[Proposal setup] Proposal title
Please provide your proposal title
zkPoker Development
[Proposal Summary] Budget Information
Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA
175000
[Proposal Summary] Time
Please specify how many months you expect your project to last
5
[Proposal Summary] Translation Information
Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated
No
Original Language
en
[Proposal Summary] Problem Statement
What is the problem you want to solve?
Cardano is missing a multi-user, real-time dApp to drive growth and pave the way for trustless, non custodial crypto protocols based on mind poker.
[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation
Supporting links
[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies
Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?
No
Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'
No dependencies
[Proposal Summary] Project Open Source
Will your project's outputs be fully open source?
No
Please provide details on the intellectual property (IP) status of your project outputs, including whether they will be released as open source or retained under another licence.
All of the project will be open source, MIT-Licensed, except for the implementation of the Threshold ElGamal crypto system, which can anyway be derived and reimplemented by reading the Kaleidoscope paper.
[Theme Selection] Theme
Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal
Gaming
[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).
- Fair, trustless Poker has been a major academic problem to solve for decades. No other crypto ecosystem was able to completely solve it so far. The $100B poker industry is waiting to join us.
- Our research is based on Cardano research, e.g. Kaleidoscope, and uses a Threshold ElGamal cryptosystem to allow players to have group encrypted data that is both private (for a single player) and public (for the group)
- We implemented two iterations of the protocol. The last version is testable in the prototype working on Hydra, but for the zkPoker proposal, we are implementing a third version (non-Hydra) in order to have a production-ready game.
Describe what your prototype or MVP will demonstrate, and where it can be accessed.
- The prototype will demonstrate a full working game of poker in preproduction, and will be available at: https://app.zkpoker.io/
- The dApp starts from sending funds from a preprod wallet, to the table smart contract and activating a poker session.
- It will demonstrate how we can exchange real-time messages between players, using a Threshold ElGamal cryptosystem, based on what we see in Kaleidoscope
- It will reuse the UI and the Protocol seen in previous cPoker implementations
- It will end by calculating the results of the hand and distributing the amounts to the players wallets.
Describe realistic measures of success, ideally with on-chain metrics.
Within 6 months from launch, in preprod:
- 1,000 unique addresses interacting with cPoker contracts.
- 20,000 transactions
After release:
- Starting from the first months after launch, we expect to see real activity on the platform, e.g. 1000 games played per month in preprod .
- Ideally, the preprod applcation can be ported to production with minimal technical effort (we cannot afford auditing and legal with the budget requested for this phase)
[Your Project and Solution] Solution
Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem
Starting from the results of the past Funded Proposals and PoCs, we're building an interactive, real-time, decentralized app, which will allow us to play non-custodial poker through the Cardano blockchain.
Once the project is finished, we will present the product both to the Cardano community and to the general public. The impact will be demonstrated by the number of users using the application and on the total value of ADA or test-ADA played on the contract.
With this proposal, we're aggregating and reusing the results of past Funded Proposals, and assembling a working solution to demonstrate how to run a multi-user, real-time poker application working in preprod, in such a way that other motivated Cardano builders can reproduce for their own applications and state channel infrastructure.
Once the project is finished, we will present the product both to the Cardano community and to the general public. The impact will be demonstrated by the number of users using the application and on the total value of ADA or test-ADA played on the contract.
Even if we target preprod, we will take care of making the preprod application easy to transform into a dApp ready for production, (excluding most of egal/compliance, which is out of scope for this proposal)
Specific details and decomposition:
In previous funds, we delivered prototypes, PoCs, and early implementations of all the components needed to achieve our goal of delivering real-time, secure blockchain applications.
- Reusing the results from Cardano After Dark (F7) and cPoker Hydra(F13) we are implementing the UI and the Crypto-interaction protocol, to enable fair/trustless gaming on a mental poker setup.
- Reusing the results from DRED (F8) and cPoker DRED dev (F13) , we'll achieve real-time interaction inside a blockchain application, where a set of node operators are incentivized to run nodes.
With this proposal, we aim to actually implement the working solution, bridging the gaps to get to the real world, except those related to legal/compliance - (this topic is more expensive)
Our project will engage Cardano community members by providing a new and exciting way to use the Cardano Network and also engage the wider gaming community by offering the least expensive and simultaneously most secure poker platform on the market. In addition we will reinforce our messaging regarding Cardano's Academic approach and offer a new angle with something people will be able to see for themselves.
