NFT Farming on Cardano with Tangent

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem.

A platform that allows for owners and developers to create farms where users can stake multiple NFTs on an aesthetically pleasing interface whilst generating extrinsic rewards for each user. 

[GENERAL] Summarize your relevant experience.

The team have helped create multiple NFT platforms on other chains (Eth, BSC, Matic) & have experience in the coding and deployment of DeFi (liquidity pool farming, etc) & NFT related projects (gallery, marketplace) since 2019. Refer to github & team experience for more info.

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

“We don’t have great NFT related interfaces yet - and this is an area where Catalyst can step in” Charles Hoskinson, Town Hall, 1st June 2022. 

• Provide further use cases & utility to NFTs on Cardano
• Create an NFT Farming Platform that allows Tangent / Kwrtz & more NFTs to be staked alongside other traditional DeFi assets such as liquidity pool tokens (Stage 1)
• Create permissionless staking contracts that support NFTs and tokens from other Cardano projects (Stage 2)
• Provide a platform for project owners and developers to create configurable farms where users can stake LP tokens & NFTs to receive rewards (Stage 2)
• Provide an aesthetically pleasing interface / gallery where users can view their staked NFTs in 3-D (Stage 1)
• Harness the power of Cardano and its low fees to scale on-chain NFT Farming

Tangent’s mission is to merge art with finance on the Cardano Network by focusing on the development of NFTs and their applications within finance and gaming. Tangent will be the radical art project built on the Cardano blockchain that provides permissionless DeFi-as-a-Service (DaaS) staking and farming functionality to NFTs.

[IMPACT] Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.

We have developed in collaboration with a leading Japanese bohemian digital artist, NFTs that on one level are collectible digital art pieces but on another level form parts of smart contracts that can be utilized within decentralized finance. This is why we coined the phrase, operative artwork, to describe our novel approach to NFTs which can also perform functions within smart contracts used in decentralized finance applications.

The first operative artwork pieces to be released, the Tangent x Kwrtz Genesis Edition NFTs, will not only be aesthetically pleasing & in honor of the Cardano network but also packed full of programmable financial utility and other benefits to reward early adopters. Operative artworks can be staked alongside other assets within Liquidity Mining and Yield Farming Pools to generate passive income for investors. Operative artworks can also be locked into NFT Farming Pools to earn more rewards or lent out to other users in return for a fixed fee.

Finally we will open source the smart contracts behind our platform and make them permissionless so that anyone from the Cardano community can use the platform to create configurable NFT farms for their own communities to stake LP tokens & NFTs to receive rewards. In this regard we will have a large impact on the NFT & DeFi Cardano scene because we will create a platform that explores a new innovative concept (NFT farming) and also provides permissionless DeFi-as-a-Service that anyone can use.

[IMPACT] What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?

Below we have created a ‘’risk register’’ incorporating both product & project management components; areas which could delay or affect project completion and on time delivery: 

Scope / Budget

• Risk: Our ambitions as a team are too challenging
• Solution: Breaking down our plan / roadmap into 2 x 3 month phases will allow for suitable completion & execution of tasks with evidence of progress shown to the community 

• Risk: Our budget does not suffice
• Solution: Our budget has been split into phases with successful F9 funding to allow for the first 3-4months of project development. 

• Risk: Scope change affecting competition
• Solution: Clear roles and responsibilities for each staff member (see team information section) plus the addition of 1-2 more developers will mitigate time creep within the organization and should allow for proposed time frames to be achieved. 

Product/ Market Fit 

• Risk: Other organisations having done this before
• Solution: Our NFT farming project is niche to Cardano as far as we are aware and believe it aligns with the Cardano communities plan / direction - to bring utility to the CNFT space. There have been a number of NFT Farming projects building on Ethereum (Axie Infinity, Superfarm etc.) and Binance Smart Chain (MOBOX, Bunicorn etc.).

