ReasonChain: ZK-Attested AI Chain-of-Thought Oracle

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

ReasonChain: ZK-Attested AI Chain-of-Thought Oracle

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

75000

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

12

[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?

Without verifiable AI reasoning, Cardano dApps face risks in governance, compliance, and real-world adoption.

[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation

Supporting links

• https://www.lidonation.com/en/proposals/a-zero-knowledge-proof-framework-for-cardano-based-on-hydra-and-zk-snarks-f10
,
• https://101blockchains.com/cardano-first-zk-smart-contract
,
• https://cryptoslate.com/cardano-deploys-first-zero-knowledge-smart-contract-expanding-blockchain-capabilities
,
• https://blog.chain.link/ai-oracles
,
• https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.04794

[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies

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

Yes

Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'

ReasonChain depends on several technical and organizational components within the Cardano ecosystem to operate optimally. At its core, ReasonChain addresses the on-chain verification of zero-knowledge proofs, policy guards, and chain-of-thought (CoT) commitments using the Cardano L1 smart contract framework, Plutus V3. Cryptographic primitives of Plutus V3, such as BLS12-381 pairings and reference scripts, are critical in that on-chain verification of proofs would otherwise be impossible. Furthermore, CIP standards 31, 32, and 33 allow low-cost publishing of oracle data, making it easy for multiple dApps to consume attested inferences. ReasonChain oracle UTxOs make use of these standards so that SDKs and consumers can verify proofs and CoT commitments effectively. For applications that require low latency, ReasonChain has an optional integration with Hydra, a layer 2 scaling solution that streams proofs and CoT commitments to dApps such as DeFi platforms and governance tools in under a second; absent this, the system will keep working on-chain but with increased latency from a real-time perspective. Midnight Network is positioned as a privacy and data protection layer holding encrypted or permissioned full CoT and sensitive features off-chain, with only the commitments being posted on-chain and selective reveals managed by Midnight's network. In the case of enterprise or regulated applications, ReasonChain provides an option to combine Identus (previously Atala PRISM) verifiable credentials for source identity verification and business KYC to make compliance and auditability stronger, but this is not mandatory. The deeper side of the project, the open-source ecosystem, and SDK dependencies include your standard cryptography libraries, Blockfrost/Kupo APIs for chain access, and developer tooling such as Node.js, CI/CD pipelines-a fully open-source ecosystem with no proprietary dependencies whatsoever. Collaborative dApps and pilot integrators may enter into the early testing and deployment of ReasonChain feeds, especially on DeFi, governance, or RWA applications; however, these partnerships are not strictly blockers for the development.Another approach toward ReasonChain's integration revolves around community and ecosystem standards for staking, being an SPO, and open-source governance, with all further cultural and technical integration considered to be aligned with Cardano APIs, wallet compatibility, and general ecosystem usage practices. Winning in front of ReasonChain is for most Karaoke drinking its pub and acting in large independency while actually enabling all these technical standards and optional integrations to maximize on security, efficiency, and promulgation potential across the Cardano ecosystem.

[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.

The reason behind this approach is to make ReasonChain fully open-source under a permissive license (MIT/Apache 2.0). Smart contracts, ZK circuits, SDKs, and validator scripts are all public on GitHub. Sensitive CoT data is encrypted on Midnight, while all core logic, proofs, and tooling remain fully auditable and reusable by the community, supporting transparency, adoption, and collaboration. Optional enterprise modules do not restrict open-source access

[Theme Selection] Theme

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

AI

[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).

ReasonChain is the first Cardano-native oracle to deliver ZK-attested AI outputs with chain-of-thought (CoT) commitments as cryptographic proofs for model/version, policy compliance, and input/output integrity. Unlike oracles that came before-or one similar to Orcfax or zkTLS-like experiments similar to zkFetch-It commits a privacy-preserving CoT to the chain so as to provide an auditable and trustworthy layer for AI-related DeFi, governance, and enterprise dApps.