[Your Project and Solution] Impact
Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community
Our project is a unique poker app and a unique decentralized application, built on a solid platform. As a poker app, it is non-custodial, which is an attracting theme for poker playerd. As a dApp is real-time, secure and fast, which is attracting for all those building dApps on the Cardano blockchain.
The main positive impact:
- Increase user engagement: attract a new segment of users, boosting the total value locked (TVL) on the Cardano blockchain and enhancing its utility for a broader audience.
- Setting a precedent for real-time dApps: our project will serve as a concrete example for future developers, showcasing the potential of interactive, real-time decentralized applications (dApps) on Cardano.
- Open new interesting use cases: we already started experimenting with other fast, interactive applications on DRED, and even if the learning curve is steep, we already envison a number of applications in other directions, such as: Community Governance, Real-time AV messaging, Content Production, etc..
[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?
Our team is working together since several years, through good and hard times. We know each other well, we are technically excellent, and we have a track record of funded projects delivered successfully:
As a team, we bring together Skills from all IT sectors, from Academy to Industry, and Cardano Community.
Capability to Deliver example: We have been funded multiple times by Cardano Catalyst, and we have delivered:
The feasibility of our approach is validated according to:
- Scientific approach: We started from Kaleidoscope and ROYALE (IOG-funded research papers), and we proceeded by steps that we can reproduce, understand, explain, and innovate beyond the limits of the papers.
- Incremental progress: We broke down the problem in subproblems, which makes it easier to solve different aspects: Cardano After Dark for Poker UI ; DRED to implement a State channel, zkpoker: to enable zk-proof of validity, and our latest PoC demonstrating we can perform a TEG-Shuffle and run a poker protocol with encrypted cards.
- Pragmatic approach: Incremental testing during development, incremental assessment of the deliverables for the project milestones.
[Milestones] Project Milestones
Milestone Title
M1 : UI and Smart Contract Integration
Milestone Outputs
- Connect the existing poker game context to the web UI so state and actions are visible in the interface.
- Integrate DRED so players can exchange messages inside the dApp (e.g., lobby/table interactions) with live updates.
- Add an initial smart-contract hook (limited functionality) to exercise the end-to-end path without final features.
- Deliver a coherent UI that reflects gameplay state and cross-client messaging in real time.
Acceptance Criteria
- From the UI, users trigger actions that update the game context, and those changes sync via DRED across at least two clients.
- A minimal contract call (e.g., placeholder escrow or entry point) is executed on a test network and confirmed in the UI flow.
- The UI remains stable during these flows and displays state changes without manual refreshes or intervention.
Evidence of Completion
- A screen-recorded video shows: UI ↔ game-context linkage, cross-client DRED messaging, and one smart-contract call on a test net.
- A short written report in the repo/docs summarizes what was integrated, what remains out of scope, and links to the tagged commit(s) used in the demo.
Delivery Month
1
Cost
35000
Progress
20 %
Milestone Title
M2: Development of cPoker Application
Milestone Outputs
- Implement the poker rules within the current architecture so hands progress end-to-end using the existing protocol and messaging.
- Consolidate the rule set in code and verify it works with the previously integrated UI and DRED layer.
Acceptance Criteria
- The dApp runs complete hands with the implemented rules across clients, with actions processed in the expected order.
- Rule handling is consistent with the current protocol design and functions with the live messaging from Milestone 1.
Evidence of Completion
- A demo video shows end-to-end gameplay using the implemented rules on the existing UI and messaging.
- creating a public rule book including some of the finer differences for players to check and give feedback on.
Delivery Month
2
Cost
35000
Progress
40 %
Milestone Title
M3: Completion of cPoker MVP
Milestone Outputs
- Complete the MVP by combining the poker protocol, real-time communication, and in-game bets via the smart contract.
- Capture developers feedback for fixes within scope.
- Maintain the previously delivered UI and messaging, focusing on feature-complete gameplay rather than new features.
Acceptance Criteria
- Users can join a table, play hands with in-game bets mediated by the contract, and see state changes propagate in real time.
- Developers should find and solve any critical issues that might prevent following phase (alpha onboarding)
- The MVP remains stable through full hands, with bet placement, hand progression, and settlement functioning as designed.
Evidence of Completion
- The repository contains the public dApp and smart-contract code for the MVP, linked to a release/tag.
- A demo video shows table join, betting, hand progression, and settlement with the MVP build.
- An onboarding checklist should be ready for next phase.