• Risk: Decline in industry NFT sales
• Solution: A change in market sentiment towards NFTs sales and utility would not affect the completion and implementation of our project as we believe in giving alternative utility to NFTs other than just the art / collectable value

Technical Complexity

• Risk: At the time of proposal, a possible lack of pre-existing libraries and audited open source, farming smart contracts means a lot of the code will have to be created from scratch.
• Solution: With our current experience team plus another 1-2 coders, this shall be achieved internally. Furthermore liaising, collaborating, sharing ideas with the Catalyst community including experienced Cardano developers, can only contribute to the successful creation of our Farming platform in a timely manner. Ninh Tran from the Snapbrillia team has offered to connect and assist us in the coming weeks in regards to recommending experienced coders to help us build our NFT Farm. We will certainly interview a number of candidates from a variety of backgrounds

Team Resources/ Replacements/ Incentives

• Risk: The team falls out and the project isn't funded
• Solution: Our current core team have worked together for over 3 years across a variety of smaller projects. Tangent has enough funds (raised from a private friends and family seed sale) to cover the salaries of our current team up until the beginning of phase 2 of farming development. The co-founders do not take a salary. 

• Risk: Developers loose drive to complete whilst the project is underway
• Solution: We incentivise our developers with a sizeable native token % allocation which is agreed to be released in a timeline shared with each individual developer. 

• Risk: Developer does not pull their weight
• Solution: If a developer does not fulfil their role as agreed in their contract, such person shall be replaced with a suitably competent alternative in a swift and timely manner. 

Competitors/ Go-to-Market Strategy 

• Risk: Competitor gets to market first
• Solution: As mentioned we see very little competition in regards to other projects who plan to create an NFT staking platform on Cardano, other than an organization which has recently added it to their proposal and who are applying for funding in F9 also. Furthermore with our prior experience coding NFT farms on other chains, we feel we have a headstart

• Risk: Engagement from the community is lacking
• Solution: Our GTM strategy is in its infancy but as the project progresses we have a suitable budget set aside for promotion across a variety of channels. Furthermore we are, and will continue to be very active within IOHK’s Catalyst programme and have applied to host a breakdown room before the end of June. We will be committed to raising the profile of Tangent organically, with gaining the trust of the Cardano community at the forefront.  

Regulatory/ Legal Factors Preventing Go-To-Market

• Risk: Regulatory issues within certain jurisdictions
• Solution: We are fortunate to have Alexis Golding on our team. She is our legal and compliance advisor who has done and will continue to guide us whilst our farm is in creation. Different jurisdictions will require different regulatory considerations.

• Risk: Regulatory guidelines change whilst the project is being built
• Solution: As phase 2 of development commences we will take an up-to-date assessment of key jurisdictions for which our staking platform could be legally promoted in and launched. Currently there are no clear-cut regulatory concerns that would in effect limit us from implementing our project in the team's planned target markets. However, as required Alexis will support us with the drafting of regulatory documents thereafter. 

Audits

• Risk: The code is not properly tested before launch
• Solution: When creating new code to be used in decentralized finance, it is important to ensure it is audited thoroughly before being deployed on mainnet. Our audit will be conducted by CertiK during the first month of phase 2 development, allowing for any recommendation to be implemented in a timely manner. The audit will consist of a full security package to include: an overall security score, team verification and most importantly full audit of the Cardano NFT farming contract. 

• Risk: Audits can be very expensive and run over budget
• Solution: Quotes have been generated and costs will be spread across the 2 x stages of application. Any shortfalls shall be covered by Tangent funds

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed plan, including timeline and key milestones for delivering your proposal.

