ProofEd: Privacy-Preserving Credentials on Midnight

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

ProofEd: Privacy-Preserving Credentials on Midnight

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

3

[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?

LMS credentials are easy to forge and require revealing sensitive data. Verification is slow and manual, creating trust and privacy gaps.

[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?

Yes

Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

Yes. We will use the MIT License. All code, including Midnight ZKP circuits and Cardano smart contracts, will be publicly available on GitHub to ensure transparency and community verification.

[Theme Selection] Theme

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

Identity & Verification

[Campaign Category] Category Questions

What is useful about your DApp within one of the specified industry or enterprise verticals?

Industry​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Vertical: Education & Digital Identity

Utility & Technical Implementation: This DApp addresses the "privacy vs. verification" paradox in EdTech by doing away with the need for centralized databases and introducing a Midnight-powered Zero-Knowledge (ZK) credential layer instead.

• Privacy-preserving verification: enables learners to utilize Midnight's ZKPs to demonstrate "I completed Course X" without disclosing their full identity or any other PII.
• Trustless Architecture:
  • Cardano Public State: The state keeps the credential roots hashed to ensure that they are unchangeable.
  • Private State (Midnight): Holds the sensitive data of the learners such as their grades, PII, etc., which can only be accessed through the ZK proofs.
• Tech Stack:
  • **Smart Contracts: **Privacy logic implemented with concise language for Midnight contracts.
  • **Back-end: **The combination of Express REST API and Cardano SDK is used here, where the API handles LMS logic and the SDK is for building tx.
  • Frontend: Next.js along with midnight-js provides bindings for wallet interactions.
  • Storage: Cloudflare R2 is used for the encrypted off-chain metadata.

Code-First PoC Roadmap (3 Months)

• Month 1: ZK Circuit & Contract Implementation
  • Deliverable: CredentialVerifier.compact contract deployed on the Midnight Testnet.
  • Details: The defining of the struct Credential { studentId: Field, courseHash: Field } is done first. Subsequently, the export circuit proveCompletion() to verify the hashed credential with the public ledger root is implemented.
  • Acceptance Criteria: The file is successfully compiled with compactc and the local proof generation is also successful.
• Month 2: Backend Integration & Issuance
  • Deliverable: Express API endpoint /api/issue-credential
  • **Details: **The pycardano based Python script shown here is responsible for on-chain NFT minting on Cardano along with witness file creation for a user's Midnight wallet.
  • Acceptance Criteria: The API provides a Cardano transaction hash and a ZK-compatible witness JSON as responses for respective requests.
• Month 3: Frontend Verification & UI
  • Deliverable: Verifier Dashboard built with Next.js.
  • **Details: **midnight-ts SDK integration. Proof generation in the browser where a user signs a challenge with wallet.prove(circuit_id, private_inputs).
  • Acceptance Criteria: A third-party employer is able to accomplish a skill verification in less than 5 seconds without having access to user raw ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌data

What exactly will you build? List the Compact contract(s) and key functions/proofs, the demo UI flow, Lace (Midnight) wallet integration, and your basic test plan.

Core Components & Functions

Our Privacy-Preserving Credential System will be composed of 5 key elements:

• The Privacy Contract (Midnight): A contract smart which serves to store a personal state (student data) and a public state (credential validity). It will feature:
• Issuance Logic: This is a functionality that locks a credential on a user phone.
• Verification Logic: A ZK-circuit that enables its user to make the export of a piece of skill but not their own information.
• **The Verifier Portal (UI): **A web site where employers may issue a request (e.g., "Verify Python Certification") and are given a basic retrieval, as to whether it is true or false.
• The Student Dashboard (UI): This interface of credential management is a student-facing tool to see and manage permission of their privacy.