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

The MVP will demonstrate a working ReasonChain oracle node that produces a ZK-attested inference and posts the commitment on-chain (Plutus V3) while allowing verification through SDKs. Developers can then read oracle UTxOs using CIP-31/32 reference inputs. The prototype will be freely accessible on the Cardano testnet with code, SDKs, example dApps, and documentation all to be hosted on GitHub.

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

• Proofs are considered successful if the percentage of proofs verified correctly on chain is more than or equal to 95.

• Hydra channels with a median latency of less than or equal to 5 s from inference to on chain.

• The SDK will be integrated by at least three pilot dApps within three months of the beta release.

• Some on-chain metrics include: number of UTxOs published, number of CoT commitments verified, and number of successful zk-proof validations.

• No critical policy violations have been found in the audit logs.

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

Model Attestation:

Each AI inference output is linked to a model hash, a weight version, and a version of the prompt template.

These metadata are bound to the on-chain oracle output through proofs (π_model), so a developer is certain about which model produced the inference and cannot substitute or tamper with the inference.

Reproducibility for confidence in AI-assisted decision-making is thus provided for DeFi, governance, risk assessment, and real-world assets (RWA).

Input & Output Integrity:

Digests of input and output are bound by cryptography in the proofs (π_io) without actually disclosing the raw text.

Thus, it renders the manipulation of an AI inference impossible while maintaining the inversion privacy.

Any dApp consuming this oracle can verify that the input and output correspond to the committed AI evaluation.

Policy and Safety Guards:

Lightweight zkML classifiers or rule circuits check the CoT output against allowed policy rules (no PII leakages, restricted topics, or regulation permissible).

Proofs of compliance are generated off-chain and hence, on-chain, are yet verified by Plutus V3 scripts for constraints of safety and governance on the outputs.

Chain-of-Thought (CoT) Commitment:

The reasoning of the AI (the full CoT or cherry-picked features) is transformed into a salted Merkle root commitment, which is then published on-chain.

Full plaintext CoT can stay off-chain and selectively disclosed to auditors, counterparties, or regulators.

Imposing selective disclosure means privacy-preserving transparency: dApps can be confident in the AI's reasoning without having to see any of the actual data.

Identity & Consent Verification:

Integration with Identus (formerly Atala PRISM) will make verifiable credentials for KYC, source identity, and consent available.

It remains modular and optional and adds another trust element if enterprises or regulation-heavy dApps consume ReasonChain outputs.

Solution Operation:

Off-chain Oracle Node:

Does inference with version-locked model artifacts.

It checks the inference and CoT output against policy guard circuits.

It issues zk-proofs for the pertinence of inputs/outputs and compliance with the enacted policies.

Alternatively, it may use zkTLS attestations stating that the inference had been run in a trusted environment holding the known binaries and known model weights for complementing the zkML guards.

It creates an Oracle Report consisting of all digests, pertinent metadata, CoT commitment, and proofs.

On-Chain Verification (Plutus V3):

The ReasonChain Validator (Plutus reference script) verifies zk-proofs, signatures, and Schema compliance.

Publishes attested UTxOs with CIP-31/32/33 standards with inline datums or reference scripts for cheap consumption.

Any dApp can read amongst these UTxOs and verify proofs without on-chain trust.

Privacy Layer (Midnight Network):

Whether it is CoT full or sensitive features, the data will be encrypted off-chain in the Midnight, with on-chain commitments linked.

Auditors or regulators or business partners may be granted access.

Transparency needs to be offered when verification is required, and privacy on sensitive reasoning data needs to be preserved.

Consumption Paths:

Using the Plutus/TxBuilder SDKs, dApps can read commitments and verify freshness, model version, and policy compliance.

Hydra layer 2 channels may provide near-realtime streaming of proofs and CoT commitments to applications that require low-latency updates (i.e., DeFi risk or governance tools).