Progress will be in accordance with our Roadmap which can be viewed here:

https://tangentada.gitbook.io/tangentada/information/roadmap

2022 Q2:

• Apply for Catalyst Funding (done)
• Pre listing marketing campaign commencement (ongoing)
• Tangent x Kwrtz // Operative Artwork Flagship Series Launch on NFTMaker.io
• Recruitment of 1-2 more programmers

 - Recruit 1 more Back End Haskell / Plutus developer 

 - Recruit 1 more Full Stack developer

2022 Q3:

• Building Web app & UI
• Backend development of NFT Farming Platform
• Governance Token Airdrop to Tangent x Kwrtz Operative Artwork Series Holders
• Marketing campaign launch across social media push 1

2022 Q4:

• Frontend development of NFT Farming Platform
• Internal testing of NFT staking and farming functions
• Improvement from internal testing
• First third party audit (by community invitation on Tangent hosted Catalyst breakout room)

*STAGE 2 OF DEVELOPMENT BELOW TO BE REQUESTED FOR SUPPORT DURING F10

• Improvement on recommendations from third party audit
• Publish of third party audit results in Tangent hosted Catalyst breakout room
• Official Launch of NFT Staking Platform Testnet
• Open NFT Staking Testnet platform for alpha testers
• Improvement from feedback from alpha testers
• Begin final NFT Staking Platform audits (by third party) to ensure security
• Improvements on recommendations of third party audit
• Publish third party audit results on website
• Whitepaper V2 Launch
• Release of initial TangentDAO governance structure details

2023 Q1: 

• Final Product NFT Staking Platform Audit by third party
• Publish results of third part audit for community review
• Official Tangent NFT Staking Platform Flagship Launch
• On boarding of users
• Announcement of NFT artist sponsorship details
• Open TangentDAO for artist sponsorship proposal submission
• Marketing campaign launch across social media push 2
• Community vote on artist submission
• Announcement of artist winners and sponsorship prizes and support details

2023 Q2

• UI/UX development of Configurable NFT Farm maker
• Backend development of Configurable NFT Farm maker
• Front End Development of Configurable NFT Farm maker
• Internal testing of Configurable NFT Farm
• Improvement from internal testing
• Open Configurable NFT Farm Testnet platform for alpha testers
• Improvement from feedback from alpha testers
• Begin Configurable NFT Farm third party audits to ensure security
• Improvement and amendment from the results of the third party audit
• Publish results of third part audit for community review
• Begin TangentDAO NFT artist sponsorship submission round 2

2023 Q3

• Create documentation for developers on how to create and configure your own NFT farm
• Community vote on NFT artist submission sponsorship round 2
• Announcement of artist winners and sponsorship prizes from NFT Artist sponsorship round 2
• Official public Launch of the Configurable NFT Farm
• Onboarding of users (other projects and native tokens on Cardano)
• Hand over of TangentDAO to community

Current press announcements:

• https://cardanofeed.com/tangent-launches-on-cardano-highly-anticipated-website-now-live-76479.html
• https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tangent-website-whitepaper-press-release-110000895.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALQDguJPr6F62acGSUClyVyTQb0Z7e3V853Lrt8d1f3aWvgM4Y6ES3qEoR2Ob0KqlMbN5qos8gPd2qFpNs8RL7RTRdjjlbyTPwepqoOpz9VPcuEZS3zdqxacm4oZKZe0GKXwqvAUa6KRbIjTSZjMm_tFZObmllzOkoH0PilQwnkk
• https://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/cardano-based-operative-artwork-project-to-bring-financially-benefiting-usability-to-nfts

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

Stage 1 Development Budget (updated on 28th June, 2022)

Staking Contract Developer 1 x 3 months (Internal & External) = $12,000

• Name: Sydney Bright
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydneysbright/

Staking Contract Developer 2 x 3 months (Internal & External) = $12,000

• (new hire)

Full Stack Developer x 3 months (Internal & External) = $15,000

• Name: Benjamin Grabow
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-grabow/

Third party Code Audits (External, CertiK) = $20,000

• Company: The CertiK Project
• https://www.certik.com/

Marketing = $10,000

• Press releases
• Promotional video creation
• Youtube video reviews

Staking Platform UI / UX Designer x 1 month (Internal & External) = $4500

• Name: Roman Gor
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/roman-garp/

Team Expenses = $500 

Total: $74,000.00

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide details of the people who will work on the project.

