Last updated 5 months ago
Most learners never touch Cardano. Education platforms don’t create wallets, on chain identity or credentials, so millions of study hours generate zero blockchain adoption.
Integrate Cardano into OLi’s live platform: automatic wallets, on chain identity, gamified rewards and verifiable credentials that turn global learners into active Cardano users.
Please provide your proposal title
OLi for Cardano: 100k+ On-Chain Wallets & Credentials
Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA
147000
Please specify how many months you expect your project to last
9
Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated
No
Original Language
en
What is the problem you want to solve?
Most learners never touch Cardano. Education platforms don’t create wallets, on chain identity or credentials, so millions of study hours generate zero blockchain adoption.
Supporting links
Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?
No
Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'
No Dependencies
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.
All Cardano facing components funded in this proposal will be open source. Smart contracts, on chain credential schemas, wallet orchestration and key integration libraries will be released on a public GitHub under a permissive licence (MIT/Apache 2.0) so the community can reuse, fork and extend them. OLi’s existing proprietary platform code and learning content will remain closed source.
Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal
Learn to Earn
Describe what makes your idea innovative compared to what has been previously launched in the market (whether by you or others).
Our idea is innovative because it turns a proven, mainstream EdTech product into a Cardano on ramp at scale, rather than trying to build a crypto product and then look for learners afterwards.
Most existing education platforms use Web2 accounts, centralised points and off chain badges. Web3 learn to earn tools often start from a “crypto first” mindset that expects users to already understand wallets, seed phrases and on chain actions. Credential projects tend to focus on higher education or professional certificates, not day to day learning for school students and emerging learners.
OLi already has a live education platform and the OLi AI Tutor, with tens of thousands of learners actively using it. What has not been done before is to deeply integrate Cardano into that existing behaviour so that every normal study session can create real on chain activity without extra friction.
There are four main innovations.
First, automatic Cardano wallets for every learner. Instead of asking users to install a browser extension, write down a seed phrase and connect a wallet, we will build a wallet orchestration layer that creates a Cardano wallet for each OLi account behind the scenes. Learners can use OLi exactly as they do today, but now their progress, rewards and credentials will be tied to a real Cardano address. When they are ready, they can take full control of the wallet and learn about self custody, but the initial experience feels like a familiar Web2 login. This is a different onboarding model to anything currently used in education on Cardano.
Second, AI verified learning events that trigger on chain rewards. The OLi AI Tutor already guides learners through content, checks understanding and gives feedback. In this project we will connect those learning milestones directly to Cardano smart contracts. When the AI Tutor confirms that a learner has completed a module or demonstrated mastery of a skill, the Cardano backend will issue rewards or achievements on chain. This links real learning outcomes, AI assessment and blockchain incentives in one system, instead of relying on manual teacher validation or simple “watch a video, click claim” tasks.
Third, a reusable on chain identity and credential layer for education. Rather than isolated NFTs or one off certificates, we will design open credential schemas and identity primitives that can follow a learner across time, courses and institutions. A student who starts in a high school course can later show those same Cardano credentials to a training provider or employer. The same identity can also be used by partner projects that integrate with OLi. This focuses Cardano’s role as a long term record for skills, not just a payment rail.
Fourth, open source building blocks that any Cardano or EdTech project can adopt. All Cardano facing components funded in this proposal will be released as open source: smart contracts for rewards and credentials, the wallet orchestration service, integration libraries and example flows that connect an AI tutor to on chain actions. Instead of building a closed system only OLi can use, we are deliberately creating a reference architecture and codebase that other schools, platforms and Cardano builders can plug into and extend. This lowers the barrier for the next wave of education projects that want to launch on Cardano.
The rationale for innovation is therefore twofold.
On the product side, we combine three elements that are normally separate: a live AI powered education platform, a frictionless Web2 style user experience, and deep Cardano integration that is invisible to beginners but fully on chain. Learners do not have to change their behaviour to “use crypto”; they simply keep learning, and Cardano is working in the background from day one.
On the ecosystem side, this project does not only serve Olympus Insights. It creates open infrastructure that can accelerate other Cardano use cases in education and beyond, demonstrates a clear route to 100k plus new wallets from an existing user base, and showcases a tangible example of why a proof of stake smart contract platform is valuable for real world learning, identity and credentials.
In short, the innovation is that we are not experimenting in isolation. We are wiring Cardano directly into a working, growing education platform and giving the community the tools to replicate that pattern anywhere learners are already spending their time.
Describe what your prototype or MVP will demonstrate, and where it can be accessed.
Our prototype will be a live, working integration of the OLi platform and OLi AI Tutor with Cardano, available through our existing web app at https://app.oli4education.io/ It will show that a mainstream education platform can create real Cardano usage without asking learners to become blockchain experts first.