Delivery Month
4
Cost
35000
Progress
60 %
Milestone Title
M4: User onboarding and BugFix
Milestone Outputs
- Onboard alpha users to exercise the MVP under realistic conditions and capture feedback for fixes within scope.
- Extract Feedback into actionable Github Issues, and start fixing them.
- Alpha users should be involved in the testng, and in the initial marketing operations
Acceptance Criteria
- A small cohort of alpha users completes full hands; any critical issues found are identified and addressed when feasible.
- User feedback is extracted in one or more GitHub issues, which needs to be actioned by the team. All the issues that fits in the complexity of the this milestone must be solved. For more complex issues, they should be well documented and actionable for the future
Evidence of Completion
- A brief onboarding summary documents alpha feedback, issues discovered, and fixes applied or deferred.
- A list of GitHub issues related to user onboarding is provided.
Delivery Month
4
Cost
35000
Progress
80 %
Milestone Title
M5 Project close-out and public release
Milestone Outputs
- Finalize the application by incorporating relevant alpha feedback from Milestone 4 without expanding scope.
- Prepare and publish a public release of the same MVP on a testnet so the community can access and evaluate the build.
- Present the product both to the Cardano community and to the general public
- Provide a concise close-out summary describing features and known limitations.
Acceptance Criteria
- The cPoker MVP with in-game bets is released publicly and an alpha testnet version is live and accessible.
- The close-out summary lists included features and current constraints; no extra features beyond the MVP are required for completion.
- All artifacts needed for public use (build, configs, links) are available and referenced.
Evidence of Completion
- Final source code for the public dApp and smart contracts is in the repository.
- A comprehensive demo video walks through the released MVP build on the testnet.
- Measure the initial impact, demonstrated by the number of application usersand on the total value of ADA or test-ADA played on the contract.
- A concise close-out report (and short video) documents delivery, links to the release, known limitations, and next-step recommendations outside this proposal’s scope.
Delivery Month
5
Cost
35000
Progress
100 %
[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs
Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources
The total project cost is projected to be 175k ADA, that roughly is 35k ada/month, or 15k usd/month, as per current exchange rate (27/11/2025)
Our budget calculation is based on a detailed analysis of team size, location, and market rates, ensuring we maintain a budget on the average in our respective locations, and considering additional costs and possible risks.
Core Team Composition:
Team size: 6 members
Locations: U.S. (CA, TX), E.U. (AT, DE, BG)
Total monthly expenditure: ADA 35k / month
Personnel costs monthly: 30k ADA/mo
- 1 Software Architect: 80h / month
- 1 Project Manager: 80h / month
- 2 Developers, each working 80h / month
- 1 DevOps Engineer, 80h / month
- 1 Marketing Lead, 80h / month
Additional costs monthly: 5k/mo
- Infrastructure: covering server costs, sw licenses, and cloud services
- Publicity, marketing, community engagement: Activities aimed at promoting the project, incentivizing, and engaging with the community.
- Contingency funds: 10% of the total, allocated for unforeseen circumstances such as increase in project complexity, team member replacements, market volatility.
In case of need:
- If the project exceeds the initial budget allocation and the contingency funds, alternative funding sources will be considered. This may involve requesting flexibility from the team, such as working additional hours without extra compensation.
[Final Pitch] Value for Money
How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?
The project represents significant value for money, for several key reasons:
High potential user base:
- In the short term we are targeting poker players of the Cardano community, for which we have tens of thousands of active accounts. We assume that around 5000 Cardano users have an interest in poker.
- In the medium term we are targeting poker players whose overall cryptocurrency user base is over 400m people. We estimate 6-12m cryptocurrency users are interested in poker.
- In the long run the application can target all the online poker players. A reasonable working estimate is that there are on the order of 100M people worldwide who play online poker. Basically, we could target all of them, given our competitive advantage of better security.
Benefitting the Cardano ecosystem
- By having the first fully decentralized Poker application in the Blockchain-space, builders in the blockchain space will see the advantages of building on Cardano.
- This project serves as a demonstration of real-time interactivity for dApps, providing a model for future projects, not just within CAD (Card After Dark) but for the Cardano ecosystem and beyond.
Carefully considered project costs:
- Personnel costs cover compensation for a team of 6, working between 50% and 80% for the duration of the project, at a reasonable price - to attract and retain talents needed for the project success.
- Additional costs cover infrastructure, consulting, and contingency fund, to cater for risk and market volatility.
- Team cost is anyway below market rate, as we provide equity into the project, for the developers.
[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