Clint Alexander // Co-founder, Head of Development 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/clint-alexander-049742233/
• calexander@tangent.art
• Responsibilities within Tangent: overview / decision making / development / basic coding

Bio:

• Serial entrepreneur & cryptocurrency enthusiast since 2013
• Miner
• Investor
• Digital asset fund manager
• Solidity back end smart contract development
• CEO (www.eyeboot.com) & manufacturer of Bitcoin SHA256 ASIC miners and other electronic hardware
• Worked alongside Bitcoin mining hardware companies such as Bitmain, Rockminer and Gekkoscience

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Ben Gordon // Co-founder, Visionaire & Marketing Technologist 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-gordon-352b37232/
• bgordon@tangent.art
• Responsibilities within Tangent: overview / decision making / marketing / development

Bio:

• Cryptocurrency enthusiast since 2017
• Previous freelance marketing executive for a number of leading international educational establishments in Asia
• Transitioned to blockchain project development in 2017
• A knowledge of all stages from brand creation, overall strategy, research, analysis, law and and token creation.
• Freelanced on a number of blockchain projects including Northern Lights before creating Tangent in 2021

----

Benjamin Grabow // Senior Software Engineer 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-grabow/
• bgrabow@tangent.art
• Responsibilities within Tangent: staking contract / front-end development / coding

Bio:

• Previous Senior Software Engineer at Dcentralab, NFTChain, Relive
• Previous Team Lead at the Bloomtech institute
• Javascript, React, React Native, Next.js Node, Three.js Express, AWS, Netlify, Heroku, Docker, Kubernetes, Truffle, Hardhat, Remix, Web3, Ether.js, Solidity, Notion, Trello, Jira, Figma.
• Responsible for Full-Stack related tasks
• NFT focused: https://www.citrus.app/ NFT gallery for creators and collectors - Twitter: https://twitter.com/citrusdisplay (Responsibility: Fullstack Blockchain Developmen
• NFT gallery platform with a specific focus on Backend where we index all users NFTs, track all changes etc. )
• NFT focused: https://www.nftchain.tech/: Developed a full-stack production-ready fully decentralized NFT marketplace with NFT minter that stores files on the IPFS protocol on ETH & MATIC Testnet, MATIC Mainnet (Smart contract -, Backend -, Frontend - Development)
• DeFi focused: https://play.hord.app/: Developed a full-stack production-ready ETF platform on ETH & BSC Testnet & Mainnet (Smart contract -, Backend -, Frontend - Development)
• DeFi focused: https://play-dex.hord.app/: Developed a full-stack production-ready DEX on ETH & BSC Testnet & Mainnet (Smart contract -, Backend -, Frontend - Development)
• https://www.chainport.io/: Worked with Chainport developers utilizing their chain indexer for the DEX from Hord.app
• NFT focused: https://fourteenthcenturyseries.com/ Fourteenth Century Series NFT collection / mint site - from famous artist Reuben Wu https://twitter.com/Reuben_Wu (Backend -, Frontend - Development)

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Sydney Bright // Plutus Pioneer / Cardano Coder

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydneysbright/
• sbright@tangent.art
• Responsibilities within Tangent: staking contract / front-end development / coding

Bio:

• Plutus Pioneer Program - IOG
• Cardano Developer Associate - Emurgo
• Complete Python Developer in 2022 - Zero To Mastery
• Cardano Developer Professional Program - Emurgo (enrolled)

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Shahabaj Dange // Front-End Developer

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/dshahabaj/?originalSubdomain=in
• sdange@tangent.art
• Responsibilities within Tangent: front-end development / website upgrades / website connectivity / website design