Concretely, the MVP will demonstrate:
The MVP will be accessible in three ways:
Our rationale for this scope is to prove the whole journey from “I am just a student logging into an education site” to “I now have a Cardano wallet, on-chain identity, rewards and credentials” in a simple, repeatable way. By using the existing OLi platform and content, the prototype focuses the Catalyst funding on the Cardano integration itself rather than general product build. At the same time, releasing the contracts and integration libraries as open source turns this MVP into a shared asset for the wider ecosystem, not only a feature for Olympus Insights.
Describe realistic measures of success, ideally with on-chain metrics.
We will treat this project as successful only if it delivers visible, measurable Cardano activity at scale, not just a technical integration.
Today, OLi creates zero Cardano wallets. With this project we will automatically provision Cardano wallets for essentially all existing and new OLi learners, which is about to cross 100,000 users. Our minimum success criterion is:
• At least 100,000 unique learner accounts on OLi have an associated Cardano wallet created and mapped to their profile during the project period.
On chain usage from those wallets
• Learners performing on chain actions: at least 20 per cent of these wallets (20,000 learners) complete one or more Cardano enabled learning actions, such as receiving a reward or credential.
• Transactions generated by learning: at least 100,000 on chain transactions across testnet and mainnet linked to OLi contracts, including reward distributions and credential mints.
• Credentials: at least 20,000 verifiable Cardano based credentials or badges issued for course completions or skills milestones.
• Rewards: at least 50,000 reward transfers executed via smart contracts, showing repeated interaction over time rather than a single airdrop.
Platform behaviour linked to Cardano
• Number of learners completing at least one Cardano enabled course path inside OLi: minimum 30,000 learners over the project period.
• Clear evidence that learners are returning to Cardano enabled courses, measured through repeat completions and multiple rewards per wallet.
Open source and ecosystem impact
• All Cardano facing components funded in this proposal published in a public GitHub repository, including smart contracts, wallet orchestration services, credential schemas and integration libraries, with documentation and example flows.
• At least 3 external Cardano or EdTech teams actively testing, forking or integrating these components by the end of the project, evidenced by forks, issues, pull requests or public references.
• Public dashboards or explorer links that show live counts of wallets, transactions, rewards and credentials generated by OLi, so the community can independently verify impact.
These measures are realistic because they build on an existing learner base and an already active AI driven education platform. We are not relying on speculative user acquisition or crypto native behaviour. Instead, normal study sessions on OLi will automatically create Cardano wallets and trigger on chain actions in the background. If we reach these targets, Cardano will gain more than 100,000 new wallets, tens of thousands of active learner addresses and a large volume of genuine education driven transactions, alongside open source infrastructure that other projects can reuse to replicate the same pattern.
Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem
Our proposed solution is to turn the existing OLi education platform and OLi AI Tutor into a native Cardano application, where every meaningful learning event can create real, verifiable on chain activity. Instead of asking learners to first understand crypto, install a wallet and fund an address, we quietly integrate Cardano into the background of the experience they already use for study. The project delivers the missing on chain backbone for OLi and, importantly, produces open source components that any Cardano or EdTech team can reuse.
At a high level, the solution has four pillars:
These are tied together by a set of open source smart contracts, a wallet orchestration service and integration libraries that connect the OLi AI Tutor and learning platform to Cardano.
Automatic wallet creation at scale
Today, most education platforms run entirely off chain, and even crypto focused learning tools usually expect the user to turn up with a wallet already in hand. This is a major barrier for students, teachers and families who are interested in better financial literacy and digital skills, but do not yet feel confident with blockchain tooling.
Our solution is to build a Cardano wallet orchestration layer inside OLi that can automatically create, manage and link wallets for every learner account. When a student signs up to OLi or logs back in, the platform will check whether a Cardano wallet has already been created for them. If not, the orchestration service will generate a wallet, map it to their OLi profile and store the necessary keys in a secure, managed way.
From the learner’s point of view, nothing new is required. They simply log in with their normal credentials. Under the surface, they now have a real Cardano address where rewards and credentials can be sent. At a later stage, when they have completed foundational content about self custody and wallets, they can choose to take full control of their keys and move to a standard Cardano wallet interface. This staged approach lowers the barrier for newcomers while still leading them toward genuine decentralisation.
By applying this mechanism to our existing user base, which is about to pass 100,000 learners, we will instantly convert a large, global cohort of students into people with Cardano wallets capable of engaging with the ecosystem.
On chain learner identity
Once a learner has a wallet, the next step is to design an identity model that makes sense for education. This project will deliver an on chain identity layer that ties a learner’s Cardano address to their progress, achievements and credentials in a privacy respecting way.
Instead of a simple mapping from email to wallet, we will create a structured learner profile that records key learning events and high level attributes. Sensitive personal data will remain off chain inside OLi’s secure databases, but hashes, identifiers and credential references will be stored on Cardano. This approach lets an employer, training provider or partner project verify that a given wallet holds real achievements without exposing unnecessary personal detail.
The same identity model will support multiple contexts. A student might earn an introductory blockchain credential in a school program, later complete advanced finance modules as an adult, and eventually participate in work related training. All of those milestones can be linked to the same Cardano based identity. In solving our own need for durable learner records, we also demonstrate a blueprint for skills passports and life long learning on Cardano.
Gamified on chain rewards linked to real learning
Education is more engaging when progress is recognised and rewarded. However, most current systems use centralised points, leaderboards or badges that have no value or meaning outside a single platform.
We will design and deploy a set of Cardano smart contracts that issue rewards when the OLi AI Tutor verifies that a learner has completed a module or demonstrated understanding. These rewards might take the form of platform specific tokens, collectible items or status indicators. The key is that they are earned by passing quizzes, engaging with content and interacting with the AI Tutor, not by random clicking or airdrops.
The workflow will look like this:
This closes the loop between AI verified learning and blockchain incentives. It addresses the original problem by ensuring that “learn to earn” is not a marketing slogan but a real, auditable connection between effort and reward on Cardano.
Verifiable credentials for courses and skills
Short term rewards are powerful, but many learners also need credentials that universities, employers and other institutions can trust. Certificates stored as PDFs or centralised database entries are easy to lose or forge. Blockchain based credentials are more durable and verifiable, but they need to be integrated into real learning pathways if they are to gain adoption.
Within this project we will:
• Design open credential schemas suitable for school, vocational and general education contexts.
• Implement Cardano based credential contracts that can mint non fungible tokens or tokenised records representing course completions, skill achievements and other milestones.
• Integrate these contracts into selected OLi courses so that completing them results in a verifiable credential being issued to the learner’s wallet.
Each credential will contain enough structured data to describe the skill or course, the issuing organisation and the date of completion, while sensitive data stays off chain. Third parties will be able to verify a credential by checking the token on Cardano and inspecting its metadata.
By embedding this directly into OLi’s existing content, we create a concrete demonstration of why Cardano is valuable for education. Students and teachers are not just hearing about blockchain; they are using it to hold credentials that matter for their future.
Integration with the OLi AI Tutor and platform
A key strength of OLi is the AI Tutor, which can provide real time support, explanations and feedback as learners move through content. This project uses that capability to ensure that on chain events are tied to meaningful learning, rather than simple time spent or button presses.
The AI Tutor will:
• Track comprehension and mastery on a per student basis.
• Trigger eligibility checks for rewards and credentials.
• Explain, in simple language, what it means to earn a blockchain credential or reward and how Cardano fits into the picture.
Because the AI Tutor already supports multi language interaction, this also helps Cardano reach learners in regions where English is not the first language. The same assistant that teaches them finance or digital literacy can answer questions about wallets, transactions and security, helping to grow confident Cardano users.
On the platform side, we will add educator and admin interfaces that show how many wallets, rewards and credentials have been created, which courses are generating the most on chain activity, and which regions are most engaged. This helps schools, partners and the Cardano community see the impact in an intuitive way.
Open source components for the Cardano ecosystem
A major part of the solution is to ensure that the work funded by Catalyst benefits the whole ecosystem, not only Olympus Insights. All Cardano facing components developed in this project will be released as open source under a permissive licence.
This will include:
• Smart contracts for rewards and credential issuance.
• The wallet orchestration service that handles automatic wallet creation and lifecycle management.
• Integration libraries and example code that show how to connect a learning platform or AI assistant to those contracts.
• Documentation and reference architectures that explain how to reproduce the OLi pattern in other contexts.
By publishing these elements in a public GitHub repository and maintaining clear examples, we lower the barrier for other Cardano builders and EdTech teams. A school system, training provider or startup can adapt the modules for their own use, generating more students, transactions and credentials on Cardano without rebuilding everything from scratch.
How this addresses the core problem
The original problem is that most learners never touch Cardano, and most education platforms create no on chain identity, wallets or credentials. A huge amount of human effort goes into learning every day, but almost none of it translates into blockchain adoption.
Our solution addresses this in a direct, measurable way:
• Every OLi learner gains a Cardano wallet as part of their ordinary login flow.
• Their learning journey is connected to a persistent on chain identity that can hold credentials and rewards.