How this solution solves the problem: Trust & Verifiability: ReasonChain cryptographically binds AI outputs and model versions, inputs, and policy checks to avoid any risk of dApps blindly trusting the AI result.

• Privacy-Preserving Transparency: CoT commitments allow auditors to verify reasoning while withholding the text from exposure, and this stands as a solution to the problem of accuracy versus transparency versus data privacy.

• Compliance & Safety: zkML policy guards enforce content and regulation constraints on-chain, thus mitigating legal and ethical risks.

• Ecosystem Integration: Native Cardano standards (Plutus V3, CIP-31/32/33, Hydra, Midnight) are used for maximum interoperability, efficiency, and developer adoption.

• Reusability: Once the ZK-attested reasoning primitive is up, several verticals (DeFi, governance, RWA, identity verification) can leverage it rather than recreate the base.

• Optional Enterprise Adoption: Integration with Identus affords verifiable KYC and identity checks, rendering the solution appealing to regulated enterprises.

Optionally, Low-Latency Streams (Hydra): Proof and CoT delivery in real time suitable for latency-sensitive applications.

Benefits of this approach:

• It reduces risks in DeFi and governance decisions by means of providing verifiable AI outputs.

• It considers to secure the data when it comes to reasoning for higher security or matters.

• It gives developer-friendly integration through open-source SDKs and reusable Plutus scripts.

• It is the first primitive of its kind within Cardano for verifiable AI with ZK-attested reasoning.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

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

Building AI Trust in a Decentralized World AI is increasingly being deployed as the backbone of DeFi, governance, compliance, RWA, and community decision-making. These days, outputs in a Web3 context are opaque: they cannot be verified against models that have become true black boxes with hidden internal reasoning. This lack of transparency breaches trust and hinders adoption. ReasonChain tries to solve this problem by making the output of AIs verifiable on the chain, in the following manner:

• Each response of an AI system shall be tagged with provenance data describing what model, version, and data were used.

• Zero-knowledge proofs are created to establish the factualness of the reasoning steps in an internal yet verifiable fashion.

• A commit-reveal scheme guarantees immutability against tampering.Thus, on trust at scale could be re-established, allowing Cardano dApps to embrace AI on which they can be confident about its decentralization and transparency.

Listing the Uses of Cardano ReasonChain creates an entirely new class of AI-based dApps on Cardano:

• DeFi: AI agents that transparently explain risk assessments, yield predictions, or alerts concerning liquidation.

• Governance: AI-assisted voting advice with verifiable reasoning to increase informed participation of Project Catalyst or DAO proposals.

• Compliance & Identity: AI checks (e.g., pattern recognition for KYC/AML) with ZK proofs that maintain privacy.

• RWA (Real-World Assets): Transparent credit scoring, asset valuation, and audit trails. ReasonChain is unlocking DeFi as well as enterprise adoption and leadership in governance.

This way, an immense coverage can be seen with AI in handling the further trust.

Democratizing AI to Developers & Builders AI APIs today are all centralized, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google. For this reason, developers must trust an opaque provider and cannot verify the coming of these results. With ReasonChain:

• Builders will have an open-standard, decentralized AI toolkit.

• Smart contract developers can execute AI functions with cryptographic assurances.

• Smaller teams may build AI-powered dApps without intervention from centralized intermediaries.

This lowers entry barriers and encourages among other things, grassroots-level innovation into Cardano's developer ecosystem.

Reinforcing Cardano's Core Values

ReasonChain embodies Cardano's values of:

• Transparency: Every AI output shall be verifiably placed in context.

• Sustainability: Open-source licensing guarantees its permanence.

• Interoperability: Works with existing Cardano tooling (Plutus V3, Hydra, Midnight).

• Decentralisation: Moves reasoning about AI from closed silos into community-verifiable infrastructure.

It thus strengthens Cardano's position as a scientific, peer-reviewed, transparent blockchain.