Bio:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Engineering
• Diploma in Information Technology from MSBTE
• Full-Stack Development, Front-end Development and Responsive Web Design
• 6 years of high level experience working with a variety of blockchain companies

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Roman Gor // UI / UX 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/roman-garp/?originalSubdomain=uk
• rgor@tangent.art
• Responsibilities within Tangent: UI/UX / front-end development / applications

Bio:

• UX/UI designer for Web and Mobile applications
• Enterprise software and SaaS web applications
• A focus on complex technical solutions related to the unique and innovative technologies.
• Competent in Web App Design, Sketch App (design), Axure (prototyping/wireframe), Principle, Flinto, Motion 5 (animation), Xmind (mind map/structure), Zeplin, Avocode (transfer source programmers), Invision, Trello, Active Collab, Jira & Redmine

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Alexis Golding // Legal Compliance Advisor

• agolding@tangent.art
• Responsibilities within Tangent: compliance / regulatory / contracts / general legal matters

Bio:

• Specialist financial services lawyer
• Admitted to the Law Society of England and Wales in September 2009
• Held various Head of Legal and Compliance roles in different global regions
• Acted as a regulator-approved Authorized Individual (Senior Manager Co & MLRO) for the past 8 years
• MA Hons from Oxford University
• Law degree from BPP London
• Advanced ICA qualifications (distinction) in both Compliance and AML
• Women's leadership advocate

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Henry (Kwrtz Artist) // Digital Artist 

Bio:

• Japanese Bohemian Artist
• Based in the Japanese Alps
• https://kwrtz.com
• https://twitter.com/_kwrtz_
• Specialising in digital art through NFTs including in 3D

+another 2 programmers for staking platform development

Further team information can be found here: https://tangent.art/team

[FEASIBILITY] If you are funded, will you return to Catalyst in a later round for further funding? Please explain why / why not.

*The budget has been amended for stage one of our planned building process

*We intend to return for F10, stage two of implementation

Our team were fortunate enough to learn about the Catalyst programme a handful of weeks ago and have been immersing ourselves within the community since. Town Hall has been a highly beneficial weekly addition to our team in regards to knowledge building and networking, most notably within the breakout rooms post meet. Furthermore we plan to host a number of breakout rooms ourselves in the near future, if possible. We have set our budget accordingly, meaning return requests for further funding for these specific tasks is unlikely. However as Tangent develops and more ideas crop up, we would consider applying again for funding in later rounds.

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or any member of your team working on any other proposals in this Fund9?

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or your team working on any other proposals from previous Funds?

[AUDITABILITY] Please describe what you will measure to track your project's progress, and how will you measure these?

Non-tech specific updates will be provided to the community via our established social media platforms on a weekly basis. 

The team intends to publish bi-monthly written reports informing on the developmental status of the proposed areas

Tangent’s co-founders and engineers are committed to attending Town Hall each week and intend to host a breakout room in weeks to come, allowing the Cardano community to learn more regarding our plans and ask questions with instant answers where possible. 

Progress will also be measured against our quarterly plans in accordance with our roadmap

[AUDITABILITY] What does success for this project look like?

Success shall be measured with the creation and full launch of the Tangent staking platform during 2023. Success shall further be measured with the successful sale of the Tangent x Kwrtz // Operative Artwork Flagship Series Launch with the art being implemented within the staking Dapp.

The final measure of success will be the creation of a permissionless DeFi-as-a-Service (DaaS) platform which the Cardano digital artists and developers can utilize to create their own NFT farms.

I hope by the end of the project that the following will have happened as a direct result of our success:

1. NFT farming will be as popular as yield farming within decentralized finance
2. NFTs farming can encourage more digital artists to create art on the Cardano blockchain

[AUDITABILITY] Please provide information on whether this proposal is a continuation of a previously funded project in Catalyst or an entirely new one.

This is a new project and from our research, has not been proposed previously.