• The AI Tutor verifies when real learning has taken place and triggers smart contracts, generating transactions tied to education, not speculation.
• Learners receive credentials stored on Cardano that they can show to future educators and employers, giving them a reason to return to the blockchain.
• All of this is built on open source components, so the same pattern can be reused across other platforms and regions, multiplying Cardano’s reach.
Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community
This project is designed to deliver clear, visible value to the wider Cardano community on three levels: users and activity on chain, reusable infrastructure for builders, and a powerful real world story about why Cardano matters.
First, it significantly grows the base of real Cardano users. Today, OLi has close to 100,000 learners and that number is increasing. None of these learners currently have a Cardano wallet through our platform. By funding the on chain backbone for OLi, Catalyst directly converts this entire user base into people with Cardano wallets created for them as part of their normal learning journey. That immediately adds at least 100,000 new addresses capable of holding ADA, native assets and credentials. Because these wallets are tied to ongoing learning activity, they are not empty or forgotten, they are used repeatedly as learners earn rewards, unlock milestones and receive credentials. This is a simple, credible path to turning an existing education platform into a Cardano adoption engine.
Second, the project generates sustained on chain activity that benefits the whole network. Every time a learner completes a Cardano enabled module, the OLi AI Tutor verifies their understanding and triggers smart contracts that issue rewards or credentials. Over time this creates a large volume of small, genuine transactions linked to education rather than speculation. Rewards, badges and credentials will be minted and transferred as learners progress, creating regular traffic across the network. This kind of activity helps to showcase Cardano as infrastructure for everyday use cases where users are doing something meaningful in their own lives and the blockchain is quietly working underneath.
Third, it strengthens Cardano’s position in the global education narrative. Many national governments, schools and training providers are currently exploring how to recognise skills, track lifelong learning and improve digital literacy. OLi is already operating in schools and communities across multiple countries, including work with refugee communities and low income regions through our partners. When those same learners hold Cardano based credentials and rewards, Cardano becomes the chain associated with real opportunities in education and employment. This supports policymakers, advocates and ecosystem projects who want to point to practical examples of “blockchain for good” rather than theoretical pilots.
The project also provides direct benefits to Cardano builders. All Cardano facing components developed with this funding will be open sourced under a permissive licence. That includes smart contracts for rewards and credential issuance, the wallet orchestration service that handles automatic wallet creation at scale, and the integration libraries that connect an AI tutor or learning platform to those contracts. By publishing these in a public GitHub repository with documentation and example flows, we give other teams a ready made toolkit for building their own education or loyalty experiences on Cardano. A school system, language app, workplace training platform or NGO can fork the components, plug them into their own content and start creating wallets, transactions and credentials without rebuilding the entire stack.
For Cardano communities and stake pool operators, this project opens new engagement channels. Ambassadors, community groups and local educators will be able to run “OLi plus Cardano” learning programs where participants receive on chain rewards and credentials simply by completing structured lessons. This supports events, workshops and outreach efforts by providing a concrete activity people can complete on their phone or computer that ends with a real Cardano wallet and verifiable outcome. It makes Cardano workshops more than a talk, they become a guided journey that leaves learners with tools and knowledge they can keep using.
Because the integration is global by design, the impact is not limited to one geography. OLi already supports multi language delivery and works with partners across Africa, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. As we roll out the Cardano enabled version of the platform, wallets and transactions will be created in many countries and contexts. This helps to diversify the network’s user base and aligns with Cardano’s vision of financial and educational inclusion for people who are usually last to benefit from new technologies.
Finally, the project creates a strong demonstration effect inside the broader EdTech world. When other education companies see that a live platform has successfully integrated Cardano without scaring off mainstream users, and that the core components are open source, it lowers the perceived risk of choosing Cardano as their own blockchain layer. In that sense, this proposal is not only about OLi. It is a reference implementation that says to the market: “Here is how you can use Cardano for automatic wallets, gamified learning and credentials at scale, and here is the code you can start from.”
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?
Olympus Insights is not starting from zero. We already operate a live education platform with the OLi AI Tutor and a global learner base that is approaching 100,000 users. The team has spent several years designing, building and deploying EdTech and AI products in real schools, community programs and Web3 ecosystems. This proposal is about adding a Cardano backbone to something that already works, rather than promising to build an entire product from scratch.
Capability and track record
• Product and education leadership: I (Nathan Barkell) am a practising teacher and co founder of Olympus Insights, with a decade of classroom experience and over 100 lessons created on cryptocurrency, finance and Web3. I understand how to design learning that is safe, age appropriate and actually used in schools.