Boosting Ecosystem Adoption and Public Image

The ecosystem is, therefore, powerfully helped by the Tool itself while being helped by that very message on a global level

• Academia & Enterprise Alignment: By providing verifiable AI, Cardano leans towards industries with compliance at the forefront (finance, healthcare, supply chains).

• Thought Leadership: Cardano has a chance to market itself as the first L1 to do decentralized, verifiable AI, distinguishing itself from others.

• Community Governance: ReasonChain makes Project Catalyst and DAO decisions better informed and less susceptible to manipulation.

It enhances the brand of Cardano as decentralized, reliable, customer-oriented, and innovation-driven.

Measurable Long-Term Impacts

The success of the application is to be measured by an explicit metric set established on-chain and in the community:

1: Developer Adoption: How many dApps would be utilizing ReasonChain modules.

2: Governance Participation: Incentives or vote recommendations which are AI-assisted with verifiable reasoning.

3: Transaction Volume: On-chain calls to ReasonChain contracts (AI-verified demand proof).

Community Engagement: Workshops, GitHub contributions, and Catalyst-funded follow-ups.

Partnerships: Collaborating with DeFi, compliance, and RWA projects to utilize verifiable AI.

In the long term, ReasonChain may become a centerpiece for AI trustworthiness for Cardano.

Cultural and Educational Values

ReasonChain positively affects culture and educational spheres beyond its technical benefits; for example:

• Transparency Education: Teaches the community why provenance and verifiable reasoning matter.

• Skill Development: Developers learn ZKPs, Plutus V3, and privacy-preserving computation.

• Global Equity: ReasonChain keeps AI tools as open-source opportunities for developers anywhere in the world, not only for developers paying centralized providers. This benefits Cardano in terms of knowledge sharing and empowerment.

[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?

Technical Strengths Demonstrated

Our teams gather experts in:

• Blockchain engineering (smart contracts in Plutus V3, Hydra, Midnight).

• ZKPs and cryptography.

• AI/ML systems for transparency, interpretability, and fairness.

• Open-source development, with a history of publishing and maintaining repositories.

This combination makes sure we are well positioned to work on ReasonChain-AI verification framework for Cardano.

Evidence of credibility:

• Contributions to open-source repos.

• Engagement in conversations within the Cardano developer community.

• Passing through the Catalyst process and its accountability standards.

Delivery Process Transparency

Good transparency is necessary to keep the parties in check:

Public GitHub Repository: All the core code, documentation, and updates will be open-source under informal license.

Bi-Weekly Status Reports: To be posted on Github, communicated via Discord/Telegram, and submitted to Catalyst.

Deliverables Based on Milestones: Payment shall be tied to the achievement of project milestones. Each milestone shall present defined deliverables (prototype, testnet deployment, audits, final release).

Community Testing: Early demos and open betas to gather feedback from developers and users.

In this way, Cardano's community is able to audit our work at every stage.

Feasibility Validation

Feasibility Validation is considered in every stage of the life cycle:

• Stage 1: Prototype Feasibility (Month 1)

Construct a minimum on-chain AI-verification module (commit–reveal + proof of provenance).

Verify integration onto Plutus smart contracts.

Run test cases over very small datasets.

• Stage 2: Security & ZKP Validation (Months 2 & 3)

Integrate zero-knowledge proofs for privacy-preserving verification;

Testing cycles (tampering, false proofs);

Review by cryptography experts.

• Stage 3: End-to-End Integration (Month 4)

Launch prototype dApps for ReasonChain modules (such as AI governance advising and DEFI risk analysis) for feedback from the community;

Benchmark gas usage, latency, and scalability.

**.**Stage 4: Community Audit (Months 5 & 6)

Invite developers to audit the code

Pay bounty hunters for bug findings.

Usability validation takes place through hackathon-style integration challenges.

Hence, feasibility is made apparent through these phased deliveries, which act as a prelude to full deployment.

Independent Peer Review & Audits

Peer validation thus adds credibility to the project:

• Design papers will be disseminated through IOG researchers and the Cardano technical fora.