Basic Test Plan

We will execute a 3-phase test strategy:

• Phase 1: Test the ZK circuits in isolation to ensure they correctly accept valid credentials and reject fake ones.
• Phase 2: Test the wallet integration to ensure users can smoothy sign, store, and retrieve credentials.
• Phase 3: Full end-to-end simulation where a team member acts as an "Issuer," "Student," and "Verifier" to confirm the entire loop works without data leaks.

Usefulness (Pattern & Necessity)

• Pattern: We are applying the Selective Disclosure pattern.
• Why Midnight? Standard blockchains cannot hide data while verifying it. Midnight is required because it allows us to validate the existence of a certificate without revealing the content of that certificate.
• Novelty: This replaces the current standard of "sending a PDF" (insecure) or "public metadata" (privacy-violating) with a true Self-Sovereign Identity model for education.

How will other developers learn from and reuse your repo? Describe repo structure, README contents, docs/tutorials, test instructions, and extension points. Which developer personas benefit, and how will you gauge impact (forks, stars, issues, remixes)?

Repo Structure & Reusability

We provide a Monorepo for full visibility of the hybrid architecture:

• /contracts: CredentialGuard.compact source code and ZKP circuits for privacy logic.
• /backend: Express API reference implementation for credential issuance.
• /frontend: Next.js DApp for the Student Wallet and Verifier Portal.
• /docker: One-command setup to spin up the full stack locally.

Docs, Personas & Impact

• Documentation: Our README includes a "Zero-to-ZK" guide and specific tutorials on the Selective Disclosure pattern, allowing devs to extend the Credential struct for other use cases (e.g., event tickets).
• Target Personas:
  • ZK-Curious Devs: Gain a working example of Compact smart contracts in action.
  • EdTech Integrators: Can fork the backend to add "Verifiable Credentials" to existing platforms like Moodle.
  • Measuring Impact: We track success via Forks (devs adapting the code for new verticals) and GitHub Issues (feedback on the Midnight integration).

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

The Problem

Digital credentials today force a dangerous tradeoff: they are either centralized and easy to forge, or public and privacy-violating. Employers struggle to verify skills trustlessly, while learners must expose sensitive PII to prove their achievements.

Our Solution & Approach

We propose ProofEd, a hybrid credentialing platform. We use Cardano to store immutable hashes of course completions and Midnight to protect learner identity.

Why this approach? Standard blockchains expose data publicly. We use Midnight’s Compact contracts for Selective Disclosure, allowing users to prove validity without revealing content, a capability unique to ZK-enabled chains.

Engagement

Learners: Gain portable, wallet-owned credentials.

Institutions: Issue fraud-resistant certificates at scale.

Employers: Instantly verify authenticity without intermediaries.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

Please define the positive impact your project will have on Midnight ecosystem

Value to Midnight Ecosystem

ProofEd validates Midnight for Real-World Utility (RealFi), proving it can solve the massive Web2 problem of educational privacy. We provide a production-ready "ZKP Starter Kit" (LMS + Midnight), lowering the barrier for new developers to build privacy-preserving DApps.

Measuring Impact

• Quantitative: Track 50+ Testnet credentials minted, 20+ trustless verifications, and 15+ GitHub forks/stars.
• Qualitative: Gather developer feedback on our "Zero-to-ZK" documentation and pilot user feedback on the Lace Wallet integration experience.

Sharing Outputs

• Code: Full open-source release (MIT License) on GitHub, including ZKP circuits and smart contracts.
• Content: A "Midnight Integration Guide" article

[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?

Team Capacity

We are a team of Full-Stack and Web3 Architects. We possess the specific dual-expertise required for this hybrid project:

Web3: Deep knowledge of Cardano SDK and Midnight ZKP circuits.

Web2: Proven proficiency in Express (Typescript) and Next.js, essential for the LMS backend and frontend.

Feasibility Validation

Our approach is low-risk because we have already mapped a complete technical architecture. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we integrate Midnight’s privacy layer into a standard, robust LMS stack. This "Hybrid" architecture ensures the application is scalable and user-friendly from Day 1.