• Technical and AI capability: Co founder Mark Elliott has over 20 years of senior management across telecommunications and software, with deep experience in AI product development. Our Digital Product Lead, senior engineers and UX team have already delivered the OLi AI Tutor with long term memory, multilingual support and live screen based guidance.
• Proven delivery: The OLi platform is live and used daily. We have shipped production systems, integrated AI safely into education settings, and maintained uptime, security and data protection across thousands of users. We are already trusted by schools, NGOs and ecosystem partners because we deliver on what we promise.
For the Cardano specific work, we will combine in house engineering with experienced Cardano developers who have previously shipped on chain products. The on chain components are well scoped: wallet orchestration, reward and credential contracts, integration libraries and dashboards. This plays to our strengths in systems integration, product thinking and education, while using Cardano specialists where required for contract design, security reviews and deployment.
Governance, trust and accountability
We will operate this project with clear, public accountability to the Catalyst community:
• Open source code: All Cardano facing components funded through this proposal will be published in a public GitHub organisation under a permissive licence. The community will be able to inspect commits, issues and pull requests, which gives a transparent record of progress and technical decisions.
• Milestone based delivery: We will break the 9 month project into clear phases (architecture and design, wallet orchestration and basic integration, rewards and credentials contracts, pilot deployment, documentation and open source release). Each phase will have concrete deliverables such as running testnet contracts, working wallet creation flows and live pilot dashboards.
• Regular reporting: We will publish written updates and short Loom or YouTube walkthroughs at key milestones, showing the live system in action on testnet and then mainnet. These updates will be shared in relevant Cardano channels so the community can see progress, not just read about it.
• Responsible data handling: As an existing education provider we already comply with data protection obligations and school policies. The Cardano integration will be designed so that personal data remains off chain and only pseudonymous identifiers, hashes or credential references are stored on chain. This protects learner privacy while still giving verifiable records.
Feasibility and validation of the approach
The approach is feasible because it extends an existing platform rather than attempting to build a whole ecosystem in one step. The key validation points are:
• We will first deploy all contracts and integration on Cardano testnet, using a subset of OLi users as a pilot group.
• We will validate that automatic wallet creation works reliably at scale by running load tests and monitoring wallet creation throughput.
• Smart contracts for rewards and credentials will be unit tested, integration tested with the OLi backend and reviewed by an external Cardano developer for security and correctness before mainnet deployment.
• We will run pilots with selected schools and community partners, comparing learner engagement and completion rates in Cardano enabled courses against standard OLi courses.
• Feedback from teachers, learners and guardians will be collected to ensure the wallet and credential flows are understandable and do not add friction to learning.
• The OLi AI Tutor will be used to explain, in simple language, what is happening on chain and to gather short in app feedback about the experience.
• We will track and publicly share on chain metrics: total wallets created via OLi, number of reward transactions, credentials minted and active wallets over time.
• Block explorer links and, where appropriate, a simple public dashboard will allow the Catalyst community to verify that transactions are actually taking place on Cardano and are tied to our contracts.
• Success criteria such as “100,000 learner wallets created” and minimum transaction and credential counts give objective targets that can be independently checked.
• The open source libraries and reference implementations will be tested by integrating them into at least one additional small demo or partner use case to prove that they are reusable, not hard coded to OLi.
• We will invite other Cardano builders to review the architecture and contribute issues or suggestions, validating that the design matches real ecosystem needs.
Milestone Title
Architecture, security design and GitHub setup for Cardano integration
Milestone Outputs
• Detailed technical architecture for integrating Cardano into the OLi platform and OLi AI Tutor, covering wallet orchestration, rewards, credentials and on chain identity flows.
• Written security, privacy and data handling plan that explains what data stays off chain and what is written to Cardano.
• Initial smart contract specifications for rewards and credentials, including state diagrams and function definitions.
• Definition of API contracts between the OLi backend, the wallet orchestration service and Cardano nodes or service providers.
• Public GitHub repository created for the project, with licence selected (MIT or Apache 2.0), initial folder structure, issue templates and a high level README describing scope and goals.
Acceptance Criteria
• Architecture document completed, internally reviewed and signed off by product, engineering and education leads, covering all major components and data flows.
• Security and privacy approach documented and checked against existing school and partner requirements.
• At least one initial smart contract specification for rewards and one for credentials completed and ready for implementation.
• API contracts between OLi and the Cardano integration layer defined and agreed by the engineering team.
• Public GitHub repository created and accessible, containing the architecture overview, security notes and initial contract specifications.
Evidence of Completion
• PDF or web link to the architecture and design document.
• PDF or web link to the security and privacy plan.
• Copies of the smart contract specifications and API definitions stored in the GitHub repo.
• Link to the public GitHub repository showing the initial commit history, licence file and README.
• Short written update summarising the decisions made and any key trade offs, shared with the Catalyst community.
Delivery Month
2
Cost
14800
Progress
10 %
Milestone Title
Wallet orchestration service and Cardano testnet integration
Milestone Outputs
• Production ready wallet orchestration service that can automatically create and manage Cardano wallets for OLi learner accounts.
• Backend integration between OLi’s user management system and the wallet orchestration APIs, including mapping between learner IDs and Cardano addresses.
• Configuration and deployment of the service against Cardano testnet infrastructure (either self hosted node or trusted service provider).
• Updated OLi sign up / login flow in a staging environment so new and existing users in the pilot cohort are allocated a Cardano testnet wallet transparently.
• Monitoring and logging for wallet creation events, failures and throughput, with basic internal dashboard or export.
Acceptance Criteria
• Wallet orchestration service code implemented, reviewed and merged into the project’s public GitHub repository.
• End to end flow proven in staging: creating a new OLi learner account automatically results in a unique Cardano testnet address being generated and stored against that learner profile.
• Migration flow tested for existing users in the pilot cohort, with at least 1,000 existing OLi learners allocated a Cardano testnet wallet.
• Error handling in place so failed wallet creations are retried or clearly flagged for follow up.
• Load test or scripted run demonstrating the system can create at least 10,000 wallets over a short period without failing, showing readiness to scale to the full user base in later milestones.
Evidence of Completion
• Link to the public GitHub repository showing wallet orchestration service code, configuration files and documentation.
• Short technical report or wiki page describing the testnet setup, API endpoints and data model for wallet to learner mapping.
• Logs or export file demonstrating successful automatic wallet creation for a minimum of 1,000 pilot learners on Cardano testnet.
• Screenshots or short video demo of the OLi sign up / login flow in staging, showing a user being created and their corresponding Cardano testnet address.
• Internal dashboard or monitoring screenshots showing wallet creation metrics and system health.
Delivery Month
4
Cost
35700
Progress
30 %
Milestone Title
Rewards and credential smart contracts integrated on Cardano testnet
Milestone Outputs
• Design and implementation of Cardano smart contracts for:
– Gamified learning rewards (earnable tokens / badges).
– Verifiable course and skills credentials.
• Backend services and OLi AI Tutor flows updated so that successful completion of selected lessons triggers calls to these contracts on Cardano testnet.
• At least two complete “Cardano enabled” course paths configured (eg an introductory finance module and a blockchain literacy module).
• Internal dashboards or queries showing testnet transactions for rewards and credentials by learner wallet.
• Technical documentation added to the public GitHub repo explaining contract architecture, parameters and integration points.
Acceptance Criteria
• Reward and credential contracts compiled, deployed and live on Cardano testnet, with addresses documented.
• End to end flow proven: a pilot learner completes one of the configured courses, the AI Tutor verifies success and a testnet reward plus a credential are minted or transferred to the learner’s wallet.
• Minimum 5,000 Cardano testnet transactions generated by pilot learners (combined across rewards and credentials) during this phase.
• Contract code, unit tests and integration scripts merged into the public GitHub repo, with clear README files.
• No critical bugs or security issues identified in an internal review by our engineers and at least one external Cardano developer.
Evidence of Completion
• Cardano testnet explorer links to the deployed contracts and example learner transactions.
• Exported transaction summary (CSV / screenshots) showing at least 5,000 testnet transactions triggered by learning activity.
• Link to the public GitHub repository containing the reward and credential contracts, tests and documentation.
• Short video demo or screenshots walking through a learner completing a course on OLi and receiving on chain rewards and a credential on testnet.
• Internal or external review note confirming the contracts passed basic security and correctness checks.
Delivery Month
6
Cost
30600
Progress
60 %
Milestone Title
Mainnet deployment and large scale learner pilot
Milestone Outputs
• Deployment of wallet orchestration service, reward contracts and credential contracts on Cardano mainnet.
• Configuration of OLi production environment so that all new learner accounts are automatically assigned a mainnet Cardano wallet on sign up.
• One time migration job to allocate mainnet wallets to the existing OLi learner base (targeting ~100,000 users).
• Activation of Cardano enabled course paths (at least two) in production so that successful completions trigger on chain rewards and credentials on mainnet.
• Monitoring and alerting in place for mainnet transactions, contract health, wallet creation errors and system performance.
• Summary dashboard for internal and community use showing counts of wallets created, rewards issued, credentials minted and active learner wallets.
Acceptance Criteria
• Wallet orchestration and smart contracts successfully deployed to Cardano mainnet, with contract addresses and configuration documented.
• Automatic mainnet wallet creation live in the production OLi sign up flow, verified by creating test learner accounts and confirming associated addresses on mainnet.
• At least 100,000 OLi learner accounts have an associated Cardano mainnet wallet recorded in the system.
• A minimum of 20,000 mainnet transactions generated by learner activity (combined rewards and credentials) during the pilot period, with no critical defects or contract failures.
• Monitoring and alerting dashboards configured and reviewed by the team, demonstrating visibility into wallet creation rates, transaction volumes and error conditions.
• Pilot review completed, capturing feedback from learners and educators on the Cardano enabled experience and any required UX refinements.
Evidence of Completion
• Cardano mainnet explorer links to deployed contracts and example learner transactions.
• Database or analytics export (with anonymised data) showing at least 100,000 learner accounts mapped to unique mainnet wallets.
• Screenshots or short video walkthrough of the live OLi production flow: sign up, wallet assignment, course completion, and on chain reward/credential receipt.
• Metrics dashboard or report demonstrating at least 20,000 mainnet transactions generated by OLi learners during the pilot.
• Copy of the internal pilot review document summarising performance, user feedback and any follow up actions.
Delivery Month
8
Cost
36900
Progress
90 %
Milestone Title
Open source release, documentation and ecosystem adoption
Milestone Outputs
• Full open source release of all Cardano facing components developed in this project, published in a public GitHub organisation under a permissive licence (MIT or Apache 2.0). This includes smart contracts for rewards and credentials, wallet orchestration service, integration libraries and example reference implementations.
• Technical documentation set covering installation, configuration, API usage, contract parameters, security considerations and how to plug the stack into an existing education or learn to earn platform.
• Non technical guides for educators and community leaders that explain how to run an OLi plus Cardano learning program, including how learners receive wallets, rewards and credentials.
• Public communication campaign to the Cardano community outlining results, with a focus on on chain metrics, lessons learned and how other teams can reuse the work.
• Direct engagement with at least three external Cardano or EdTech teams who test, fork or begin integrating the components into their own projects.
Acceptance Criteria
• GitHub repositories are public, clearly structured and contain all Cardano integration code funded by this proposal, including contracts, services, configuration samples and example flows.
• Documentation is complete and reviewed by at least one developer who was not directly involved in the build, confirming that they can follow it to run a local or testnet instance.
• At least one example integration or demo (outside the main OLi platform) is running using the open source libraries, proving that the stack is reusable and not hard coded to OLi.
• Evidence of ecosystem interest and early adoption from a minimum of three external teams or organisations, such as forks, issues, pull requests, integration trials or public references.
• Public summary of project outcomes published and shared in relevant Cardano channels, clearly reporting wallet counts, transaction volumes, credentials minted and key insights for future builders.
Evidence of Completion
• Links to the public GitHub repositories showing final code, licence files, documentation folders and example projects.
• PDF or web copies of technical and non technical guides, including a quick start tutorial for developers and a playbook for educators or community organisers.
• Screenshots or short video walkthrough of at least one external demo or example integration that uses the open source components.
• List of external teams that have engaged with the project, with links to forks, GitHub issues, pull requests or public posts confirming their interest or experimentation.
• Final written impact report and short video presentation shared with the Catalyst community, summarising achievements, metrics and recommendations.
Delivery Month
9
Cost
29000
Progress
100 %
Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources
Total requested: 147,000 ADA
At approx 0.42 USD per ADA this is around 61,700 USD to fund a 9 month build and deployment of the Cardano integration for the live OLi platform and OLi AI Tutor. Olympus Insights covers all existing platform costs, hosting, content creation and ongoing business operations from its own budget. Catalyst funding is reserved for the Cardano specific work.
High level cost breakdown by workstream
How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?
This budget represents strong value for the Cardano ecosystem because it converts an already working, global education platform into a large scale Cardano adoption engine at a relatively small marginal cost, while also delivering reusable open source infrastructure.
First, the cost per new Cardano user is extremely low. With this project we will automatically provision mainnet wallets for at least 100,000 existing OLi learners, with additional wallets created for new sign ups during the 9 month period. At 147,000 ADA, the cost is roughly 1.47 ADA per learner wallet, or about 0.62 USD at current prices. That is a very efficient spend compared with most user acquisition campaigns, especially given that these users will be actively engaging in real learning, not just claiming an airdrop and disappearing.
Second, Catalyst is funding only the Cardano specific work, not the entire product. Olympus Insights is already paying for the OLi platform, AI Tutor development, hosting, content creation and business operations. The requested budget is focused on wallet orchestration, Cardano smart contracts, integration with the AI Tutor, infrastructure for testnet and mainnet, and packaging everything as open source. In other words, the community is not being asked to subsidise our core business, but to help add a powerful Cardano layer that benefits everyone.