• Academic AI/ML researchers shall be invited to collaborate on ways toward transparency.

• An independent security audit shall ensue (budget permitting).

External validation of this nature eliminates silo working and thereby aligns with bigger standards.

Open Governance and Feedback Loops

• Community Steering: AMAs and workshops to be held to ensure deliverables are workable for developers, from their point of view.

• Catalyst Voter Feedback: Feedback from the community collected during the proposal review process.

• Open Governance Model: All major design decisions shall be documented and held as an open agenda.

This modus operandi keeps our work accountable and community-driven and engenders their trust.

Risk Management

Risks and mitigation methods:

• Technical Complexity Risk. Can be mitigated through staged validation (prototype → audit → deployment).

• Scalability Risk. Benchmarked performance and optimized gas usage.

• Adoption Risk: Early developer engagement and hackathon-driven integrations are meant to reduce the risk.

• Security Risk: Mitigated by audits, bounty programs, and trustless mechanism-based ZKP.

Track Record of Accountability in Catalyst

We abide by all Catalyst best practices:

• Payments to be made through milestones;

• Provide full disclosure regarding progress and results.

• Document open repositories so that verification can be done.

This guarantees that reviewers and the community can measure the results transparently.

Long-Term Commitment

It would be our goal to see:

The ReasonChain maintained after the Catalyst funding period.

The ReasonChain collaborating with other Cardano projects (DeFi, governance, RWA).

ReasonChain being established as a core layer of AI-verification infrastructure.

This goes to show our intent to keep, maintain, and grow the project in a responsible manner.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Research & Architecture

Milestone Outputs

This documentation, also serving as blueprint-level documentation, will include the complete architecture for how ReasonChain oracles ingest, verify, and publish external data via zk-proofs. Technical diagrams will also be created, covering system data flow, SDK interaction, and smart contract layouts. A GitHub repository will be created, and some initial documentation and references will be added so that everything shades in transparency from the start. A publicly accessible feedback session will be held to confirm architecture decisions and garner early developer participation. An "Ecosystem Research Report" will also be published, cataloging learnings from other oracle and ZK frameworks and adapting them for Cardano.

Acceptance Criteria

Completion of this milestone will be marked by the submission of an architecture document for and in the GitHub repository, including flowcharts, sequence diagrams, and a narrative documenting ReasonChain's data model. At least one community review session should have been held with the participation of 5 developers or stakeholders evidenced. Incorporation of their feedback shall have taken place; accordingly, an updated version of the design shall have been published. The repository shall evidence at least 5 meaningful commits deemed architecture documentation related.

Evidence of Completion

The main evidence will be a link to GitHub, where all the architecture documentation and diagrams are contained. We will certainly be publishing screenshots from the community sessions (slides, recording of the meetings, attendance list) alongside a summary report of the feedback received and how it impacted the design. Both the commits to the repository and the timestamps will be visible to ensure transparency. A PDF version of an “Ecosystem Research Report” will be uploaded either onto GitHub or a public drive for external verification.

Delivery Month

2

Cost

15000

Progress

40 %

Milestone Title

Prototype Oracle & Proof Verification Engine

Milestone Outputs

Milestone two delivers the first working prototype of ReasonChain, concentrating on the core verification engine. Deliverables include smart contract modules in Plutus V3 that can verify zero-knowledge proofs on BLS12-381 primitives and on-chain policy guards. Next, the prototype will publish attested inferences using an oracle UTxO design using CIP-31/32/33. The TypeScript SDK prototype will allow developers to request inferences, view commitments, and test verification on-chain. Testnet deployment of the oracle and verification engine will also be provided in this milestone, guaranteeing the developers can technically transact with test ADA.

Acceptance Criteria

Fully complete to mean the smart contracts must compile and deploy successfully onto the Cardano testnet. The verification engine must prove it can validate proof at least in 5 test cases of distinct nature. The TypeScript SDK should allow attested inferences to be consumed and verified by external dAps on-chain, with test documentation offered demonstrating step-by-step reproducible results. A technical demo video or a recorded testing session should be released to the public.