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

• Milestone 1: Privacy Smart Contract & ZK Logic (35%) Sub-total: 3,500 USD
  • Compact Smart Contract Engineering (60 Hours): $2,100
    • Development of the CredentialGuard.compact contract.
    • Engineering the Zero-Knowledge (ZK) circuits required for "Selective Disclosure" logic.
    • Defining private vs. public state schemas.
  • Backend Architecture & Database Setup (40 Hours): $1,400
    • Initial setup of the REST Framework environment.
    • Relational database modeling for Users, Courses, and Credential metadata
• Milestone 2: Wallet Integration & Issuance API (35%) Sub-total: 3,500 USD
  • Issuance API Implementation (50 Hours): $1,750
    • Building the secure /mint endpoint to process course completions.
    • Integration with Cloudflare R2 for encrypted off-chain file storage.
  • Wallet & SDK Integration (50 Hours): $1,750
    • Client-side integration using the midnight-js SDK.
    • Implementing the secure handshake between the Next.js frontend and the Lace Wallet for signing private transactions.
• Milestone 3: Verifier DApp & Public Launch (30%) Sub-total: 3,000 USD
  • Frontend UI Development (Next.js) (40 Hours): $1,400
    • Development of the "Verifier Portal" for employers to request proofs.
    • Building the "Student Dashboard" for viewing private wallet assets.
  • Documentation & Educational Content (20 Hours): $700
    • Creation of the "Zero-to-ZK" developer guide and README.
    • Production of the end-to-end video walkthrough.
  • Testing, QA & Infrastructure (25 Hours): $900
    • End-to-end testing of the issuance-verification loop.
    • Server costs (Render/Vercel) and domain registration.
    • Project close-out reporting and license management.

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

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

High Impact, Low Risk

For a budget of $10,000, this project delivers a production-ready Reference Implementation for one of the most critical use cases in Web3: Privacy-Preserving Identity.

1. Opening a New Vertical (RealFi) While many projects focus on DeFi (tokens), ProofEd validates Midnight for EdTech, a massive global industry. We are proving that Midnight is the best chain for handling sensitive data (GDPR/FERPA compliant credentialing), positioning the ecosystem as the leader in Data Protection, not just financial privacy.

2. A "Multiplier Effect" for Developers We are not just building a single DApp; we are delivering an open-source "ZKP Starter Kit."

Our Django-to-Midnight backend bridge and Next.js wallet integration patterns will be open-sourced.

Future developers can fork our repository to build "Ticket Issuers," "Medical Record Systems," or "DAO Memberships" without starting from scratch.

This creates thousands of dollars in downstream value by saving future developers hundreds of engineering hours.

1. Cost-Effective Architecture We maximize value by leveraging mature open-source Web2 technologies (Django, Next.js) for the non-critical components, allocating 85%+ of the budget strictly to the complex, high-value tasks: Compact Smart Contracts and ZK Circuit Engineering. You are paying for specialized Midnight expertise, not generic web development.

2. User Acquisition Engine Every credential issued brings a new user into the Midnight ecosystem. By integrating the Lace Wallet into a student's daily life (receiving a degree/certificate), we drive organic wallet adoption among a non-crypto-native demographic (students and universities).

[Self-Assessment] Self-Assessment Checklist

I confirm that the proposal clearly provides a basic prototype reference application for one of the areas of interest.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal clearly defines which part of the developer journey it improves and how it makes building on Midnight easier and more productive.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal explicitly states the chosen permissive open-source license (e.g., MIT, Apache 2.0) and commits to a public code repository.

Yes

I confirm that the team provides evidence of their technical ability and experience in creating developer tools or high-quality technical content (e.g., GitHub, portfolio).

Yes

I confirm that a plan for creating and maintaining clear, comprehensive documentation is a core part of the proposal's scope.

Yes

I confirm that the budget and timeline (3 months) are realistic for delivering the proposed tool or resource.

Yes

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

I Agree

Yes