and workflow through direct engagement, structured interviews/surveys and guided walkthroughs of existing operational workflows.

Acceptance Criteria

A detailed requirements report following feedback from initial SPOs that details tooling gaps, workflow challenges and documentation issues. Data should be obtained from at least 5 SPOs and should inform the development team with a prioritized list of improvements and new features to work on.

Evidence of Completion

Public repository containing requirements document listing all collected SPO inputs, prioritized improvements, and mapped action items.

Delivery Month

1

Cost

50000

Progress

20 %

Milestone Title

Onboard Compute Providers and initial tester SPOs

Milestone Outputs

Onboard compute providers through establishing new and utilizing existing datacenter partnerships to increase compute capacity. Simultaneously, onboard an initial group of SPOs to conduct early testing, validate workflows and provide actionable deployment feedback. The tester SPOs will be deploying test nodes, try out familiar tools against current functionality, identify missing features and verify reliability and performance.

Acceptance Criteria

At least 5 SPOs for the testing pilot program and compute providers that are able to support 10 SPOs each with at least 2 instances for relay and block producer nodes onboarded. The pilot group of SPOs should be able to deploy mainnet cardano nodes after validating existing and newly developed tools with a testnet deployment first. A list of identified issues and fixes addressing those issues should be available on a public repository.

Evidence of Completion

Increase in available compute resources for SPOs and testing reports from SPOs. Development of a data center integration/controller module to more efficiently utilize onboarded compute resources. Bug reports and evidence of development for addressed issues.

Delivery Month

3

Cost

50000

Progress

40 %

Milestone Title

Develop improved deployment tooling and support better up time

Milestone Outputs

Development of better deployment tooling and automated failure-recovery mechanisms specifically tailored to Cardano Stake Pools. Deliver familiar interfaces, enhanced monitoring capabilities and reliability features to help SPOs maximize uptime and operational resilience.

Acceptance Criteria

New deployment tooling supports Cardano Stake Pool deployment with familiar tools and ease of transition for the SPOs. Development of recovery features, monitoring, improved health check for jobs and monitoring dashboards. These developments utilized and validated by pilot group SPOs.

Evidence of Completion

Test reports from more SPOs utilizing the platform, all disclosed on the NuNet public repository and social media.

Delivery Month

5

Cost

50000

Progress

80 %

Milestone Title

Documentation and Continual Support

Milestone Outputs

Expand deployment examples, improve technical documentation, create step-by-step tutorials and improve onboarding experience. Example configurations, documentation and tutorials will be available publicly to aid in attracting more SPOs. At the same time, an onboarding site that reduces the friction to obtaining delegations that allow utilizing available compute resources will be developed and made available for public use.

Acceptance Criteria

Support provided and continuing to be provided to newly joining Compute Providers and SPOs on a publicly accessible platform. The SPOs will receive a stable platform with sufficient documentation to be able to run on it independently. A complete documentation set is published, including step-by-step tutorials, onboarding guides and example configurations.

Evidence of Completion

A self-sustaining online SPO community supporting each other for running Cardano Nodes on NuNet's decentralized network. New users should be able to complete onboarding without direct assistance by using only the provided documentation.

Delivery Month

6

Cost

50000

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Milestone #1 Improve Platform Usability for SPOs

50,000 ADA / Resources & Skills Needed: Software engineers, QA testers, DevOps, test program design, feedback analysis, software development expertise

Milestone #2 Onboarding More Compute Providers

50,0000 ADA / Resources & Skills Needed:, compute resource cost and outreach

Milestone #3 Onboarding More SPOs

50,0000 ADA / Resources & Skills Needed: Community outreach, technical support, marketing, onboarding,

Milestone #4 Documentation and Community Creation

50,0000 ADA / Resources & Skills Needed: Technical write up and documentation, tutorial and guide creation, community management

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

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

This project delivers exceptional value to the Cardano ecosystem by addressing a critical infrastructure gap in decentralized identity and compute orchestration. There is a clear market need for decentralized computing platform to reduce reliance on big cloud providers. Particularly, for secure compute infrastructure that is coupled with the decentralization and freedom that comes with blockchain technologies. SPOs currently utilize compute from large cloud providers that have very little competition on prices.

This project delivers exceptional value to the Cardano ecosystem by addressing a critical infrastructure gap in decentralized compute and payment settlement, building on the success of Phase 1 of NuNet’s decentralized SPO computing initiative (Catalyst reference). The Cardano network’s decentralization and resilience ultimately depend on reducing reliance on a small number of centralized cloud providers, which today host a significant portion of stake pool nodes. These providers offer convenience but create risks of censorship, vendor lock-in, price manipulation, and systemic vulnerability.

By leveraging NuNet’s decentralized compute layer, this proposal enables SPOs to deploy their block-producing and relay nodes on distributed, community-powered infrastructure. This not only enhances decentralization—by diversifying compute sources—but also boosts robustness and censorship resistance, since SPO operations will no longer be concentrated within a handful of cloud giants. In times of political pressure, technical outages, or cost spikes, SPOs running on NuNet will be far less exposed, improving the overall resilience of the Cardano network.

From an economic perspective, NuNet’s decentralized platform introduces healthy competition to the infrastructure layer, driving down costs for SPOs who today face high and often unpredictable fees from centralized cloud providers. By enabling SPOs to pay per-use via Hydra-based microtransactions, the platform further optimizes operational expenses. This reduced cost of operation translates directly into increased stake pool profitability, better sustainability for small and medium SPOs, and ultimately a healthier level of decentralization across Cardano.

Importantly, this project also brings direct value to Cardano’s token economy. Over time, payments for compute resources will be denominated in NTX, a native Cardano token, thereby anchoring the world’s largest open-source decentralized compute project directly into the Cardano ecosystem. This ensures that as NuNet grows across DePIN, AI, robotics, IoT, and smart manufacturing markets, Cardano becomes the financial settlement layer for global-scale machine-to-machine economies.

By combining SPO adoption, Hydra-powered scalability, and tokenized settlement, this project positions Cardano at the forefront of the decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) movement. It not only strengthens Cardano’s decentralization, robustness, and censorship resistance but also showcases to the world that Cardano is the blockchain of choice for building resilient, open-source, real-world infrastructure. The requested funding delivers far more than a technical deployment—it creates long-term economic, operational, and reputational value for Cardano at the protocol, community, and ecosystem levels.

[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