Evidence of Completion

Proof will be provided through source code hosted on GitHub, along with testnet transaction hashes demonstrating successful proof verifications, examples of SDK usage in documentation, and a recorded video demo uploaded on a public channel. Community developers will be encouraged to replicate the process independently to serve as proof of transparency.

Delivery Month

5

Cost

20000

Progress

30 %

Milestone Title

Privacy, Identity & Integration Layer

Milestone Outputs

This milestone expands the system to preserve privacy or optionally integrate identity. Other outputs include Midnight integration for encrypted CoT commitments and selective reveal service; prototyping of Atala PRISM integration for verifiable credentials, thus allowing identity-backed attestations for inference; and testing of Hydra integration for sub-second proof streaming for DeFi and governance applications. SDKs will expose new features, and compliance/audit options will be documented for enterprise use.

Acceptance Criteria

It will be considered complete upon the demonstration of testnet integration of Midnights for encrypted commitments and at least one identity-backed verification flow using PRISM credentials. Hydra proof streaming must be validated in a small-scale demo environment. Document updates must cover privacy, compliance, and selective reveal logic. Feedback is to be taken from at least 2 ecosystem partners or dApps.

Evidence of Completion

Evidence contains GitHub commits to privacy/identity modules, testnet transaction hashes related to encrypted commitments, review of demo videos showing sub-second Hydra proof streaming, and at least two signed statements or comments in the forum from ecosystem dApps confirming pilot engagement.

Delivery Month

3

Cost

27500

Progress

10 %

Milestone Title

Full MVP Release & Ecosystem Pilots

Milestone Outputs

The final milestone encompasses an MVP ReasonChain release with complete end-to-end functionality. The deliverables are stable smart contracts, fully workable TypeScript SDK, integration documentation, and pilot dApps integration (DeFi, governance, or RWA). A public testnet deployment will let any dApp consume and verify ReasonChain inferences. The last whitepaper update will share lessons learned in implementation and from feedback of partners. This milestone shall prepare ReasonChain for adoption and scaling.

Acceptance Criteria

Completion entails having an MVP deployed stably into the Cardano testnet with ReasonChain validated integration of at least 2 partner dApps. SDK needs to be feature complete, version-tagged, with a changelog and developer docs. An updated whitepaper shall be available, and at least 2 ecosystem workshops/AMAs will be recorded showcasing the MVP.

Evidence of Completion

These deliverables are GitHub repositories tagged with release versions; testnet deployment details; signed confirmations from pilot partners; updates to the whitepaper; and recordings of systemworkshops, AMAs, and ecosystem meetups.

Delivery Month

1

Cost

12500

Progress

20 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

The total funding requested for the ReasonChain project amounts to ₳75,000 ADA with allocations made across four key milestones. This amount is a highly focused capital injection for building a first-ever ZK-attested AI oracle infrastructure for Cardano. Funds per each milestone are allocated primarily on human and technical resources on top of operational requirements.

Milestone 1 – Foundational Architecture & Research Setup (₳15,000 ADA)

This milestone will be the early design phase, research, and preparation of the technical infrastructure:

• ZK/cryptography research and planning: ₳5,000

• System architecture documentation & design: ₳3,000

• GitHub repository setup, version control, CI/CD pipeline preparation: ₳2,500

• Initial outreach to pilot dApps and community engagement: ₳2,500

• Project management and coordination: ₳2,000

This milestone ensures ReasonChain has a blueprint in place, all foundational systems laid out, and is fully geared toward prototype development.

