Last updated 4 months ago
Cardano token companies NEED TO rely on centralized token rewarding mechanisms rather than using a smart-contract based system.
We're developing and open-sourcing a smart-contract that trustlessly distributes tokens completely on-chain. As users interact on-chain, their rewards are calculated dynamically each epoch.
Please provide your proposal title
Open-sourced CNA Distribution Smart-contract
Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA
190000
Please specify how many months you expect your project to last
8
Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated
No
Original Language
en
What is the problem you want to solve?
Cardano token companies NEED TO rely on centralized token rewarding mechanisms rather than using a smart-contract based system.
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.
Will be fully open-sourced under the Apache-2.0 license.
Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal
Developer Tools
Describe what makes your idea innovative compared to what has been previously launched in the market (whether by you or others).
Token reward systems exist and do a good job in providing a white glove concierge system to facilitate token distribution for many projects. However the reliance on a centralised database could lead to exploits and gatekeeping by these services. Using this smart-contract, we'd like to ensure token ecosystems can flourish without centralised parties, and help to lower cost for projects that want to distribute tokens, and lower fees for users.
Describe what your prototype or MVP will demonstrate, and where it can be accessed.
Our MVP will exist on Cardano's preview network, and demostrate the ability for rewards to calculate based on LP token holdings. Users will be able to come to this smart-contract, and claim rewards based on the amount of LP tokens they have. To demo this, we'll launch it in a testnet version of https://atrium.io. The code will also live in this repo: https://github.com/atma-community
Describe realistic measures of success, ideally with on-chain metrics.
To measure the success of this project we'll anaylyze github clones in the open-source repo, and live mainnet products using this code to pay tokens out to their users. On our product alone we anticipate thousands of transaction claims within months of this product going live on mainnet.
Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem
We employ a Global Reward Index (S). This index tracks the cumulative rewards generated by a single unit of stake since the genesis of the contract. Instead of pushing rewards to users, the contract updates the Global Index, and users calculate their own rewards “lazily” only when they interact with the protocol.
By developing this smart-contract, community members are able to deploy a fixed-rate token distribution smart-contract that functions completely on-chain, without needing to rely on 3rd parties or centralised services. It also doesn’t involve heavy on-chain resources or compute, making it a lightweight decentralised token distribution smart-contract solution that anyone can use and deploy for their own benefit.
Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community
Reliance on 3rd parties and centralised services has its benefits, but also downsides. The Cardano community is now reliant on a few companies and services for token distribution. This smart contract can potentially lower token distribution fees and reduce this reliance, and give blockchain-based, decentralised options for users or projects that want to perform token distributions. Since this smart contract will be open-sourced, the entire community can benefit from it, and deploy it on-chain or integrate it into their services.
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?
Our team already has a proven track record, both within Cardano and beyond. We designed, built, integrated and open-sourced 2 smart contracts and one Typescript binary for the Cardano community. All of the open-sourced code is already live, running and proven on Cardano mainnet through the atrium.io website, and the open-source code can be verified on github: https://github.com/atma-community
To validate that our approach is feasible we have done preliminary testing on Cardano's preview network, and have completed an early design and techincal specification.
Milestone Title
Technical Specification
Milestone Outputs
This milestone will output a document that is a complete design for the smart-contract. It will go into the math behind the contract, how it works, and how it will be designed. This document will also have some images to help break down the solution.
Acceptance Criteria
This milestone should be accepted given that the team provides a PDF technical specification that details how the smart-contract will funcion on Cardano. This document must be a detailed overview of a actionable smart-contract design.
Evidence of Completion
To demonstrate that this milestone is complete, the team will deliver a multi-page PDF document with text, and pictures. This document will detail how the smart-contract will work, and be designed for production.
Delivery Month
1
Cost
15000
Progress
10 %
Milestone Title
Smart-contract Progress Report
Milestone Outputs
This milestone will output the first part of developing this smart-contract. It will also output a progress report in video, and text format. This progress report will detail how many lines of code have been written, the state of the project, and any issues that have arised.