Third, the project delivers durable infrastructure, not one off experiments. The wallet orchestration service, reward and credential contracts, integration libraries and documentation will all be released under a permissive open source licence. Any school system, EdTech company or Cardano builder can reuse these components to build their own learn to earn or credential solutions. The same investment that powers OLi can therefore be multiplied across many other projects without repeating the full cost, which improves the return on ADA spent.
Fourth, the budget is reasonable for the scope and timeframe. Around 61,700 USD for a 9 month effort that covers architecture, engineering, UX, security, infrastructure and open source preparation is modest when compared with typical software and blockchain development costs. The work requires experienced engineers and designers who can integrate AI, education workflows and Cardano safely at scale. By running a lean team and leveraging our existing platform and codebase, we can keep costs down while still delivering production ready results.
Fifth, the expected on chain activity is significant in relation to the spend. We aim to generate at least 20,000 mainnet transactions from rewards and credentials in the initial pilot period alone, with substantial room to grow as more learners and courses are brought into the Cardano enabled flow. The same contracts can continue to be used long after the project ends, so Catalyst’s investment keeps generating transactions and visibility for Cardano without further funding.
Finally, the project strengthens Cardano’s reputation in education and social impact, which is hard to price but important for long term value. By showing governments, schools and communities a working example of Cardano underpinning real learning, credentials and financial literacy, we make it easier for other institutions to choose Cardano for their own initiatives. That strategic positioning, combined with low unit cost per user, open source outputs and measurable on chain metrics, means that 147,000 ADA buys a great deal of lasting value for the ecosystem.
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
I Agree
Yes
The project will be delivered by the core Olympus Insights team, supported by our global ambassador and country manager network.
Nathan Barkell – Co-Founder & Education Lead - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-barkell/
Nathan is a practising Australian teacher with over 10 years of experience teaching Mathematics, Science, Health and Physical Education. He has created more than 100 lessons on cryptocurrency, finance and Web3, and leads OLi’s product design for schools and community programs. In this project he is responsible for overall delivery, education alignment, pilot design with schools and partners, and clear reporting back to the Cardano community.
Mark Elliott – Co-Founder & Technical Lead - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markelliott10/
Mark has over 30 years of executive and senior management experience in telecommunications, data centres and software development. He has led B2B and B2C software products, and has been active in the crypto ecosystem for close to a decade. Mark is responsible for technical architecture, coordination of the Cardano integration, security and scalability, and managing the development team to mainnet deployment.
Alex Burton – Product Strategy & Growth Advisor - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexjburton/
Alex has 25 years of experience in sales, marketing and growth with major Australian organisations. He supports market positioning, go to market planning for the Cardano enabled OLi platform, and alignment of this project with broader commercial and partnership strategy.
James Maryan – Digital Product Lead
James is an experienced digital product lead who has delivered mobile and web applications for significant Australian entities. He will translate the Cardano integration into a coherent user experience, manage the delivery roadmap, and coordinate cross functional work between engineering, design and education.
Kate Smith – Senior UX/UI Designer
Kate specialises in user centred design and education focused interfaces. She will design the wallet, rewards and credential flows so that learners, teachers and families can use Cardano features safely and intuitively without prior blockchain knowledge.
AG Nieve – Full Stack Developer
AG is a full stack engineer working across frontend and backend services for the OLi platform. In this project AG will implement integration APIs, learner dashboards and platform changes required to connect OLi to the Cardano wallet orchestration and smart contracts.
Rolando Ravelle – AI & Blockchain Engineer
Rolando works at the intersection of AI and blockchain. He will focus on integrating the OLi AI Tutor with Cardano smart contracts, ensuring that verified learning events correctly trigger on chain rewards and credentials, and that data flows remain secure and efficient.
April Joy – Full Stack Developer
April contributes to backend services, testing and deployment pipelines. She will support implementation of the wallet orchestration service, mainnet rollout and monitoring tools for on chain activity.
Global Ambassadors and Country Managers
Olympus Insights is supported by a global ambassador network, including well known educators and content creators such as Didi Taihuttu (The Bitcoin Family) and Sev Mozhaev (@sevspics), who help drive learner adoption and Cardano awareness across social channels and live events. A set of regional country managers across Africa, Asia and North America manage local school relationships, training workshops and learner onboarding. For this project they will coordinate pilot cohorts, gather user feedback, and showcase the Cardano enabled OLi experience in their regions.
Together, this team combines deep classroom experience, proven EdTech and AI product delivery, and practical blockchain knowledge, giving us the capacity to ship the proposed Cardano integration with a high level of trust, safety and accountability.