Milestone 2: Prototype Oracle and Proof Verification Engine (₳20,000 ADA)

Funding supports the building of a working prototype to demonstrate core oracle and ZK verification capabilities:

Off-chain proof generation and zkML classifier implementation: ₳8,000

Initial Plutus V3 validator script development: ₳4,000

SDK scaffolding for TypeScript and Plutus integration: ₳4,000

Testnet deployment, debugging, and performance validation: ₳2,500

Documentation for prototype and demo scripts: ₳1,500

The proof of concept (POC) serves to prove the viability of the solution and allow for early feedback from pilot integrators.

Milestone 3: Privacy, Identity & Integration Layer (₳27,500 ADA)

This milestone includes implementation of privacy-preserving and optional identity features, being the largest and most complex stage:

Midnight Network integration for encrypted CoT storage: ₳10,000

Identus/Atala PRISM integration for verifiable credentials: ₳5,000

Hydra channels for low-latency streaming of oracle outputs: ₳4,500

SDK completion and advanced developer tooling: ₳4,000

Comprehensive testing, audits, and documentation for privacy modules: ₳4,000

Milestone 4 – Full MVP Release & Ecosystem Pilots (₳12,500 ADA)

The final milestone focuses on deployment, adoption, and ecosystem engagement:

• Mainnet MVP deployment with pilot dApps: ₳5,000

• Final SDK release, sample apps, and integration guides: ₳3,500

• Workshops, tutorials, and localized educational material (Amharic & Afan Oromo): ₳2,500

• Final audits, feedback incorporation, and reporting: ₳1,500

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

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

Unlocking Verifiable AI Capabilities for Cardano dApps

ReasonChain builds a ZK-attested chain-of-thought-oracle, creating a reusable primitive across DeFi, governance, RWA, compliance, and AI-aided decision-making. Today, dApps must trust blackbox AI outputs; this project introduces cryptographic guarantees against deployment to reduce systemic risk. Therefore, one infrastructural investment will see many verticals benefiting without incurring double costs of duplication.

Using Existing Cardano Infrastructure Efficiently

Major processes are executed by Plutus V3, CIP-31/32/33, Hydra, and Midnight Network, thus minimizing duplicated efforts and risks. Therefore, funds are directed at integrating, innovating, and developer tooling instead of unnecessary creation of new chains or platforms.

Open-Source Products for Reuse

The work will ensure all the core components, SDKs, validator scripts, and circuits are open-source so that any independent SPO and dApp could run their oracle nodes. This results in a network effect: once the “attested reasoning” primitive exists, many teams can adopt it without having to develop it again, resulting in a multiplication of technical capacity for the ecosystem.

Accelerating adoption in strategic regions

Through localization of the documentation and workshopconducted for East Africa (Amharic and Afan Oromo), this project supports Cardano's activities in Ethiopia and the surrounding region. Training developers and dApps on verified AI and privacy tools plants long-term weeds for ecosystem growth so that Cardano technologies generate real-world usage.

High technical leverage and long-term sustainability

These funds will allow building reusable zkML circuits, oracle nodes, and SDKs that would be alive after the pilot ends, so their modular design keeps them upgradable to new models, new privacy standards, and new developer needs, thus giving Cardano a long-term, low-cost infrastructure asset.

Transparent, auditable, and accountable spending

The budget shares a tight correlation with the milestones, where every expense is tied to a discrete output or deliverable. From research to MVP release to ecosystem workshops, every ADA spent ever can be traced to a tangible benefit by all Cardano investors and community reviewers.

Innovation Catalyst in AI, DeFi, and Governance

ReasonChain offers dApps a safe environment in which to integrate AI, providing the support needed for new financial products, governance tools, and risk assessment engines. Thus, there is a compounded effect on the ecosystem: many projects can use the oracle rather than footing the bill for the foundational work themselves. This way, ₳75,000 ADA would fund infrastructure that arguably could have saved hundreds of thousands in duplicated R&D within the Cardano ecosystem.

[Self-Assessment] Self-Assessment Checklist

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

Yes

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

Yes

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

Yes

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

Yes

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

Yes

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

Yes

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

Yes

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

Yes

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

Yes

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

Yes

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

I Agree

Yes