Acceptance Criteria
This milestone should be accepted if the team provides a progress report in text, and video format. This progress report must show that the smart-contract is under development, and progress is being made towards the smart-contract completion.
Evidence of Completion
To demonstrate the completion of this milestone, the team will provide links to a video, and a text document.
Delivery Month
2
Cost
20000
Progress
20 %
Milestone Title
Designs for user-claiming, and code live in github
Milestone Outputs
This milestone will output the designs for users claiming tokens from the smart-contract, and all of the existing code will be published in Github. The designs will show how much a user has earned so far, and what they are eligible to claim. The designs will show the entire claiming process from start to finish.
Acceptance Criteria
This milestone should be accepted given that the team provides the designs for claiming, and also provides a link to the Github repository where the code lives. The designs must show how much a user is earning, and show claiming from start to finish.
Evidence of Completion
To demonstrate this milestones completion, the team will provide a link to the Github respository, and a link to the JPG images of the user expierence that will be used for claiming in a future milestone.
Delivery Month
3
Cost
45000
Progress
30 %
Milestone Title
Smart-contract Live on Preview
Milestone Outputs
This milestone will mark the completion of the smart-contract code. The code will be completed, and live in the Github repository. To test this code we'll hook the token rewarding contract up to another smart-contract on Cardano's preview network. This will allow the smart-contract to start counting rewards for LP token holders. This milestone will also output a video of our team showing this smart-contract working by calculating rewards, and claiming.
Acceptance Criteria
This milestone should be accepted given that the team provides a link to the completed code in the Github repository. They also need to submit a video showing them claiming rewards through a front-end hooked up to Cardano's preview network. The team will also need to supply links to all transactions completed in the video. The team will also need to provide the transactions used to create, and launch the smart-contract on Cardano's testnet.
Evidence of Completion
To demonstrate that this milestone is complete, the team will provide a link to all transactions created on Cardano's preview network. The team will also supply a video that details the functionality of the smart-contract, and a link to the open-source repo.
Delivery Month
4
Cost
100000
Progress
80 %
Milestone Title
Smart-contract Testing With Real Users
Milestone Outputs
For this milestone, the team will output a testnet version of a front-end, and a testnet version of this smart-contract. Users will be able to start earning tokens from the smart-contract based on the LP tokens they have provided. We'll get at least 15 users to test the platform, provide feedback, and we'll address any valuable feedback.
Acceptance Criteria
This milestone should be accepted given that the team launches this smart-contract on Cardano's preview network, hooks it up to a front-end platform, and gets 15 real people to test the platform. The team needs to provide documents showing the feedback from these 15 users, and a link to the site for Catalyst reviewers to test the software themselves.
Evidence of Completion
To demonstrate this milestones completion, the team will provide a link to a testnet website on Cardano's preview network where reviewers can test the smart-contract themselves. The team will also supply a close-out report detailing the outputs of the proposal. The team will also supply a feedback form from 15 real users, the open-sourced code, and all smart-contract creation transactions.
Delivery Month
6
Cost
10000
Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources
Smart-contract development & deployment - 120,000 ADA
Frontend development - 20,000 ADA
Backend development - 30,000 ADA
Testing with real users - 10,000 ADA
Design - 5,000 ADA
Project Management - 5,000 ADA
How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?
Projects and builders currently need to rely on centralised entities for reward distribution on Cardano. By developing and open-sourcing this smart contract, this reliance can be reduced. Projects can potentially launch their own reward distribution tools directly on-chain. This will benefit both cardano users and projects. Open-sourcing this smart-contract might also increase on-chain activity and lower token distribution fees.
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
Peyton Winget: Co-founder / CEO https://www.linkedin.com/in/peyton-winget-5a98381b1/
Ben Darvill: Co-founder / Creative Director https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-darvill/
Brian Schwartz: Co-founder / Technical Lead https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-schwartz-96214b105/
Marek Budkowski: Project Manager https://www.linkedin.com/in/marek-budkowski-788341146/
Stephen Castermans: Communications &; Community https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephencastermans/